New Airbag rules for MOT

[carlo]

Has anyone heard this one yet; apparently from April 2012 (along with a host of other new rules) any vehicle originally fitted with an airbag will fail the MOT if it is missing/been replaced with a different wheel.

 

This could seriously piss me off as I always remove the airbag from my 405s and replace it with an earlier non airbag one. Question is, how are they going to know what was factory fitted? Did the manufacturer flag up all vehicles built with airbags at the time? The 405 had the warning lamp in the actual wheel as opposed to on the dash, so once you've removed it there doesn't appear any obvious sign of it having been there.

 

Sorry if this has been covered in an earlier thread.

[scaryoldcortina]

That's out of date already!

 

Special notice 3-2012 has firstly extended the bedding in period indefinatly so airbag component fails are only advisories, it goes on to amend the check for the SRS light so that it only fails if it illuminates to indicte a fault. No requirement for it to self test..... ok to remove the bulb. It also notes that "specialist modification" negates the requirements.

 

A chat today with a VOSA inspector revealed that "obviously missing" refers to holes where something should be, NOT a different type of wheel/seat fitment.

[wackywacerwill]

That's out of date already!

 

Special notice 3-2012 has firstly extended the bedding in period indefinatly so airbag component fails are only advisories, it goes on to amend the check for the SRS light so that it only fails if it illuminates to indicte a fault. No requirement for it to self test..... ok to remove the bulb. It also notes that "specialist modification" negates the requirements.

 

A chat today with a VOSA inspector revealed that "obviously missing" refers to holes where something should be, NOT a different type of wheel/seat fitment.

 

Great news, I was thinking they'd need to be wired into a pre ignition live feed to make them light up then go out again. I've a irrational fear of wiring so am very pleased with that latest SOC update

[e287yba]

That's out of date already!

 

Special notice 3-2012 has firstly extended the bedding in period indefinatly so airbag component fails are only advisories, it goes on to amend the check for the SRS light so that it only fails if it illuminates to indicte a fault. No requirement for it to self test..... ok to remove the bulb. It also notes that "specialist modification" negates the requirements.

 

A chat today with a VOSA inspector revealed that "obviously missing" refers to holes where something should be, NOT a different type of wheel/seat fitment.

 

Great news, I was thinking they'd need to be wired into a pre ignition live feed to make them light up then go out again. I've a irrational fear of wiring so am very pleased with that latest SOC update

 

I laughed at the news of the extension to the "bedding in period" - choked on my Whisky and had to spend 10 minutes scraping Pork Scratchings off the keyboard and screen!

 

Surely 12 months would have made sense 'from the start' as opposed to 3??? This would mean we can all get the advisories at least once (depending upon passing first time ) and then put things in place for 2013... An oblique example might be when I took my 309 for an MoT last September, and the Tester checked that the speedometer illumination worked as he knew it would be testable - working on best information 8 months ago - before the 309's next annual Test in September 2013.

 

Clearly things are somewhat shambolic in Running Dog UKplc's eagerness to implement the latest EU Vehicle Testing Diktat...

[egg]

Thought I'd resurrect this one. Interesting blog from 2014 (government one so official) - quoted in full....This is good news for me, as can disable my flashing airbag light on the Mondeo to pass the next MOT. 

 

Interested to know if anyone has been failed on this? Any MOT tester views?

 

Of course, I do appreciate that disabling the airbag is a bit stupid if you have a safety system in place that could save you in an accident

 

When testing SRS MIL (Malfunction Indicator Light) lamps we are only looking to see if the lamp indicates if there is a fault with the system. If no lamp is present or it doesn’t illuminate then it can’t indicate a system fault, so it can’t be failed. Some vehicles may also incorporate warning messages on dash board displays; these are in addition to any MIL lamps and should not be used as a reason for rejection.

 

Where passenger air bags are present it is also often possible to disarm them, or they may automatically disarm where there is little or no weight on the passenger seat. This may be accompanied by a lamp permanently on to highlight the airbag has been disarmed, this is not considered a SRS MIL, and therefore isn’t a reason for rejection.

https://mattersoftesting.blog.gov.uk/common-mistakes-made-by-mot-testers/ 

[They_all_do_that_sir]

So....does this mean if your airbag light doesn't illuminate at all you can't be failed?

 

Back to the great* old days of airbag lights being butchered out of the cluster to pass mot

[scaryoldcortina]

It does mean that. No light, no fail. I'm not even allowed to use the huge flashing "AIRBAG FAULT" warning on the info display of most moderns as a reason!

 

This doesn't mean the rules won't change again though.

[dave j]

So a piece of carefully placed tape = no airbag light fail?