Everything you need to know about MVIR (Motor Vehicle Inspection Report) - Part I

The term MVIR (Motor Vehicle Inspection Report) appears several times in a car owner's lifetime. This report is essential at the time of vehicle registration, insurance, and acquiring duplicate OR/CR.

The question now is, what exactly is MVIR? In this article, we’ll be covering the topic in detail and discuss MVIR’s benefits, requirements, procedure, associated costs & fees, and much more. So, without further delay, let’s jump in and learn about the Motor Vehicle Inspection Report.

Before we move any further, we’d like to tell you that our ‘Everything you need to know about MVIR’ series is a two-part series. In Part I, we covered the meaning, requirements/benefits, MVIR form explained, tests conducted, and fees. In the next part, we’ll shed light on MVIR’s inspection, prerequisites, and step-by-step procedure.

Also Read: LTO OR/CR: Get to know the two of the most important docs for your car

What is MVIR?

MVIR stands for Motor Vehicle Inspection Report. It is essentially an LTO-issued form whose purpose is to reveal the vehicle’s condition at the time of inspection. An accomplished and approved MVIR is a crucial requirement set by LTO for vehicle registration.

Requirement/Benefits of MVIR

As the name suggests, an inspection of a vehicle is conducted under MVIR by LTO. The goal is to assess the vehicle's roadworthiness and whether or not it passes the LTO standards. It is a way of ensuring the safety of the owner, pedestrians, and other motorists on the road.

Benefits of MVIR

• It fulfills a part of the car registration process
• It is a check for the vehicle’s roadworthiness
• It means the vehicle passes LTO’s standards
• It ensures the safety of the driver, pedestrians, and other vehicles on the road
• It ensures the vehicle is not a dangerous piece of metal
• It makes sure the vehicle won’t prove dangerous just because of a simple fault (busted lighting unit and braking unit)

These inspections prove very useful. A car is a heavy machine with numerous bolts and wires, and several things can go wrong. There can be a busted taillight, worn-out brakes, and more, which can be detected in the inspection and taken care of by the owner.

Overall, the MVIR acts as a safety net that will benefit you and your car.

Getting familiar with the MVIR form

The Motor Vehicle Inspection Report is divided into several sections, each revealing different information about the owner and vehicle’s condition. The table below reveals MVIR form details -

MVIR form
Title	Contents
Part I: Ownership & Documents	Vehicle owner’s name Vehicle’s acquisition source  Kind of vehicle Type of registration  Identification & inspection
Part II: Identification & Inspection	Vehicle’s make Type of body Weight of the vehicle Passenger capacity  Rating for several parts by the inspector (battery, windshield, fuel tank, car seats, etc)
Part III: Operation and Safety Test	Test drive  Some Q&A Notes of the safety test conducted by Private Motor Vehicle Inspection Centers (PMVIC) test

Tests conducted under MVIR

Under the MVIR, a vehicle undergoes as many as seven tests, which together affirm its roadworthiness. Following are the safety tests conducted during the inspection -

• Sideslip Test
• Suspension Test
• Roller Brake Test
• Speedometer Test
• Headlight Test
• Emission Test
• Sound Test

 

MVIR Safety Test
Test	How it is conducted	What it determines
Sideslip Test	The test is conducted by driving the car into the sideslip sensor plate  The sideslip sensor plate measures the later slip movement as the car enters the first switch	Determines if the wheel alignment is correct or not  Examine the vehicle toe-in and toe-out  Test result is determined once the vehicle passes through the last switch of the tester
Suspension Test	The test is conducted by placing the axles and wheels on shaker plates. This will automatically measure the vehicle’s axle weight. The plates will be oscillated to figure out the suspensions’s damping abilities  The test result will be sent to the computer wherein it will be compared with the database	This test is meant to inspect the vehicle’s shock absorbers' effectiveness on each wheel, along with the absolute daming levels, and relative damping balance between the right and left side of each axle Check the efficiency of the shock absorbers via the EUSAMA principle to equivalent
Roller Brake Test	The vehicle is put on a rolling road, which gets the vehicle up to speed	This test measures the braking force of the wheels for both axles  It effectively measures the braking force each wheel can generate  The parking brake is also tested
Speedometer Test	The vehicle is put on a rolling road and is accelerated to a speed of 40 kmph before deaccelerating to rest	It measures the actual speed and accuracy of the speedometer reading  (it is a pass for the vehicle if the reading is within 10 kmph of what is displayed on the speedometer vs the actual speed)
Headlight Test	It is an automated test wherein the vehicle is parked at a predetermined distance	This test measures the luminous intensity of the headlight along with its axis of deviation (optical or photometric)
Emissions Test	The vehicle is placed on neutral gear with the handbrake engaged The inspector will make sure the vehicle’s temperature is at least 70 degrees Celsius or high (optimum engine operating temperature) The test is conducted by first revving up the engine two to three times to remove any deposits. The next step involves inserting a probe into the exhaust pipe (it goes 30 cm in from the tailpipe outlet)	It tests the Carbon Monoxide concentration and Hydrocarbon emissions  For diesel-powered vehicles, this test will measure the opacity of the smoke coming out of the exhaust
Sound Test	The test involves using sonometers placed at a 45-degree angle 0.5 meters behind the exhaust pipe. The measurement is taken in two instances - one when the vehicle is idle and the other at the 2,500 rpm mark	It determines whether or not the vehicle is a source of noise pollution (to pass the test, the result must be lower than 99 dB)

Also Read: Common mistakes to avoid when renewing your OR/CR in the Philippines

Fees associated with MVIR

If you want to acquire a Motor Vehicle Inspection Report for your vehicle, the associated fees are below.

Private Vehicles	PHP 600
Motorcycles	PHP 500
Public Utility Vehicles	PHP 300
Motor Vehicles with Gross Body Weight ≤ 4,500 kg	PHP 50
Motor Vehicles with Gross Body Weight  ≥ 4,500 kg	PHP 75
Motorcycle and Tricycle	PHP 50

LTO also charges a fee for the smoke emission test, which goes as follows -

Motor Vehicles with Gross Body Weight ≤ 4,500 kg	PHP 40
Motor Vehicles with Gross Body Weight  ≥ 4,500 kg	PHP 45
Motorcycle/Tricycle	PHP 40

Note - An inspection fee of PHP 1,800 will be collected in case of the following -

• Motor vehicle modification (revised body design or configuration)
• Change engine/chassis, change body colour, re-stamping of engine, revised
• Gross Vehicle Weight
• Recovered carnapped vehicle

What’s next? Submission & Approval

Once your vehicle is back from the long day involving so many tests,
it’s time to fill up the MVIR form. After that, the form will be sent to LTO for approval.

After the form is accepted, the vehicle owner can use the accompanied MVIR to complete the motor vehicle registration or acquire a duplicate OR/CR or car insurance process.

Summary

Motor Vehicle Inspection Report is a great tool from LTO that is greatly responsible for making the Philippines' roads safe and sound for both drivers and pedestrians. It ensures that every vehicle on the road (new and old) is roadworthy. It even takes care of the environment with its emission and sound tests.

Also Read: A step-by-step guide to getting duplicate LTO OR/CR