mot aggro / some reverse brake problem or something?

[oldmanscooby]

Took the subaru impreza non turbo for straight forward mot but when they put the car in reverse on an incline in their workshop the rear brakes locked on hence it failed.

took it in today for <  rear brake repairs > which when drums taken off only some rust was found inside. Told car had passed mot then got a call saying it had failed cos rear brakes were sticking on.

Next phone call saying car has passed mot and the problem was some adjuster that puts rear brakes on when reversing uphill.

Any further info on this appreciated baffled them at the garage for a while.

[Scooby Pete]

its a hill start mechenism that stops the car rolling back on a hill.

 

not sure why it wouldn't disengage.

[Gambit]

Only thing I can think it being as Pete said is the Hill-holder

[Tlag]

That's taught me something new. I've seen it on some older Legacy's. I didn't know Imprezas had it too.

You learn something new every day :)

[Gambit]

And what's that saying about teaching an old dog new tricks ;) 

[oldmanscooby]

mot guys were also amazed and learnt something new today

[oldmanscooby]

googled this < hill start device > and they list impreza forrester and legacy among 12 other manufacturers

read the principles of it but seems over engineering to me

had i gone to an mot station on level ground probably this wouldnt have come to light

pick the car up in the morning so it will be interesting to hear the mechanics version of embarrasing events after stripping down rear brakes and doing it again prior to acquiring subaru knowledge

[Gambit]

Yep I think you will have a must tell story for us tomorrow ;) 

[oldmanscooby]

picked up impreza this morning

neither mechanic nor owner very forthcoming except to use words like < over engineering > and < sods law > but looking on the bright side they stripped and cleaned the rear brakes for free so cant complain

just goes to show how enthusiastic and informed we are there is always something that comes along to surprise us

mot garage very thorough no complaints there cos when i use the brakes its reassuring to know they are ok

now time to contemplate modifications in the near future

happy times are coming

[Gambit]

Well I don't look at it as over engineering good safety feature,but as you have said got your brakes cleaned at no extra cost and it's past it's MOT so it was a win win all round really :D

Ohhhh mods what you doing 1st ?  

[oldmanscooby]

well i had hoped to fit my flat bottom steering wheel having sourced an appropriate wheel boss kit and airbag resistor but concerned about mot implications next year which comes round quick

any one got ideas / info on aftermarket steering wheels / lack of air bag etc and mot time ?

[Gambit]

Only to try find an MOT tester that is happy to turn a blind eye as long as the cars safe :) 

[oldmanscooby]

thats a long shot as round my way you darent sneeze they are so squeaky clean ( like their supposed to be )

only one who pushed the button got caught sending shock waves through the mot tester community

no point fitting aftermarket steering wheel then get a mot fail

shame as sourced all the parts

[BoozyDave]

it's only an hour to swap, so just fit the standard one before the test

 

I didn't know about the handbrake thing though

[oldmanscooby]

something i have considered as you say only an hours job

assume refitting air bag and original wheel is reverse procedure and if connected properly airbag light will stay off

storage of airbag during non usage between mots

any suggestions

also when disconnected without any power source is it safe to handle with care

if positive comments suggest it is ok then ill fit my nice flat bottom wheel on the impreza

what size is centre nut need to get right socket in half inch