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The inspection halls are now getting ready to combat SMS inspections and cloned cars using new digital tools.
From the turn of the year at the latest, your car inspection starts in a way that calls for an explanation: the inspection employee fishes out the phone and takes a picture before the mandatory health check of the car can begin.
It is a consequence of new legislation adopted by a unanimous Folketing. Several measures are intended to prevent the so-called “text” inspections, where scumbags in the inspection industry have inspected vehicles without actually having inspected the car. This was revealed by DR’s consumer program “Kontant” in 2023. At Applus+ Bilsyn, the new measures are welcomed:
“With the new requirements and digital tools, we ensure greater transparency and eliminate fraud in the industry. At the same time, the new measures ensure a more focused and thorough inspection process, which ultimately increases traffic safety and creates more safety on the roads,” says John Gantzhorn, technical manager at Applus+ Car inspection.
The car’s presence must be documented with the app
The Swedish Transport Agency has developed the app eSyn+ for the country’s vision halls. It uses the smartphone’s built-in GPS and camera to document that the car is actually present. Applus+ Bilsyn is ready to use the new aids. It takes place as follows:
The inspection employee checks the car into Applus+’s own computer system. The system tells the eSyn+ app that a vision needs to be initiated. The employee then logs into the app with MitID, where the smartphone has already found the car’s data and geolocated the inspection hall.
The employee confirms, under criminal liability, that the two things are correct – and documents the car’s presence with a photo where the location and the car’s number plate can be clearly read. The image is printed on the inspection report.
The eSyn+ app is available to the examination halls from 1 October 2024 and will be mandatory to use from 1 January 2025.
Dongle reveals cloned cars
A car has a unique “fingerprint” in the form of a 17-digit chassis number. This contains information such as the car’s age, engine variant, etc. This master data has increasingly been misused by car thieves, where wanted, stolen cars are made “legal” by transferring a chassis number from a total damaged car in the same colour. The wanted car is then sold on to unsuspecting dealers and consumers.
In the past year, the inspection centers have used a digital weapon to combat cloned cars in connection with registration inspections. A registration inspection is relevant when a car e.g. have a towbar installed, or are imported used from abroad and must have Danish number plates.
The chassis number is checked in the car’s computer by fitting a dongle (an electronic diagnostic tool) into the car’s diagnostic socket, which is typically located under the steering column. At the same time, a visual check is made of the chassis number, which is carved into the car’s bodywork. If there is a discrepancy, it may be a sign that the car has been cloned.
“It requires further investigation if the frame number in the computer does not match the physical one in the car. However, there can be a good explanation for this if the customer has had the car’s computer replaced with a used one from a scrapyard,” explains John Gantzhorn.
Mandatory check of the car’s automatic emergency call system
Cars type-approved in the EU after 1 March 2018 must be equipped with an automatic emergency call system that contacts the emergency center in the event of an accident. “With the dongle, we also check that the eCall system is working correctly”, says John Gantzhorn.
If you are in doubt as to whether your car has eCall, you can look for the eCall or SOS button, which is usually located in the ceiling near the rear-view mirror. Newer cars type-approved before March 2018 are not necessarily equipped with the system.
Help the EU with accurate consumption measurements
Consumption figures for fossil-fuel cars are given today according to the so-called WLTP norm, which can be difficult for consumers to achieve in practice. Therefore, the EU Commission is working to collect more realistic data with On-Board Fuel Consumption Monitoring (OBFCM), which reads the real fuel consumption and number of kilometers traveled in the car’s computer for up to 15 years after the car’s first registration.
“With the dongle, we can read out this data and pass it on to the investigation, but only with people’s consent,” says John Gantzhorn. He emphasizes that the GDPR rules give you the right to reject data collection. If your car is registered after 1 January 2021 and runs on fossil fuels, the inspection hall will read out OBFCM data at periodic inspections, unless this is opted out with reference to the GDPR.
Denmark’s largest and oldest car inspection company
Applus+ carries out over 500,000 inspections and inspections per year, and on this basis has built up a great deal of expertise that not only benefits customers in connection with car inspections, but also when we offer other advice in the field of car testing: Used car certificate, Condition certificate or Battery Certificate etc. Our focus is on carrying out the work with a uniformly high quality. And it is very important to us to deliver a service that meets the customer’s satisfaction. Therefore, we are continuously measured and checked by a number of external partners.
Source: it-kanalen.dk
