Failed at the TÜV? That's why it can happen!

Reading time 7 Min.

The recurring general inspection (better known as TÜV test) should regularly check and certify the fitness of a vehicle to drive. Every motorist knows the general inspection that you have to endure every two years with used vehicles. There have been quite a few drivers who were really scared of it. And some others thought their vehicle would easily survive the HU, but then it failed the test. How could such a thing happen? There are many more pitfalls with HU than you might think. If the car has rusted through in some places and the tires are worn, then it should be clear that the Test organization will refuse the badge. That makes sense to everyone. But those aren't the only times the badge can pass you by.

Surprises at the HU!

What are the lurking surprises? As a driver, what have you never really thought of? Where are the pitfalls that could spoil the important HU badge for me? Here are a few answers.

How can that happen?

One thinks of the hard cases mentioned above that every motorist is aware of. Nobody gets a badge with tires that are hardly any more or rusted through doors, sills or even defective brake lines or a heavily dripping differential. Clearly. But what if a cell phone holder is incorrectly attached? When can that be the case? For example, if it obstructs the airbag's “path” in the event of an accident and you then have this mobile phone holder on your face. In the worst case, this can be fatal and the TÜV never gives you the sticker. Even if one Sun visor If the bracket is missing or the bracket is damaged so that the cover could fall off while driving, the sticker will also be refused. Because even if you don't need it, you could look for it at some point. The sun is blind and the TÜV will insist on a sun visor, regardless of whether you only use it once a year or not.

TÜV - rockfall regulation

Is rockfall a problem with the TÜV? Yes! Often a stone chipping at the HU by the TÜV or another testing organization can be classified as a significant safety deficiency. If this is the case, the damage to the glass will be noted on the notification of defects. And even scratches can be a problem. At least when the disc is extremely worn. This happens quite often in vehicles that are more than 5 years old or that are in contact with a lot of dust, rubble and dirt. And not only that is the case for falling rocks field of view controlled by the driver, the overall impression of the windshield is important. Which stone chips can be repaired, which criteria apply and when a stone chip is in the field of vision and can no longer be repaired - that can be answered by any specialist workshop.

What else you don't necessarily think about!

The size of the tires is probably not associated with the power of the engine. Not immediately, anyway. But the size of the tires has something to do with the performance of the engine. It's hard to believe, but even in the same model of a car there can be a different engine and therefore you need different tires. Why? Because the speed of the tires changes with increasing engine power. Smaller tires spin faster, although performance and speed remain the same, but noise pollution can increase. So you should make sure that you have the right tires fitted, otherwise a TÜV sticker can be a long way off. We did this with the Tire designations busy and explain what to look out for. And the type of tire is also important. Even if the dimensions fit, you have to pay attention when buying whether the vehicle is a Radial tires , or Bias tires must drive.

Just buy accessories, what can happen?

You can't just buy something and install it on the vehicle. Not even from an authorized dealer. Because if the corresponding accessories do not have a serial number (ABE, EC type approval, Teilegutachten etc.) or has not been approved by the manufacturer for that vehicle type, this can quickly cause trouble. And even if that's okay, the attachment or installation can be objected to because the air resistance could increase or something similar. At the speed a car can reach, the TÜV places great value on it, because nothing is worse than a car part that flies away on the motorway at full speed and can possibly endanger someone. If you are unsure, you can ask TÜV, KüS, Dekra & Co. You should be careful with orders on the Internet anyway. There are spare parts that are approved for a vehicle by the manufacturer. You shouldn't forget that the next time you want to buy something.

Foil is often a sensitive issue

Tinted windows have something for themselves and are popular. The panes can also be tinted with foils afterwards. But usually only on the rear windows, under no circumstances on the front side windows or the windshield, as the driver must have a clear view of the traffic. And the film that you want to attach to the rear windows should not close the seal or touch it in any other way. These panes should be able to break in an emergency or fall out if there is an accident in order to protect occupants and not provide unnecessary resistance if the head falls against the pane, for example. If a foil prevents this through improper application, the TÜV can veto. A general type approval for the film is mandatory. A sun visor strip can also be applied to the windshield. What you need to consider in this case, you can find out in our separate article on the subject of sun visor strips.

The headlights of the vehicle

You can also go wrong with the lights without even knowing it. For example, the type of light source cannot simply be changed because the headlight is designed for this one type of light source. Just switch from halogen to LED? Not a good idea. Although there is with the Osram Night Breaker LED Currently there is a completely legal option to convert the standard halogen main headlights to LED technology, but the new system is far from being available as a blanket for every vehicle type. Here you should definitely inquire beforehand whether your own car is included in the list of compatible vehicles. The headlights must not be smeared, coated with paint or covered with foil, as they are used for recognition - both at the front and at the rear - and are therefore one of the most important components on the vehicle. Not even that Reconditioning yellowed headlights is allowed. Anyone who makes changes here that the TÜV does not approve of can leave their car there because they are no longer allowed to drive it, not even from the workshop yard. Which changes are allowed to which luminaires will be in our large Headlight tuning special explained in detail.

invisible changes to the vehicle

Was that AGR valve maybe disabled by software that OPF / cat removed or is a Chiptuning uploaded but not registered? Even then, the testing organization can refuse the badge. Same goes for one illegal exhaust, for activated Car displays, for shrill chromium films, For removed door handles, for hair-raising things like spring clips but also for improperly repaired rims down to little things like License plate stickers or even Radar films and missing reflectors. The list could go on and on. You can find an overview of things relating to the legal situation in road traffic in our Law wiki! It is expanded regularly and also contains a large list of things that can be decisive for the next HU.

Of course that had not happened yet!

tuningblog has countless other articles on the subject of car and auto tuning in stock. Do you want to see them all? Just click HERE and look around. In part, we would like to provide you with news but also off the tuning. In our category Tips, products, information & Co We have reviews of car or accessories manufacturers, new ones Tuning Wiki Terms or one or the other Leak veröffentlicht. Following an excerpt of the last articles:

Mopar brake control for trailers for the Jeep Gladiator

Engine failure? These are the 6 most common causes!

Now canceled - no Essen Motor Show 2020!

"Tuningblog.eu" - we keep you up to date on the subject of car tuning and car styling with our tuning magazine and we present you the latest tuned vehicles from all over the world every day. It's best to subscribe to ours Feed and will automatically be informed as soon as there is something new about this post, and of course also to all other contributions.