this is taken from another forum.

Evening ladies and gents

Sorry for my absence for a while there however I am back with some news of changes to the MOT from December 2011, now unfortunately it is going to be bad news for some ..............

HID lights ie the kit we all like that gives us brilliant headlights, this will be made an MOT failure if these are fitted, now obviously if you can fool the tester into thinking its Xenons then all well and good however they are apparently going to be well briefed on how to tell.

ECU chipped, unfortunately they have found a way of telling through the OBD port (diagnostic plug) on how to tell if the engine is chipped and if chipped you guess it its an MOT failure.

Wiring harness security and condition, they will now do a visual check on wiring harnesses to make sure they are not chaffing etc and that all is secure again MOT failure if adrift etc.

Airbag warning lights illuminated will again be a failure if illuminated.

There are a few other changes but I think this is the biggest things that will affect most of us guys. This info came straight from VOSA so is legitimate

Taken from another site , so is it right these are new rules .....................

andy. Gone,,TDV8 arctic frost,black leather,colour coded handles,rear entertainment,sunroof.
1980 Rolls Royce,shadow 2 in white.
Gone 07/57 TDV8 santorino,black leather.chrome handle's/mirror's.
Gone 02/52 FFRR vogue.

I can see a point with regards to the HID installation.

Why should your car fail an MOT for being chipped, and by chipped do you also mean remapped? I cannot see the implications in the remap unless it increases emissions, in which case your car would fail its MOT anyway!

The wiring harness chaffing is another fair point on the grounds of safety.

However how long are they expecting an MOT to take !!

another forum wrote:

The car/light goods vehicle MOT test is about to change – the European Commission has changed the Directive that covers it. We take a look at when these changes are likely to come into effect and what they mean for MOT testers.
Britain has been testing vehicles under the MOT scheme for 50 years now. Last year, the European Directive covering the MOT test was updated and revised by a modern version called 2009/40/ EC. This was then updated by 2010/48/EU, which was ratified on 5 July this year.
The new Directive keeps the EU minimum 4-2-2 test frequency but adds a number of new elements to the British MOT test. The Directive anticipates all test changes being in place by 1 January 2012, and a common European approach to test certificates in place by 1 January 2014. So what is VOSA doing to introduce the changes?
In terms of test frequency, in mid-July the coalition government confirmed that it intends ‘to look at the issue of MOT test frequencies later this year’. VOSA contributed statistical data to inform the last review in 2008, and we expect that our computer system and the data you have entered will be utilised again in much the same way.
We expect to hear more details of the government’s review proposals later in the year.
As far as changes to the test content are concerned, VOSA has already been analysing the requirements of the new Directive and working out how to implement them. We started this earlier in the year by talking with representatives of the MOT trade at our regular Trade User Group and VTS Council meetings. Both VOSA and the Department for Transport (DfT) are keen to ensure that any changes to the test are introduced in as practical a way as possible, keeping the burden on the trade to a minimum and ideally keeping the changes cost neutral.
In many cases, the changes shouldn’t necessarily lead to an increase in average test times. A good example is the malfunction indicator lamps on the dashboard that indicate defective electronic power steering, electronic stability control and secondary restraint systems. Testers already check the dashboard for other lamps, so no extra time would be required for this addition to the test.
Electrical wiring and batteries are now included in the test’s scope, but testers already check the vehicle structure where wiring is secured – often along the same routes as other testable items, such as brake pipes in the engine compartment. So again, this doesn’t look like an additional burden on the tester. In the pre-computerisation days, testers often (wrongly) failed vehicles for insecure batteries, so they must have been looking at them then! Now, it means that when we implement the new Directive, vehicles can legitimately fail for battery insecurity, for no extra tester effort.
Other items – such as headlamp bulb and unit incompatibility, headlamp levelling devices and illegal engine ‘chipping’ – will need further thought before we can get a workable solution for MOT stations.
Some of the new items may require extra effort on the part of the tester – when we know for sure what that is we’ll be talking again with our trade and DfT colleagues to work out what the impact will be.
The common EU test certificate should be relatively easy to achieve – the only data that the Directive expects and that we don’t currently provide is the symbol for the vehicle’s country of origin. Probably 99% of vehicles tested will have
‘UK’ entered here, but if you do test vehicles with a foreign plate, you will need to enter the correct country symbol. We may even be able to make this change earlier if there is a convenient opportunity.
The MOT trade can rest assured that VOSA is working closely with you to introduce any new elements as efficiently and effectively as possible, with the minimum of fuss. Just as importantly, we are also working closely with Siemens to ensure that any system changes due on New Year’s Eve 2011 go smoothly! We should know more by the time the MOT seminars take place – come along and ask the experts.

Asking the insurer if the car has been modified? 2020 Pangea Green 1st Edition D240 New Defender 110 is here and loving it
2018 Melting Silver Mini Countryman PHEV - soon to be replaced
2015MY Corris Grey SDv6 HSE Dynamic, the best car I have ever owned, totally reliable only a cou0le of rattles in 3 years, now no longer in my care
Also in my garage is a 1996 TDi300 Defender 90 County HT made into a fake CSW

And do you really think your average MOT station is going to have the equipment to read all cars ECU's!

I thought HID kits were a failure already. WINNER - 2009 ‘Just Doing What It’s Designed To Do’ Award

2010 TDV8 HSE Galway Green - Adaptive Cruise - Sunroof - Privacy Glass - 5 Spoke Alloys
2009 TDV6 3.0 HSE Buckingham Blue - GONE

Not sure how they'll tell on a chip, but if a MOT station can, a dealer would be able also so it could be bye bye warranty too for those who've done it