Emissions plate ?

Hi. My 1995 SC Campervan is stuggling to get through it's MOT.
The garage have spoken to me about emission limits that may be indicated on a plate but I can't seem to find anything that looks right?
See this link https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/mot-changes-from-may-2018-guidance-for-mot-testers/diesel-vehicle-emission-limits for examples of the plate.
I've found plates under the passenger seat but nothing looks right.
Can anyone give me a point in the right direction please?
cheers, Tim

Hello timbo.

I had my car (not van) at my local garage before Christmas and the mechanic (who is also a MOT tester there) was telling me that the emissions standards for cars was getting tougher and more were failing, but this was typically as a result of EGR and associated standards.

He also showed me the VIN-related sticker with the letters that set out the standards under which ‘modern’ cars are tested. This is covered in the link you kindly added to your post, but I note the guidance there has been withdrawn. I wonder if it’s been updated elsewhere?


A’95 JDM Hiace will NOT have an emissions plate or have an opacity value for a UK MOT test stamped on the build plate. Why would it? It was never build to be driven on UK roads or to be tested in the UK system.

By the site you link to a <’08 turbo should use the 3.0m-1. This is really quite generous. My van has an opacity value of 0.33 at last test so even if they were using the >’08 values of 1.5 there’s plenty of headroom.

There are things you can do to reduce the opacity value at a test. These include using a diesel fuel additive in the weeks before the test. It can also be useful to de-clog your exhaust system before the test. Hitting the exhaust pipe with a big rubber mallet from end to end can dislodge a log of crap. So can (carefully) filling the exhaust up with water, then hitting it with a mallet to dislodge soot, then driving to remove the water and muck, obviously this can cause problems with a cat or sensors so take care. It’s also worth getting the opacity test done with the oil and exhaust as hot as possible. If you are still having issues perhaps try a different garage or investigate what could be causing a sooty engine. Are you burning too much fuel (injectors need servicing or low compression) or oil (oil blow by or turbo seal leak)?

What are the values from previous years? How close are you?

A final point is that the ‘Carbon-K’ decarboniser can be useful to do-carbonise a turbo engine. Other systems are available. They won’t fix low compression or other problems but can improve air flow. It can be worth looking inside your engine with a cheap endoscope to see how clogged up the innards are, too.

HTH