VEHICLE inspection criteria is set to change again from this coming Tuesday (June 1) to update road safety requirements in line with ever-evolving new technology involved in car manufacturing.
The ITV – the equivalent of which in the UK is the MOT – has to be carried out on all cars of four years old or over, every two years; once the car is 10 years old, the ITV is compulsory annually.
Some vehicles may need to start their ITV 'career' before the end of their fourth year – this is often the case with courtesy or hired cars, or those that have been used as such before being bought by a private owner – although the exact criteria differs.
Normally, with a new or nearly-new car, the notification calling the owner to the ITV will arrive automatically by post; for those with cars which have already undergone at least one ITV, it is their responsibility to ensure the vehicle passes before the previous one expires, even if they do not receive a letter.
What happens at an ITV test
Upon passing the test, a sticker with the expiry date is given and must be displayed prominently in the top left-hand corner of the windscreen, the right way up, with all previous ones removed.
Unlike the MOT in the UK, the owner does not just drop the car off at an accredited garage and pick it up later – ITVs are conducted at official, State-run testing centres, and the capital town of every comarca, or 'mini-county', normally has one in or near it.
The owner drives through the testing centre and performs the moves requested by the tester, navigating through the 'obstacles' – a simulator for braking on ice, for example, and either up on a hoist or over a hole in the ground for the inspector to view the underside.
Although oil and water levels and filters do not form an integral part of the test, the driver will be told if these are low or need to be replaced, and could fail if they are run dry or in a very bad condition – for many, the ITV acts as a useful complement to routine servicing.
If the car fails, the owner has up to 30 days to fix the defects and put it through the test again; the re-test fee is 50% of that of the initial test, but after a failure and prior to passing a subsequent ITV, the car can only be driven to a garage or inspection centre.
This is the case even if, after a fail, the annual deadline – stipulated by calendar month – has not yet gone past, and even if all the required repairs have been completed but the vehicle has yet to be given a new sticker.
Driving with an out-of-date ITV attracts a fine of €500, and driving after a fail but before passing a re-test – even if it is still within date and the repairs have been effected – means a fine of €200.
Changes from Tuesday
From June 1, any fault in ABS braking systems will become a defect automatically subject to a fail, rather than a 'minor fault'.
'Minor' faults are issues drawn to the owner's attention during or immediately after the test, are not serious enough to result in a fail, but could lead to failure if they are not fixed by the time of the next test, depending upon their severity.
Until now, 'minor' faults would include a loose wing mirror or one that was hanging off; this is now a 'serious' fault, meaning the car will fail unless it is fixed first.
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