Vehicle Inspection, Testing, and Quality Control
What this domain tests
This domain tests pre-delivery, periodic and post-repair inspection, plus quality control. You must know what is checked, how it is measured, and how the result is recorded so that a vehicle is not released with a safety or emissions defect.
Core rules
- A periodic inspection in Malaysia typically covers identity, brakes, steering, suspension, tyres, lights, chassis, body, exhaust and emissions, and speedometer. Follow the current Puspakom/JPJ criteria and the vehicle class.
- Brake performance is checked on a roller tester for balance and efficiency; a significant left/right imbalance is a fail even if the pedal feels normal.
- Diesel smoke is checked by opacity; petrol engines by CO and HC at idle and fast idle. Do not tune to pass a test if the underlying fault remains.
- Tyre tread below 1.6 mm, cuts, bulges or mismatched sizes are rejectable.
- Quality control includes a road test, fluid check, torque check, DTC scan and a final visual check. Use calibrated equipment and record the calibration due date.
- Record the inspection result, measurements, tester and date; keep the job card and certificate copy.
Worked example
A car fails the brake roller test with a 35% imbalance on the front axle, although the road test felt acceptable. Inspection shows the left caliper slides freely but the right caliper piston is seized. The reasoning is that the right wheel is doing less braking, so the imbalance exceeds the limit. The repair is to overhaul or replace the caliper, bleed the system, re-check on the roller, and record the before-and-after readings. Replacing only the pads would leave the seized piston and the vehicle would fail again.
Traps
Clearing DTCs before an inspection can hide a readiness monitor failure. A road test alone does not prove brake balance. Using uncalibrated equipment invalidates the result. Do not pass a tyre at 1.5 mm because it “looks fine”. Missing documentation can fail an audit even when the work is correct.