If your car is from 2008, it has at least fifteen years of life. This means that you must pass the ITV, compulsorily, every year: In vehicles of this age there is a bug that has been identified with some frequency. One that is serious and that will prevent you from receiving the inspection sticker.
Available data reveals that 82% of cars pass this procedure successfully. The rest have some fault: 26% of them are related to lighting and signage. If these errors are slight, you will pass the ITV although they will be reflected in the file so that you can solve them as soon as possible. If your vehicle has a serious one, the result of the inspection will be unfavorable: The one presented by cars from 2008 or later is not only serious, it is also quite common.
The MIL Witness
It is starred by the MIL (Malfunction Indicator Light). Yes, a yellow symbol in the shape of an engine that appears on the instrument panel: due to its representation it is also known as the engine light. When we start the car, it will turn on to turn off again if everything goes well: if it stays fixed, it will be informing us that there is an undetermined failure in the engine.
The problem behind this witness usually has to do with injection, combustion or fuel system. It may also be related to the EGR valve, particulate filters, the Lambda Probe, RPM sensors, catalysts, flowmeters, spark plugs… You will only be able to find out by consulting the car’s control unit.
Why is the focus on the 2008 cars?
Even if the failure does not compromise the operation of the engine or has been something anecdotal, If the engine light is on, you will not successfully pass the ITV because it is a serious defect. It is possible to think that any vehicle that is going to pass the inspection with a notice that indicates that something is not working correctly, will not pass it: like this. Why, then, do we emphasize the 2008 models?
In vehicles registered after 2008 it is mandatory that, when we start the engine, the MIL warning light comes on and then goes off. The ITV technician will verify that this is the case in the visual examination that he performs on our car, but if it is prior to this date… he is not obliged to carry out the verification.
The OBD test and the gas test
If your car is from 2008 or later, in addition to this check, you must pass the OBD. The operator will connect the vehicle to the diagnostic machine: if there is a problem related to the engine warning light, he will detect it. And if it has been erased or tampered with, without having repaired the fault it indicates, you will also know it.
You also have to take into account that if it is on, the car will not be able to be subjected to the gas test because it implies an overexertion for your mechanics. Any of these situations is classified as a serious defect and, therefore, the result of the ITV will also be unfavorable.
