Can Windscreen Scratches and Cracks Cause an MOT Fail?

Car owners never look forward to their MOT because there are so many small things that can lead to a fail.  But one area that is often overlooked is cracks or scratches in the car windscreen, the body glass or rear screen.  So can these cause an MOT fail?

Windscreens and the MOT

There are a few areas around the windscreen that you can run into problems with on your MOT.  Some of them are very easy to remedy while others will need some help from companies handling cracks or windscreen scratches in Bournemouth.  The three most common windscreen fails are:

• Not enough liquid to clear the windscreen alongside the windscreen wipers
• Windscreen wipers are missing or are in poor condition so that they don’t clear the windscreen when used and the view ahead is obscured
• There is a chip or crack in the windscreen that is more than 1cm in the driver’s line of vision which is a vertical strip that is 29cm wide and reached up from the steering wheel. Alternatively, there are cracks or chips that are more than 4cm elsewhere in the area covered by the windscreen wipers

There can also be problems if van conversions haven’t been carried out to the right standards.  So if you want to have extra windows added to your van, you need to ensure that professionals do them.

Windscreen zones

To help you judge whether you need to call a mobile service for crack repair or windscreen replacement, it helps to know a little about the zones of the windscreen and the maximum size of damage in these areas.

Zone A is the driver’s line of sight mentioned above.  This is a 29cm area from the steering wheel to the top arc of the windscreen wipers and this is the place that is most likely to cause a problem with the MOT.  A crack or chip here bigger than 1cm will lead to a fail.

Zone B is either side of this and is the area where the windscreen wipers cover on the driver’s side.  Here the maximum chip size can be 1.5cm.  Zone C is the remainder of the windscreen wiper area on the passenger’s side and here chips can be a maximum of 2.5cm without causing problems.  Finally, the rest of the window is termed Zone D and here chips can be up to 4cm without running into MOT issues.

Cracks on other car glass

If you have damage to the rear screen of the car, then the rules are a little different.  Rear windscreens are not viewed in the same way as front windscreens and neither are side windows.  They can be an issue if they cause problems under the driver’s view of the road section of the MOT.  In this, the tester will look to see if you can use rear view mirrors or ‘indirect vision devices’ which include cameras and side mirrors.  So if you have damage in rear or side windows that stop this, it may be a problem.

If you have windscreen problems and are unsure whether your vehicle might fail its MOT, why not contact Top Mark Windscreens for advice?