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Jul 22, 2018 20:35:08 GMT
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My wife has a bmw e36. The airbag light has came on a few times over the last couple of years. It’s been in twice for repairs and needed new SRS sensors. It’s now come back on again. A local mechanic plugged a fault reader into it and it was showing a fault with the airbag igniter. He said the repair would be quite expensive.
This got me thinking, I could remove the airbag steering wheel, fit an aftermarket wheel without an airbag and remove the airbag light. Would this pass it’s mot like this?
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steveg
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Jul 22, 2018 21:00:37 GMT
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Not sure of the exact wording and it might have changed now but was along the lines of it would be a fail if it was obviously missing. You could take that as if you fitted a genuine steering wheel that didn't have an airbag and no warning lights came up it wouldn't obviously be missing. If there was a gaping hole where the air bag should be then it's fairly obvious.
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Jul 22, 2018 21:13:47 GMT
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Not sure of the exact wording and it might have changed now but was along the lines of it would be a fail if it was obviously missing. You could take that as if you fitted a genuine steering wheel that didn't have an airbag and no warning lights came up it wouldn't obviously be missing. If there was a gaping hole where the air bag should be then it's fairly obvious. I’ve googled what you have said, and I think the law seems to be, if the car was fitted with an airbag then it needs to be present and working. I think all e36s had air bags as standard so it looks like an aftermarket wheel is not going to be an option. |
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Jul 22, 2018 21:32:47 GMT
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 I was wrong, not all e36 came with an airbag. So we could possibly buy and fit this, and remove the airbag light. |
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steveg
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Jul 22, 2018 23:35:09 GMT
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I'm not sure how you get on but I have done something similar. Some cars didn't have air bags to begin with and unless a tester went looking for the info probably wouldn't think twice about it.
Although slightly different my other half MX5 didn't come with ABS fitted as standard and that was built in 99.
It would be interesting to hear what any MOT testers say.
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ChasR
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Mot air bag question ChasR
@chasr
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Jul 23, 2018 11:16:11 GMT
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What year is the E36?
To my knowledge almost all of them had airbags, at least after 1995 anyway.
The ignitor could be as simple as the seat wiring beneath the seat. It's a common issue; it happened on my 323i. where a mobile guy fixed it.
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steveg
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Jul 23, 2018 11:27:47 GMT
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If you did remove them you might also have to consider how the seat belts work if they have pre-tensioners. There might be insurance issues as well.
ABS wasn't compulsory until 2004 but I haven't found anything stating when air bags were.
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Jul 23, 2018 11:58:14 GMT
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The car is on a R reg, I think it’s a 1997. I hadn’t really thought that the seat belts would be linked into the system. I bet there’s a high chance that they are. I’m starting to think it might be better to try and get it looked at again. The first 2 times it’s been repaired were due to problems with wiring and sensors under the seats.
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mk2cossie
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Mot air bag question mk2cossie
@mk2cossie
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Jul 23, 2018 12:28:02 GMT
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As far as the manual is concerned for the MOT, the light doesn't have to come on (advisory only for light inop), but any airbag or pretensioner gubbins obviously missing is a fail. Which to my mind, would imply fitting the non-airbag steering wheel would be ok, an aftermarket one with seperate boss would be a bit hazey  |
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Jul 23, 2018 14:42:21 GMT
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As far as the manual is concerned for the MOT, the light doesn't have to come on (advisory only for light inop), but any airbag or pretensioner gubbins obviously missing is a fail. Which to my mind, would imply fitting the non-airbag steering wheel would be ok, an aftermarket one with seperate boss would be a bit hazey Would the easiest answer to be just remove the airbag bulb? Can’t see any tester unbolting the dash panels to check if a bulb is missing. |
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mk2cossie
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Mot air bag question mk2cossie
@mk2cossie
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Jul 23, 2018 17:41:10 GMT
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As far as the manual is concerned for the MOT, the light doesn't have to come on (advisory only for light inop), but any airbag or pretensioner gubbins obviously missing is a fail. Which to my mind, would imply fitting the non-airbag steering wheel would be ok, an aftermarket one with seperate boss would be a bit hazey Would the easiest answer to be just remove the airbag bulb? Can’t see any tester unbolting the dash panels to check if a bulb is missing. Yup, that's why there is the advisory for airbag light not working  |
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Jul 23, 2018 21:56:39 GMT
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I called to my local garage on the way home and luckily the fella had just finished a re test and had nothing else in and he was happy to log onto his computer and spend a bit of time with me looking at mot rules for airbags.
I can’t recall the exact words, but it does say if the car was originally fitted with an air bag then it has to be present and working. So swapping to a non airbag wheel on a 1997 e36 isn’t going to work. We spent quite a while looking through it for anything to do with airbag lights. The obvious one is there, if it’s lit up showing a fault then it’s s fail. But the good news is there is nothing at all that covers the airbag light not working. So the bulb could be removed and the car will pass.
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mk2cossie
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Mot air bag question mk2cossie
@mk2cossie
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Jul 23, 2018 23:00:51 GMT
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That's what I said above More or less, and I am a tester  |
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Rich
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Mot air bag question Rich
@foxmcintyre
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One supposes the pass and advise for no SRS light is to accommodate cars with fully mechanical airbag systems like my Jeep. No light, no ECU, just an airbag in the middle of the wheel, triggered somehow by Chrysler magic. Which no doubt means it won't work.
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mk2cossie
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Mot air bag question mk2cossie
@mk2cossie
Club Retro Rides Member 77
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I guess so. Although I was told ages ago it's because there are vehicles with passenger airbags that don't have an inhibit switch. So the wiring gets cut or connector left off. Also specially adapted vehicles as well, and they don't have the facilities to rejig the SRS system so out with the bulb  |
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Ryannn
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Jul 31, 2018 11:38:13 GMT
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One supposes the pass and advise for no SRS light is to accommodate cars with fully mechanical airbag systems like my Jeep. No light, no ECU, just an airbag in the middle of the wheel, triggered somehow by Chrysler magic. Which no doubt means it won't work. That’ll be one of those where if you drop it on the floor, it explodes! Some fiats are the same. |
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ChasR
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Mot air bag question ChasR
@chasr
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I called to my local garage on the way home and luckily the fella had just finished a re test and had nothing else in and he was happy to log onto his computer and spend a bit of time with me looking at mot rules for airbags. I can’t recall the exact words, but it does say if the car was originally fitted with an air bag then it has to be present and working. So swapping to a non airbag wheel on a 1997 e36 isn’t going to work. We spent quite a while looking through it for anything to do with airbag lights. The obvious one is there, if it’s lit up showing a fault then it’s s fail. But the good news is there is nothing at all that covers the airbag light not working. So the bulb could be removed and the car will pass. On some cars it pays to fix the lights rather than remove the bulb. Do the bulb trick if the ABS light comes on in a W124 Mercedes with a 5 speed auto, and you'll lose 5th gear. Not great when 4th is the equivalent of being 3.5th in an 4 speed auto! Sometimes, fixing the fault isn't as hard as you think, especially with the right software. |
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