Kids or dogs? Very amusing! 😆

What’s that?

Some posts in this thread mentioned cleanliness - what level of cleanliness of the outer part of the car is expected? Am I expected to clean the chassis or the engine itself?

My car is 1.5 years old, it went through an inspection at dealer last month, but I'm starting to get worried after reading some of the comments here. While I'm pretty certain that no oil leaks can happen, I don't know how exactly clear should be the car.

Dogs. Of course.

YMMV - Your mileage may vary. Which pretty much applies to any comment about how things work in Switzerland.

Why do you need one on a car that is 1.5 years old?

Yes, but the garage dude has got them through with minor oil leaks, etc.

Tom

Moving to Switzerland. Mfk test is required when getting Swiss plates for an "imported" car, even when it's brand new.

Why are MFKs so scary?

- importing a new car, they will see it's new and be more interested that it confirms to EU standards. If you have an oil leak on such a young car
- if your car is old and you did not get a letter, sit back and relax. Why worry about something out of your control? Just ensure you maintain your car according to the schedule set by the manufacturer

This is probably a lot canton specific. However, where I come from (Nidwalden/Obwalden) - the MFK guys are actually pretty helpful and even when they have come across something not conformant - they have only given me some sort of acknowledgement that I would correct that non-conformity within one month (without going back to them to validate). Obviously - these were some minor things - e.g. worn-out tires which in their opinion could have represented risk; worn-out propeller on the boat etc). I have pushed a lot of inspections through MFK (various vehicles) and I've predominantly seen car owners being there for inspection with exception to old-timers (accompanied by mechanics). In terms of cleanliness - just give it a good sprey out-side (including the bottom) and some basic vacuuming inside and you should be fine.

Since my car is relatively new, I was planning only to manually clean the engine with damp cloth, clean the inside carefully and go to local car wash for a normal program with cleaning of felgs and underbody. However, I checked the website of Zurich's Strasseverkehrsamt and found the following: "Das Fahrzeug muss den Vorschriften entsprechen, betriebssicher und gereinigt sein (Unterbodenwäsche der Autowaschanlage genügt nicht)."

That sounds oddly specific. If I follow the rules literally, then I would need to order a Pre-Mfk cleaning at a garage, but I want to avoid jet wash of engine at all costs. Anyone had a recent experience in Zurich and can share how anal are they when it comes to cleanliness?

It's not so much the engine as the brake lines etc. They need to be able to see if there any fluid leaks, rust holes etc. If the wheel arches are caked in crud then they'll probably grumble.
I used to take mine to Aesch Waschanlage where they have a couple of lifts.
I've never done anything to the engine other than wipe the accessible parts down with a cloth.
You don't need to do a full concourse clean but many people seem to think this way.

Quick jet wash of a newish car will be fine, thats what I did with cars aged from 8 to 30 years & never had an issue.

Well, my old 1979 Harley failed its MFK because the bottom of the engine was not clean. They said it needed to be clean so they could check the gaskets were sealing properly, had nothing to do with brake lines being close.

This thing leaked oil when brand new in the showroom back in 79...