2006 Code of Virginia § 46.2-1065 - Steering gear; installation, sale, etc., of repair kit or preventive maintenance kit for use on par...

46.2-1065. Steering gear; installation, sale, etc., of repair kit orpreventive maintenance kit for use on part of steering gear prohibited.

Every motor vehicle driven on a highway shall be equipped with steering gearadequate to ensure the safe control of the vehicle. Such steering gear shallnot show signs of weakness or breaking under ordinary conditions. TheSuperintendent may promulgate regulations establishing standards of adequacyof steering gear, which shall be the current standard specifications ofsteering gear adopted by the United States Bureau of Standards or the Societyof Automotive Engineers, or the regulations of the federal Department ofTransportation, for determining whether or not any motor vehicle operated onany highway conforms to the requirements of the Department of State Police.

No Virginia-registered motor vehicle shall be issued a safety inspectionapproval sticker or be operated on a highway in the Commonwealth if equippedwith a repair kit or preventive maintenance kit installed on a tie rod end,idler arm, ball joint or any other part of the vehicle's steering gear.

It shall be unlawful for any person to sell or offer for sale any repair kitor preventive maintenance kit for use on a tie rod end, idler arm, balljoint, or any other part of a vehicle's steering gear to prevent wear or torepair or remove play or looseness in the steering gear components.

Nothing contained in this section shall prohibit or prevent shop adjustmentsor the replacement of parts or complete components of a motor vehicle'ssteering gear that meet Society of Automotive Engineers standards ofexcellence, in order to correct deficiencies in the steering gear.

(Code 1950, 46-288; 1958, c. 541, 46.1-282; 1968, c. 172; 1970, c. 23;1983, c. 226; 1989, c. 727.)