MOT Failure: Sabelt steering wheel (Drivers airbag missing)

[James28]

Just a heads up, they told me the law has now changed, don't know how strict others are on it though.

Clio failed its MOT today for among other things, having the Sabelt Steering Wheel.
Reason: (Sport steering wheel without substantial modification to track car) Drivers airbag missing [5.4.1]

Also, if you're running with a 3/4 remember to swap it back for the full size one as mine failed on that too.
Reason: Front registration plate with character(s) which are not the correct height [6.3.4a]

 

[Big Bob]

Just a heads up, they told me the law has now changed, don't know how strict others are on it though.

Clio failed its MOT today for among other things, having the Sabelt Steering Wheel.
Reason: (Sport steering wheel without substantial modification to track car) Drivers airbag missing [5.4.1]

Also, if you're running with a 3/4 remember to swap it back for the full size one as mine failed on that too.
Reason: Front registration plate with character(s) which are not the correct height [6.3.4a]

this is bull s**t !!!! what a bunch of w*****s air bags are the worst thing about safety on new cars there deadly i once had to hold a guys neck together cos his air bag pushed his head into the rear view mirror and he was bleeding like f**k.

 

[Feates172]

Interesting, what about cars that don't have steering wheel airbags?

Il keep mine in situ until my next one, see what happens

 

[M.C..]

this is bull s**t !!!! what a bunch of w**kers air bags are the worst thing about safety on new cars there deadly i once had to hold a guys neck together cos his air bag pushed his head into the rear view mirror and he was bleeding like f**k.

he probably was not wearing a seatbelt?

I e-mailed VOSA about things like that as I want to build a track car and remove all airbags fit a cage , buckets harnesses etc and they said if all that is done it sould be fine for the MOT but if I just remove a airbag it will fail.

 

[Big Bob]

he probably was not wearing a seatbelt?

I e-mailed VOSA about things like that as I want to build a track car and remove all airbags fit a cage , buckets harnesses etc and they said if all that is done it sould be fine for the MOT but if I just remove a airbag it will fail.

still wearing it when i got to him

 

[Big Bob]

he probably was not wearing a seatbelt?

I e-mailed VOSA about things like that as I want to build a track car and remove all airbags fit a cage , buckets harnesses etc and they said if all that is done it sould be fine for the MOT but if I just remove a airbag it will fail.

so it will fail if i remove the drivers air bag but if i remove both then it will pass ?????...... thats mental and makes no sense !!!!

 

[M.C..]

was he wearing it like a chav with his arm over the top so no upper body restraint?

 

[Saner]

so it will fail if i remove the drivers air bag but if i remove both then it will pass ?????...... thats mental and makes no sense !!!!

Your taking what he said out of context.

 

[M.C..]

so it will fail if i remove the drivers air bag but if i remove both then it will pass ?????...... thats mental and makes no sense !!!!

no basically you need to make it into a "proper" track car buckets, harnesses possibly cage so as soon as they see it, it is obvious what it is used for

 

[Big Bob]

was he wearing it like a chav with his arm over the top so no upper body restraint?

lol i dont think so he was about 50 but you never know

 

[MicKPM]

I've not heard of anyone playing this card yet as its a bit "grey" but using the "what about cars that didn't have airbags" isn't a valid argument as they were made in an era when they weren't a legal requirement. The X65 unfortunatly was so technically you have to have them where Renault placed it.

I would be interested to hear what VOSA have to say on this as i'm suprised they failed you on the Sabelt wheel if the warning lights are functioning correctly.

 

[Big Bob]

Your taking what he said out of context.

yes ok maybe i was but you see waht im saying laws need to be black and white not some greyish guess

 

[Big Bob]

I've not heard of anyone playing this card yet as its a bit "grey" but using the "what about cars that didn't have airbags" isn't a valid argument as they were made in an era when they weren't a legal requirement. The X65 unfortunatly was so technically you have to have them where Renault placed it.

I would be interested to hear what VOSA have to say on this as i'm suprised they failed you on the Sabelt wheel if the warning lights are functioning correctly.

yeah as far as i was aware its fine aslong as you dont induce a fault on the rest of system.

 

[Saner]

yes ok maybe i was but you see waht im saying laws need to be black and white not some greyish guess

I think you would quickly retract that thought if it were true.

In this case its quite clear, you remove an air-bag or even two, you are making the car less safe, so its a fail. However, if you remove them and fit a cage and harnesses you are making it safer than when it left the factory, so its a pass

 

[Fletcher]

no basically you need to make it into a "proper" track car buckets, harnesses possibly cage so as soon as they see it, it is obvious what it is used for

This is my understanding of it. I have no airbags (sabelt wheel) but am running harnesses etc.

 

[M.C..]

this is what VOSA sent me
Dear Mark

Thank you for your email enquiry dated 17th January 2013, concerning
an
MOT.

Please find below the response we have received from our MOT
Technical
Standards department.

When airbags become a failable item,
scheduled for April this year, there
will be an additional paragraph in the
Introduction about modified
vehicles. This paragraph will
state:

"Where a vehicle has been extensively modified or converted,
certain
Reasons for Rejection, such as for components ‘missing where fitted
as
standard’ should not be applied, for example:
a car converted for
rally use (i.e. rear seats removed and fitted with a
roll cage and full
harness seat belts etc.) may have been converted so
as not to require a
brake servo, power steering or airbags
a car converted to a stretch
limousine may no longer be fitted with
curtain airbags or functional
Electronic Stability Control.

Therefore, if you carry out the
modifications you plans to make, then it
should be okay.

I hope this
information has assisted you with your enquiry, but if you have
any further
questions please do not hesitate to contact us again.

Kind
Regards

Rebecca
Customer Service Centre
VOSA Operations
Directorate
Tel: 0300 123 9000

 

[Fred@BTM]

load of rubbish, we've had a few pass last week with aftermarket non airbag wheels

 

[l33th3tr33]

That's bullshit. Luckily my dad knows a guy that will overlook this for me. (I hope)

 

[James28]

Yea I think my tester was a bit of a bellend tbh. Some old guy who did it last year as well and is anal.
​
First thing he said to me as I gave him the key was you've got a bit of a funny front number plate. Didn't tell me it would fail
Pisses me off a bit because what with that and the steering wheel, surely as soon as he saw the car he knew he was going to fail it, so why not just tell me straight away so I can change it quickly before they do it, rather than wasting everyone's time and doing the whole thing and then telling me after when I pick it up. Especially as I get a free retest so not like it was for the money..

I have resistors so airbag lights function as normal.
I have harnesses, but no cage.

 

[SBV116]

load of rubbish, we've had a few pass last week with aftermarket non airbag wheels

testers discretion must come into it aswell?

 

[Russ_16v]

this is what VOSA sent me
Dear Mark

Thank you for your email enquiry dated 17th January 2013, concerning
an
MOT.

Please find below the response we have received from our MOT
Technical
Standards department.

When airbags become a failable item,
scheduled for April this year, there
will be an additional paragraph in the
Introduction about modified
vehicles. This paragraph will
state:

"Where a vehicle has been extensively modified or converted,
certain
Reasons for Rejection, such as for components ‘missing where fitted
as
standard’ should not be applied, for example:
a car converted for
rally use (i.e. rear seats removed and fitted with a
roll cage and full
harness seat belts etc.) may have been converted so
as not to require a
brake servo, power steering or airbags
a car converted to a stretch
limousine may no longer be fitted with
curtain airbags or functional
Electronic Stability Control.

Therefore, if you carry out the
modifications you plans to make, then it
should be okay.

I hope this
information has assisted you with your enquiry, but if you have
any further
questions please do not hesitate to contact us again.

Kind
Regards

Rebecca
Customer Service Centre
VOSA Operations
Directorate
Tel: 0300 123 9000

An interesting read that mate, i bet a lot of testing stations won't aware mind, it would be good to carry that around like you have to do with the cups with regards to the rear brake bias

 

[Oldtimer49er]

Guys, I,m no expert on mot,s but come on ,if you put a car in for an mot and it fails on an illegal plate , surely your the one to blame not the tester, not sure on the airbag issue, so I,m not going to comment on that one.

 

[Canary172]

The number plate rule seems to be relatively well known (around on CS at least), but hey we all live & learn! As for the steering wheel; this is an interesting development! I had a change of wheel on my wishlist of modifications but now it seems like I'll have to add a few more in order guaruntee a pass of MOT

I remember my brother getting an MOT advisory once for having the rear seats removed from his Mk2 Polo...

 

[lee922]

I would be of thinking that what they are saying that if the car is fitted with airbags from the factory and used on the road then they will be fitted.. if used on a track , ie circuit racing, etc then no additional need for them due to to safety measures from harnesses, rollcage etc.

Its like the law about lights on the dashboard are fails now...
​

 

[Mr bean]

Haha some Mot places make me laugh when they think they know the mot law. shouldn't have failed on the steering wheel at most should have been an advisory. live and learn I'm afraid

 

[Andyman]

What's the logic behind this new airbag law? What difference is it going to make? You might injure your head if involved in a accident?. OK but surely that is a personal choice not a vehicle roadworthy or distraction one :S

Fine if its a road legal track car but if its a road legal road car its a no no. WTF lol Makes no sense

 

[Mark_P]

Not wanting to hijack the thread, but........... MOTing with a sensor (engine) warning light on? Should still pass with that assuming emissions aren't effected?

 

[Oldtimer49er]

What's the logic behind this new airbag law? What difference is it going to make? You might injure your head if involved in a accident?. OK but surely that is a personal choice not a vehicle roadworthy or distraction one :S

Fine if its a road legal track car but if its a road legal road car its a no no. WTF lol Makes no sense

As Lee992 says, if a car is fitted with airbags as standard ( factory fitted) for road use, surely they should be there when the mot is carried out, as the same with lights etc, if you fit extra to the car they must be working and legal

 

[Andyman]

The steering wheel still works without the airbag. As we know all the airbag does is protect the head if involved in a accident. If someone chooses to remove this then that is surely their risk and choice rather than being a modification which impedes any driving of the vehicle or the safety of others.

 

[MG cup]

A tester at a tuning firm beside me said if you can demonstrate that the airbag system has been removed completely I.e no light when ignition is turned on then it is passable, same goes for ABS and remember your dash does a light check on start up so its easy to spot.

As far as management lights, any dash light illuminated will result in a fail according to new legislation, hard to get round EML as you can't remove that system and he should also check for it illuminating with ignition on then go out when started.

A lot of it is down to testers understanding though.

 

[Gally]

I just always thought "if it's there it has to work" was the rule.

Although you do need to find a friendlier mot tester.

 

[MG cup]

I just always thought "if it's there it has to work" was the rule.

Although you do need to find a friendlier mot tester.

Thats pretty much exactly it, except the changes to EML light.

A tester is not going to remove your dash top and look for air bag and side impact sensors etc so just blank the light and blag it basically.

 

[coolspot007007]

Not wanting to hijack the thread, but........... MOTing with a sensor (engine) warning light on? Should still pass with that assuming emissions aren't effected?

I think as long as it's not safety related you're ok, so no ABS/TCS/EBD, Airbag etc. Advisory for any others.

 

[lemonnobby]

Eml lights are not a failure. as a tester its all very grey area with the airbag. you can fail it even if the light works ok as it should be there.... but its when people know better you get issues

 

[scotty2hotty81]

I was waiting for this to flair up, vosa should not of implemented the srs failure, it was in limbo for ages, ferraris have a srs service light on there cars what will happen to them mot time when it comes on? There are either going to be some big bills for people or a load of cars going to the crusher.

 

[MG cup]

Eml lights are not a failure. as a tester its all very grey area with the airbag. you can fail it even if the light works ok as it should be there.... but its when people know better you get issues

As far as EML, some cars share that for emissions faults so ?!?

If the SRS light isn't present yet you know that car was fitted with airbags and the guy has said he has removed the system. What would you do?

 

[Sargara]

Testers are always hit and miss id just try somewhere else and hopefully they either: aren't aware and blissfully pass you or are "friendly" enough and pass you

 

[lemonnobby]

As far as EML, some cars share that for emissions faults so ?!?

If the SRS light isn't present yet you know that car was fitted with airbags and the guy has said he has removed the system. What would you do?

The only lights are power steering abs airbag electronic handbrake brake fluid low. off the top of my head.
If the srs was totally removed properly why and what's the car being used for.

 

[MicKPM]

Am in right in saying that by removing safety items originally fitted at factory you are technically invalidating the vehicles type approval?

We all knew the day would come so time to get yourselves an MOT steering wheel. If you've got resistors or had your SRS configured correctly then you don't need to actually plug the bag units in.

 

[The Chubby Pirate]

I thought if it wasn't there, theu couldn't test/fail it?