My car failed its MoT because replacement door mirror has no indicator. Why?

Q. There were originally indicators on the door mirrors of my 2005 Honda Jazz. After an accident I replaced the nearside one with a mirror without an indicator. This has now resulted in a MoT test failure. Why did this happen? 

AH, St Albans, Hertfordshire

Search for and buy your next car on driving.co.uk

A. As well as the main indicator lamps at the front, all cars manufactured since 1986 must have at least one indicator lamp on each side — known as a side repeater. The only exception is if the car has wraparound front indicators visible from both the front and the side. On some vehicles the side repeater is in the centre of the front wing; increasingly, though, the door mirror is the preferred location. Your tester is correct: you need a new door mirror that includes an indicator.

You could see whether a dismantler in your area can supply a cheap wing mirror from a scrapped Jazz, although this could prove difficult as glass and mirrors are likely to be broken on any accident-damaged vehicle.

Alternatively, try a specialist aftermarket supplier such as Car Shop (incarshop.co.uk), which is listing mirrors at between £53.99 and £71.99, depending on the exact specification. 

INSPECTOR GADGET
Dave Pollard has written several Haynes manuals and has tested just about every car-related accessory – read more from Dave here.

GOT A PROBLEM?
Email your question to carclinic@sunday-times.co.uk or write to Car Clinic, Driving, The Sunday Times, 3 Thomas More Square, London E98 1ST, with a daytime phone number, your address and as much detail about your car as possible. We can’t reply in person, so don’t send original documents or SAEs. Advice is given without legal responsibility.