Airbag light - MOT fail? (E39 content)

[hornetrider]

Chaps

Just checking out a bargain barge today and it had the airbag light on. Seems to be conflicting views on the net - is this an MOT fail or not?

[Jimmyarm]

No its not (yet).

There is talk of the Airbag system being incorporated into the MOT in the (near) future so if you intend to keep it get it checked out first as it could be an expensive fix.

[Vixpy1]

Not at the moment

[Targarama]

My Brother's 3 series has has it's airbag light on for over 3 years, no MOT trouble.

[joebongo]

You can get a £10 bypass plug for the passenger seat sensor (bet you a pint that's what it is - seems to be the cause of most of this on that age Beamers).

Look on fleabay - no MOT fail then cos the light will be off. Need to do one myself.

[hornetrider]

Thanks fellas!

/thread

[dannytherev]

Not a failure atm but from 1st Jan it will be hth

[hornetrider]

dannytherev said:

Not a failure atm but from 1st Jan it will be hth

Ah, mate! Where's this info from?

[HarryW]

If you get other strange warning lamps then may be the contactor's for the ignition key switch (i.e. the electrical barrel directly behind the ig key)

[icepop]

Quick question then regarding the airbag light. If it's on, and it's a warning light presumably, then might it not mean that the airbag is faulty. In that case, in the event of an accident where the bag does not activate, and say, the passenger in seriously injured, what will be the insurance ramifications.

I'm sure the airbag fault code would be stored somewhere. And isn't the cars insurance rating based on fully functioning safety systems.

[dannytherev]

hornetrider said:

dannytherev said:

Not a failure atm but from 1st Jan it will be hth

Ah, mate! Where's this info from?

It's on VOSA's site can't find the complete page now but have a look here it says most of the changes
http://mondeouk.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=52&amp...

[Fish981]

dannytherev said:

It's on VOSA's site can't find the complete page now but have a look here it says most of the changes
http://mondeouk.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=52&amp...

It's a discussion at the moment. No changes/dates have been decided. We were told, as MOT testers, that the dual purpose vehicle rule was being changed 2 years ago, that still hasn't happened, so I wouldn't hold your breath that this lot will happen anytime soon.