Defect Questions

[bigsteve]

Ok the scenario is:

Car X has an engineers certificate certifying its engine conversion and suspension but not wheels and tyres.

The theory is the vehicle can be driven around with 4 inches of tyre out of the guards and in the event of a canary, the large tyres are removed and the smaller tyres fitted for it to pass RWC then large tyres are bolted on again.

Ok My question:

I know in NSW if the cops consider a vehicle to be a "serious defect" they can impond it, what I want to know is can they do this in vic & what grounds do there have to be for a defective vehicle to be impounded???

Any input would be appreiated.

[Roctoy]

in my experience it all comes down to your attitude and if the cop in question is having a bad day or not.
most cops are pretty cool when it comes to 4wd's but if it's too ridiculous you know your just going to get pinged.
i douubt that they would impound your car for tyres out of the body line but don't forget, you CAN be defected for not having water in you windscreen washer bottle...

Cheers Chris

[grimbo]

I have had a couple of defect notices in the past and they have all allowed me 28 days to fix the problems and present the vehicle back to Vicroads. There has never been the suggestion they would need to impound the vehicle. Some of the causes for the defect have been tyres outside the line of the vehicle

[Shadow]

I have had a couple of defect notices in the past and they have all allowed me 28 days to fix the problems and present the vehicle back to Vicroads. There has never been the suggestion they would need to impound the vehicle. Some of the causes for the defect have been tyres outside the line of the vehicle

they can easily order you not to drive the vehicle, rather have it towed (in qld at least)

never heard of impounding, except for the rev heads.

[Gwagensteve]

I think that the "order not to drive" thing is a red defect notice rather than a canary. this will only be issued in cases of extreme danger, and I have heared that they can be applied for things like quick release steering wheels and heavily tinted windscreens etc.

With a red canary, the car must not be driven and must be towed from the point it is defected.

I have never heared of a 4X4 getting one, even some stuff that probably should have.

[Shadow]

I think that the "order not to drive" thing is a red defect notice rather than a canary. this will only be issued in cases of extreme danger, and I have heared that they can be applied for things like quick release steering wheels and heavily tinted windscreens etc.

With a red canary, the car must not be driven and must be towed from the point it is defected.

I have never heared of a 4X4 getting one, even some stuff that probably should have.

someone who did a SOA said he got one, was in a post only recently, NICK maybe?

i think if anything is dangerous at all, you will be grounded, especially in qld, qld transport arent gonna put thier neck on the chopping block by letting you drive an unsafe vehicle for 28 days.

ive seen quite a few after the big busts on the side of the freeway at like 2am, but they are mostly ricers.

[ozy1]

In NSW i have never heard of them impunding a car for defects, i do know for a fact, that if they consider your car to be unsafe, they will order you a tow truck, and wait with you until it is towed (also depends on the cop if he waits, some tend to hide around the corner, and wait for you to drive past) but if its nothing to concernign, they will tell you to take it home, i have never been defected, but had plenty of mates who have been.

[Rainbow Warrior]

I've heard of cars having the 28 days to fix, I've also heard of the local sargeant giving 1 week for my brother to fix his loud exhaust. I've also heard of cars having their plates taken off an banned from driving due to serious defects like bald tyres, stupidly wild engine conversions, brakes, bodgey LPG, structural rust etc.

[revin]

Can someone please tell NSW police/RTA about this 28 days they only used to give me 7 days .To fix 2 pages

Canary=maybe driven for a set time (set on defect notice) then report to a place (also stated on notice) to be lifted just make sure someone removes the sticker and it isnt you.

Red Stickers =Lots of hassles,must be towed away (have seen police take number plates on the spot) these must be taken to a specif place to be removed (RTA vehicle exam pits) and involve a lot more $$$ for the fine.

Best to try and stay clear of these colour stickers and sayin i dont like stickers on my car doesnt impress these people either

[Elmo]

ok question, i got done about 2 weeks ago now by a big bust in brissy here, 9 defects in total, all tiny stupid little things that they wernt too fussed about, except the body lift for which they told me to not drive the car at all, gotta leave it there and get a tow truck, and then given 28 days to fix it, $300 dollars in fines and loss of licence for 3 months,
is that normal????

[bogged]

they can force you to get it towed/trailered too, and also then need to get it towed/trailered everywhere to get it cleared.. Shane on GQ list his truck was defected.

4wders already have a bad enough thing with the cops, dont feed em I reckon

[bru21]

i got defected in qld a while back. i had 20 mins to get the car home and i had a month to fix it. i got a yellow one.

tyres out of guards
no mud flaps
seat belt frey
unapproved five link
unapproved ute mod
7"coils
muffler
no bullbar
no front rego.

i was driving to the shed to install mud flaps and finsh her off and i got stung.

i got a safety cert and fixed it up and all was sweet. no fine no points.
gotta be nice i recon.

they were thick as, knew nothing. they had to look up everything in the wait for it - little red brochure that you can get from the dot. they started reading the car things like tyres not more than 1.3 times wider. i had to show them the 1.5 wider 4x4 section. then i had to explain that 12.5" was less than 1.5 times 10" and they were converting to mm and dicking around. dickheads.

cheers

bru

[built4thrashing]

one of my mates discovered a loophole a few years back. After being told his vehicle wasnt roadworthy by a cop he asked for the cops RWC testers licence number. Didnt have one. he was then ordered to have the vehicle tested and to supply the rwc to the police station within 14days or it would be impounded and tested by them and he would get the bill for it all.

so he got his mate to write him a rwc and it was all sweet

[Samuel]

I got defected about 2 weeks ago, the cop was a complete toss. But i tried very very hard not to be un-diplomatic to him. I was lucky to get off with the front wheels sticking out 3 inches from the guard and an oil leak.
No yellow or red sticker, 14 days to clear it, and no fine! Giddy-up! Although it cost me $200 for tjm flares and a $2 can of degreaser.

Considering i can think of numerous things he could have pinged me for, i got away lightly. It helps being diplomatic if its just a police officer, however if the mermaids (c*nts with scales, or RTA for the challenged ones) get a hold of you, if your not engineered, your f*cked.

[Rainbow Warrior]

I got defected about 2 weeks ago, the cop was a complete toss. But i tried very very hard not to be un-diplomatic to him. I was lucky to get off with the front wheels sticking out 3 inches from the guard and an oil leak.
No yellow or red sticker, 14 days to clear it, and no fine! Giddy-up! Although it cost me $200 for tjm flares and a $2 can of degreaser.

Considering i can think of numerous things he could have pinged me for, i got away lightly. It helps being diplomatic if its just a police officer, however if the mermaids (c*nts with scales, or RTA for the challenged ones) get a hold of you, if your not engineered, your f*cked.

Probably, yes, but my brother had them go over his Landrover, looked all over it but missed the fact there was no mod plate for the Holden conversion. But then again it was listed on rego as having that engine number fitted and the motor did look like it had been there since it left the factory in 76. I figure it had been reregistered at some stage with the Holden motor and nobody had picked it wasn't a Landrover motor.

[scorched]

fingers crossed i can talk my way out of a situation if it were to get pulled.
i got fined for spotties on the roof. wat a load of horse poo.

I rang a dude out of trading post who had his fj 40 ute for sale and he had a spoa and said the cops never gave him problems. I see suzukis all the time spoa. Im goin to be pissed if i get caught.

[Guy]

I think that the "order not to drive" thing is a red defect notice rather than a canary. this will only be issued in cases of extreme danger, and I have heared that they can be applied for things like quick release steering wheels and heavily tinted windscreens etc.

With a red canary, the car must not be driven and must be towed from the point it is defected.

I have never heared of a 4X4 getting one, even some stuff that probably should have.

It remains a yellow (dont ask me how I now this )

While I was living in cairns and my little brother was driving my Zuk he got done, vehicle was canaryed (yellow) and was not allowed to be driven (had to be towed with all four wheels off the road ie Flat bed same as a vehicle that is unregistered)

But it was not impounded nor was impounding mentioned ( I am pretty sure that in vic they do not have that kind of power .. yet ..)

[bad_religion_au]

I think that the "order not to drive" thing is a red defect notice rather than a canary. this will only be issued in cases of extreme danger, and I have heared that they can be applied for things like quick release steering wheels and heavily tinted windscreens etc.

With a red canary, the car must not be driven and must be towed from the point it is defected.

I have never heared of a 4X4 getting one, even some stuff that probably should have.

i got ordered not to drive my 45, i was given a yellow sticker, and a huge fine... all because drums weren't adjusted fully up.

[bad_religion_au]

I think that the "order not to drive" thing is a red defect notice rather than a canary. this will only be issued in cases of extreme danger, and I have heared that they can be applied for things like quick release steering wheels and heavily tinted windscreens etc.

With a red canary, the car must not be driven and must be towed from the point it is defected.

I have never heared of a 4X4 getting one, even some stuff that probably should have.

i got ordered not to drive my 45, i was given a yellow sticker, and a huge fine... all because drums weren't adjusted fully up.

[planb]

Considering i can think of numerous things he could have pinged me for, i got away lightly.

i got defected a couple of years back in the cruiser, just after i finished the soa. i was running bald 33s with 3in lifted springs, drop mounts, extended shackles, body lift and soa. i.e it was a big dangerouse looking 40.

but get this, he only defected me for having sharp edges on my rear bar. This was the original rear bar mind you, that was in near perfect condition. I just nodded my head and said, thank you officer, ill fix it right away.

next day i cancelled my rego, i then finished the mods, engineered the car and went and got a fresh blue slip. Defect notice never hit the rta file i guess, coz i never had to fix my rear bar and they never mentioned it, even though the rta knew it was previously registered as xyz.

my advice would be to cancel your rego, get the refund, and get a fresh blue slip and plates. That way your bucket of junk (and mine was a bucket, with more problems than just a sharp rear bumper) never has to get scrutized over the rta pits.

[Utemad]

My brother got done for his tyres sticking about 3 inches outside his guards on his 45 Cruiser twice!! First time it was coppers who told him to fit flares. Second time (with the flares) it was the RTA who said to get rid of the tyres completely as they had too much offset. The RTA also did him for removing one of his rear bench seats, fitting bucket seats in the front and rust.

[OzJeeper]

Big Steve - going through this as we speak/type.
Got pinged for tyres O/S guards few weeks ago. Not the 5" lift, long arms, custom work. Just tyres outside guards.
Bolted on skinny 31's (looked stupid replacing 35 X 12.5's) and down to the RTA - Passed not aprob and back driving.

Got pinged again recently for (guess whot) tyres O/S guards by 3" (bolted the 35's back on). Now we need a full engineers cert as well as a roadworthy ad nauseum.

Mate in the job has warned me that ANY vehicle that has tyres exceeding the guard width WILL be defected. Has nothing to do with other mods/engineering. Tyres that exceed the guard width are very naughty and you will be given a canary. Booze bus? at the end of the line will be an Officer who will run a beady eye over the car and give you the once over if not happy with mods etc.

Happy daze....

[Nev62]

The other half got done a few years back driving my old HR. Possibility of front brake calipers contacting the front crossmember (they were from a Torana), battery in the boot (even though it was in a proper case), holes in the firewall (a couple of the rubber plugs were missing) and bald tyres.

I had a look at the crossmember and the caplipers stopped 2mm from the lip. Out with the angle grinder and took around 8mm x 30mm off the lip (still left 8mm of lip in that small area). put a couple of bungs in the fire wall (from clark rubber), didn't touch the other two "defects". Took the car to Vic roads and the only thing said is "your tyres will need to be replaced in the next few months".

Nothing was ever said about my old Speedway engine in there or the chirpping from the rear cause the diff had blown the day before and I only had CIG ones handy

[Justin_M]

I got pulled over in a major bust, after THREE HOURS of waiting my turn to get inspected i told the officer, mate im leaving for the army in 3 days, look at the rego number, she passed the pits 2 months ago, i dont have the time for this. He said to me "you sure u wanna join the army" "yep definatly" and he walked off.

Out of about 50 cars i was the only one not to get a canary

Here in WA theres no more red stickers tho, they just give you a yellow that expires instantly. Never heard of someone getting fined or liscence suspended for getting a yellow either.

[Samuel]

i got ordered not to drive my 45, i was given a yellow sticker, and a huge fine... all because drums weren't adjusted fully up.

Having your 4 wheel drum brakes not adjusted and driving on the road is stupid. I would have fined you for that too. Just because they still work when you pump it 3 times doesn't make it ok.

[MY45]

I have had a couple of defect notices in the past and they have all allowed me 28 days to fix the problems and present the vehicle back to Vicroads. There has never been the suggestion they would need to impound the vehicle. Some of the causes for the defect have been tyres outside the line of the vehicle

"Some of the causes for defect" implies that you are talking of more than one defect offence......but in your post you only refer to one ....what were the others for just curious???

[bad_religion_au]

i got ordered not to drive my 45, i was given a yellow sticker, and a huge fine... all because drums weren't adjusted fully up.

Having your 4 wheel drum brakes not adjusted and driving on the road is stupid. I would have fined you for that too. Just because they still work when you pump it 3 times doesn't make it ok.

before you call me stupid, understand what happened.

it still stopped straight and true, with a single application of the brake pedal... the knob jockey jacked up a wheel, and said that specs say that if he turns the adjuster X amount of clicks, and the wheel isn't locked solid, it's not adjusted well enough.. X being about 3.

so i failed that, and my horn didn't work cause, he claims, has to work when the center pad on the steering wheel is depressed, shame stock toyo position is on any of the 3 spokes.

and apparently you have to have a restraining device AS WELL as your regular battery holder bracket...

when i took it to RWC tester he laughed at the paper and signed the RWC without me changing anything, cause the brakes worked, the horn worked if you hit the button and not the padding, and the battery tray is stock..

so not only did it still work, and work on single brake application, but i had to pay THEIR choice in tow truck (i had free RACV tows, but he wouldn't let me call them) to take it 2 minutes down the road...

so don't assume unless you want ass...... you all know how that one goes

[*BESTY*]

I was defected in my Feroza before it had the Engineers Certificate. Done for the tyres 36x12.5 (seems to be a common problem)

The officer didn't even stick the yellow sticker on the window, and I told him that I was heading out to the workshop to change the tyres anyway.

I was curious about him taking a photograph of my vehicle though ??....does anyone know if the cops make a collection of defected vehicle photos ??? I asked him for a copy to be sent to my home address, but nothing ever turned up

I'm glad the officer didn't look for any other 'mods'.....'cause it hadn't been through the engineers at that time

[grimbo]

I have had a couple of defect notices in the past and they have all allowed me 28 days to fix the problems and present the vehicle back to Vicroads. There has never been the suggestion they would need to impound the vehicle. Some of the causes for the defect have been tyres outside the line of the vehicle

"Some of the causes for defect" implies that you are talking of more than one defect offence......but in your post you only refer to one ....what were the others for just curious???

also been done for no mudflaps, badly weather affected number plate, rear lights not working, vracked windscreen. Another time got down for broken headlights, driving lights on the roof which were what i was using, no mudflaps. He didn't notice there was no windscreen. (I was in a little accident up near Mt Buller, got pulled over at Wandin and had to drive home to Sth Melbourne ).

Thay have all been minor defects not canaries although the latest one has put me offf the road for a year but that is because I'm lazy

[bazzle]

How often do you hear this, No mudflaps, tyres outside guards,

Come on fellas do the right thing and fit flares and rear flaps. Helps us all in the long run.

Bazzle