If you own a car, you’ve probably heard about MOT, which stands for ‘Motoring Certificate’. The initials stand for Ministry of Transport and in the UK, the MOT certifies that a vehicle meets minimum safety standards required by UK law.

Part of the vehicle’s safety tests include airbag safety. So what happens when your car fails? Do you need an airbag to pass MOT?

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Do You Need An Airbag To Pass MOT?

The tester must check that all airbags fitted as original equipment are present, and it would fail if an airbag is missing. The only exception is when the vehicle has been extensively modified.

Can Airbags Fail MOT?

If an airbag is faulty, it could fail to deploy as intended. This could increase the risk of injury in the event of an accident and therefore fail an MOT inspection.

The examiner will check for any warning lights on the dashboard during inspection. If there is a problem with a front or side airbag and the light is illuminated, it will fail its MOT.

As stated in the DVSA’s MOT guidelines, “If the vehicle has been modified by fitting either a dual stage driver’s airbag or a passenger’s airbag that is not fitted as standard equipment by the manufacturer, then a certificate of conformity must be produced at test.”

However, if you have had an airbag replaced after an accident and do not have proof of conformity for your vehicle, you may be able to use an EC Certificate of Conformity from another vehicle from the same series (but not from another model) with identical parts.

Vehicles that have been modified to include an additional airbag may also need to undergo further testing in order to receive a certificate of conformity.

Is Driving Without Airbags Illegal In UK?

It is illegal to drive a car without airbags if the airbags were fitted as standard. However, it is possible to have them removed and still be legal as long as you do this with an authorised mechanic, who will need to fill out the correct paperwork.

The law requires that cars have seatbelts and airbags if they were fitted as standard. If you remove airbags, though, or disable them by disconnecting the battery or pulling fuses, then you’re breaking the law and could be fined at least $200.

If you want your car to be legally roadworthy without airbags, you’ll need to get an authorised mechanic to remove them for you. They will need to fill in a form that details how it was done and send it off to the DVLA. Once this form has been submitted, your car will be considered legal on the roads – even if it does not have airbags fitted.

How Can I Bypass The Airbag Light?

The airbag light is there for a reason. Bypassing the light is not a good idea. If you are in an accident, and the airbags don’t deploy when they should, you could be seriously hurt.

It’s there because there is a problem with your car’s airbag system. You should take your car to a mechanic and have it checked out. There may be something as simple as a loose connection that needs to be tightened up, or it could be more serious, like a broken sensor.

The airbag light is designed to alert the driver about the problems with the SRS (supplemental restraint system) or passenger-restraint systems. But if the light stays on after installation, it generally means there’s a problem with the wiring or connectors.

It’s possible that you’ve damaged a wire while installing the seat. If so, look for any obvious signs such as cuts in the wire insulator, loose or disconnected wires, or corroded terminals. Carefully examine the entire path of both wires from the front connector to where they connect to the seat. If you find no damage, then there may be an internal failure in one of the components between those points.

It’s also possible that you’ve installed your seat improperly and it’s shifted out of position since you last drove your car. If this is the case, readjust it until it’s secure again.

Will Car Pass MOT With Warning Light On?

It is a common question and it’s one we get asked often. We’re going to answer this question in the assumption that you have a warning light on and you do not know what the warning light means.

If you have a warning light on your dashboard, this could be for a number of reasons from having a flat tyre to low oil pressure. Regardless of what the warning light means, if it is illuminated it is classed as a major fault by the MOT tester and will result in an MOT failure.

The only way to ensure that your car will pass its MOT is to ensure that all faults are repaired before taking your car in for its annual test.

How Much Does An MOT Cost?

We’ve got some great news – It’s very cheap! The government sets the maximum fee that an approved testing station can charge for an MOT test at around £54.85 (including VAT). This price applies to cars up to 3 years old – if your vehicle is older than 3 years old, there is no maximum price set by the government.

Will An Oil Change Fail MOT?

It is the legal responsibility of you, the car owner, to ensure that your vehicle is in a roadworthy condition. This means keeping up with essential maintenance such as oil changes and tyre pressure checks. It’s a good idea to perform a thorough check of your car before you have an MOT performed so that you can get any problems fixed before they become an issue.

If your vehicle fails its MOT, then it must be repaired and re-tested within ten working days or it can’t be driven on the road. So, if you’ve left it too late to get your car serviced and you have an MOT booked in first thing tomorrow morning, it’s probably not worth risking it.

Is The Airbag Light Or SRS On A MOT Failure?

Is the airbag light or SRS on your dashboard? Is it a MOT failure?

If the airbag light is illuminated, and the warning message says that the Airbag System is at fault, then the answer is YES, it will fail its MOT. The reason being that an active airbag system warning message indicates that there is an issue with the Airbag System and it may not deploy in an accident.

However, if the warning message says ‘passenger airbag off’ or ‘airbag off’ (or similar), then this just means that the passenger or driver side airbag has been deactivated by either a switch in the vehicle or by weight sensor in seat. In which case the car will not fail its MOT.

Also, if you have a pre-2001 vehicle, then there should be no SRS on your dashboard and therefore no issue.

Do You Need An Airbag To Pass Inspection?

A reader writes in recently with an interesting question about the inspection sticker for his car:

“I’ve added a lot of aftermarket parts to my car, including a new steering wheel. I still had the original and it was in good shape, so I’m wondering if I need to remove the new one and put the old one back on before taking my car in for inspection.”

I think that’s a great question, because it gets to the heart of what inspectors are looking for. As long as all your lights work, your brakes aren’t shot and your exhaust isn’t hanging out on the ground, you should be fine. But what if you’ve made more significant modifications? There are certain things that need to be present and accounted for on every vehicle. And chief among them is the airbag.

If you swap out your steering wheel, it’s very important that you get an airbag-equipped replacement. If you don’t have an airbag, or if it’s not functioning properly, that’s a serious safety concern. That could prevent you from passing inspection — even if everything else on your car checks out.”