Vass certificates for modified vehicles

[Vass Engineer]

I am writing this in response to what I’ve read about people in relation to obtaining a Vass certificate and cost associated not only on this forum but other as well.

Vass certificates are only for the state of Victoria, other states will have a different name for the same system employed. They are a legal document to certify that the modifications to a motor vehicle are still compliant in relation to Australian design rules (ADR’s), vehicle standards bulletins (VSB 6 & 14 plus others), road vehicle safety regulations (RVSR 2009), the motor vehicle act and regulations 1989, Australian standards or any other international standard that are used for the purpose of Manufacturing Motor vehicles.

Original vehicle manufacturers are required to supply vehicle’s in accordance to the approval that is issued to the manufacturer by the Australian government. If they supply a vehicle to the market that is not in accordance to the approval and found guilty of an offence they can be fined up to approximately 65,000 dollars per vehicle. The state laws of Victoria for a vehicle that is no longer compliant by modifications of the registered owner of the vehicle my face court proceedings against them any could be fined up to 11,000 dollars plus.

A Vass signatory will only supply a certificate if the modifications are compliant to the relevant common laws throughout Australia. The signatory is not responsible for any modification that has been done by the owner or by any 3rd party. The signatory is not obligated to the issue a certificate even if the vehicle does or doesn’t comply. The signatory is not paid by any government department for the work that is undertaken. If the owner of the vehicle who modifies a vehicle engages the services of a Vass signatory are required to pay the signatory directly.

If you are the registered owner of a vehicle you are fully responsible for the condition and any modifications of the vehicle while driving on any public road. If you modify a vehicle without obtaining a certificate then your vehicle may be deemed a non-compliant registered vehicle.

I will now give you some examples of a modification that could possibly make your vehicle non-compliant. Now before I go any further I say this I do not certify vehicles under 3.5 tonne rating but I do get calls for cars that have either been detected by police or people being inform they will need to obtain a certificate prior to registration.

Tyres and rims, people who change their tyres and rims generally do so without giving it in any second thoughts. The plain simple truth is the manufacturers’ will supply to the government at list of tyres and rims sizes that were tested in accordance to the relevant ADR’s. They then fit what is commonly known as a Tyre placard. This label will have the tyres / profiles rim sizes that we used when testing the particular model vehicle prior to approval.

So if you have say 20 inch rims and tyres fitted to your vehicle and they are not listed on the Tyre placard then your vehicle is no longer compliant to the original approval issued for that make and model of vehicle. Even if the tyres have the same rolling radius as the originals were, they would still be non-compliant. The reason being that vehicle was never tested with those tyres and rims fitted. This includes brake performances, yawing, suspension travel, Tyre and rim deflection and movement. This is just a few reasons why your vehicle would no longer be possibly compliant.

For an engineer to certify the tyres and rims are safe and will comply with all the relevant ADR’s he or she must do all relevant testing and maintain records to show that the modifications comply with the ADR’s for that year of manufacture. In order to do this the engineer would normally have to hire a testing facility. So innocence your $2000 set of tyres and rims may very well cost you if you decide that is exactly what you want in excess of 14,000 dollars or more for all the relevant testing to be concluded. There are exceptions to all of this however I suggest that most people do their homework before purchasing something that will make your vehicle possibly non-compliant.

Another example is raising the cabin area of a vehicle. This is very common in 4wd vehicle applications. The main issue here is once this is done you have changed the crumble zones & centre of gravity of the cabin area. Unless you can prove that the modification will have no affect either because the manufacturer originally tested the vehicle in that condition and is willing to issued a letter for compliance & approval kit, then you are most likely placing on yourself in a situation that could prove fatal if involved in an accident. There are several 4wd aftermarket accessories companies that will supply kits for vehicles. Make sure that they are prepared to give you certification to state that your vehicle will still be compliant as per the manufacturer’s original compliance approval. If you need to have it tested and I can guarantee your cabin will be no longer usable, so you may need to consider a 2nd vehicle at your cost for the relevant testing if has never being done before by a manufacturer or any qualified engineer or engineering company & I know of one company that charges around 50K to do the testing.

Another common modification is engine changes, Diesel to petrol or LPG, six cylinder inline to V8. Depending on the year of manufacture will determine what emissions testing needs to be done. So if you have say a 2005 model Toyota utility diesel & you change to chev 350 V8 then the vehicle will need to be tested in accordance to the required and emissions and noise testing for that year of manufacture for petrol engines. There are other issues associated with the engine changes fuel tanks, fuel lines, fuel pumps, protection circuits, pollution requirements are just a few items to consider.

In summary do not expect the authorised signatory to be responsible for your lack of understanding of what is an acceptable modification to any motor vehicle. If you do your homework first and make sure you understand what your legal obligation is for owning a registered vehicle in your name. Nobody is suggesting that you cannot modify your vehicle. Just don’t modify for your vehicle where it is no longer compliant.

If you do not modify for your vehicle, then you don’t need the services of an external engineer. This is no different to; if you don’t break the law then you won’t need the services of a lawyer. However if you do modify your vehicle then there is highly probable chance you may need the services of one or maybe both at some point in time.

Something else to consider is if you are involved in an accident no matter how big or small it may be a chance that your insurance company may refuse to pay for any damages and costs occurred. Having a Vass Certificate is no actual guarantee that it will be accepted by your insurance Company.

One other thing to consider, if you modify a vehicle from the OEM design you then become responsible for the whole vehicle entirely, if you develop problem or issues the manufacture in most cases will probably wipe there hands of the situation even if under warranty, once the vehicle modified from their original design they are no longer responsible for it.

So instead of asking how much does an engineer charge for your modified vehicle, ask yourself how much will it cost in the long term & what are the consequences for modifying the vehicle in the first place. So before anyone disputes what I have written & I’m sure there will be, do some simply research. Vass signatories are not law enforcement people but they are people that will help you if you go about it the right way & don’t expect there services for free when all the relevant information is on the web.