Heavy vehicle owners may have their preventative maintenance program (PMP) recognized to be exempted from mandatory periodic mechanical inspections.
Under the Highway Safety Code, owners of certain vehicles, such as heavy vehiclesVehicle with a gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of 4,500 kg or more, as indicated on the compliance label., are required to have their vehicles undergo mandatory periodic mechanical inspections.
Owners may implement a PMP and have it recognized by us to no longer have to submit their vehicles to a mandatory inspection. It is the owner's choice whether to do so.
A PMP is an effective way of ensuring that vehicles remain safe at all times for all road users.
Vehicle owners with a registered PMP may do their own servicing or contract the work out to a third party, but they are responsible for seeing that the work is done correctly and at the proper intervals.
Preventative maintenance allows mechanics to carry out inspections and make changes or adjustments.
If the mechanic detects an anomaly that may lead to the improper working order of a component before the next servicing, he or she must immediately make the necessary repairs, changes or adjustments, or plan to do so before the next servicing.
Mechanics who have been assigned to the preventive maintenance of road vehicles with a gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of 7,258 kg or more must have passed a preventive maintenance examination recognized by the SAAQ (HSC, s. 543.3.1).
The SAAQ authorizes mechanics to carry out preventive maintenance on vehicles with a GVWR of less than 7,258 kg if they meet at least one of the following conditions (RSSRV, par. (4) of s. 209):
Mechanics are therefore not required to hold a PMP card in order to carry out preventive maintenance on vehicles with a GVWR of less than 7,258 kg.
Once your PMP has been recognized, you have obligations and responsibilities to meet, including:
Contact your local Service du contrôle routier.
A PMP does not release owners of the requirement to maintain their vehicles in good condition and other legal obligations.
Owners who want to add a new vehicle to the PMP or withdraw a vehicle from the PMP must fill out the form Modification des véhicules soumis au programme d’entretien préventif (PDF, 160.2 ko) (in French only) and return it to the SAAQ.
Last update: May 17, 2022