Today was an eye opener for me and I was quite shocked as this vehicle belongs to a family member

It goes to show that our annual MOT can save lives and must never go to every 2 years

This is a clean 2000 Astra done 90,000 miles and serviced every year, we checked it over before it went this morning



Had a call from the MOT test centre to say that there was a problem, they had checked it all over, including inspection of brake hoses and no signs of deterioration

Up on the ramp pressure was applied to the brake pedal (probably more than under normal breaking) so the tester could look for leaks and suddenly a front brake hose let go spraying brake fluid everywhere

On close inspection of the pipe it is not clear what has happened, no visible signs when inspected. I suspect the metal union has rusted away and then become separated from the hose. The MOT guys said this has never happened before, but I am glad it happened on their watch





This fault would not have been picked up on a routine service, but due to our MOT test it has probably saved the life of a family member (or the public) as it would have certainly failed in an emergency stop situation with maximum pedal pressure


It also begs the question, do brake hoses have a shelf life?, should they be changed at say 5 / 8 / 10 year intervals irrespective of condition

Peter

PS:

Will certainly be applying max brake pressure for at least 30 seconds on all future services and pre MOT checks