Mot fail for no airbag

Hi guys!

So heres the story, sometime before Christmas, me and my Dad bought a TT6 Jap import from a dealer in Milton Keynes. It had been in the country for 6 months, and the dealer claimed that they were the ones who imported it. Along with all the paperwork from Japan, there was also a British MOT slip included from July last year, so the dealers had obviously had the car MOT'd while it was in their possession. The MOT slip stated that the car had passed with flying colours.

Fast forward to today, and it was time to get a fresh MOT, and to our surprise it failed due to lacking an airbag! I should have seen this coming to be honest, I knew supra's had airbags fitted from the factory, but since the problem never showed itself in the past, I never thought about it. All I can think has happened is that the dealers have removed the original steering wheel and fitted the one that is on it now (a Personal wheel), or they had a dodgy MOT done by a mate or something...

So I guess my question is what should I do now? I've tried looking for factory supra steering wheels that say airbag on them, but can't find anything. Are there any other airbag equipped Toyota steering wheels that would fit and are cheap? I just need one for the MOT.

Also, am I within my rights to contact the dealers that we bought the car from and ask them about this? If they have the original wheel then I would very much like to have it!

Hope someone can help us out!

Cheers

Chris

Does a car need an airbag to pass an MOT? Surely not.

I'm pretty sure it doesn't need an airbag to pass an MOT, look at all the aftermarket steering wheels that are fitted and don't have one. I would suggest taking it somewhere else to get tested imho

Should've passed it, they can't fail it for no airbag unless the airbag warning light is on. Tell them to check their handbook

Concerning?

http://www.ukmot.com/Your-MOT-Questions/Airbag

Lots of other toyotas steering wheels fit I got my self a nice yaris one

Thanks for the info so far guys! I too thought that lacking an airbag wouldn't be a fail, there are no lights on the dash either. That link that Scooter posted has me a little concerned though

Yep it specifically says fail if originally it had one.

Not all supras came with an airbag did they? what about the 3 spoke wheels? So how would they know?

Not sure how often these regs change but my mot men have been getting stricked

Not all supras came with an airbag did they? what about the 3 spoke wheels? So how would they know?

Pritty sure they did mate check my 3 spoke picture

Pritty sure they did mate check my 3 spoke picture

I don't know what that is, but it's not the stock 3 spoke wheel, this is:

There is 100% no airbag in those.

Owh yes that one , I believe the one I have is a later 98 style normally all black in the supra

The 96 on 3 spoke wheel is the same as the Gen7 Celica, IS200/300, T sport Yaris etc.

Thanks for the help guys! So are we saying that the best thing to do here would be to just buy a replacement wheel from another toyota to stick on for the MOT? How tricky is it to swap the steering wheel over on a Supra? I'm a veteran of working on cars, but very new to Supra's!

No the best bet is to either go back to the garage and tell them to sort their shit out or go to another mot test centre.

Thanks for the help guys! So are we saying that the best thing to do here would be to just buy a replacement wheel from another toyota to stick on for the MOT? How tricky is it to swap the steering wheel over on a Supra? I'm a veteran of working on cars, but very new to Supra's!

The best option is to tell the MOT tester he's wrong, because he is.

Go to another MOT tester, problem solved. Ask about the airbag before booking it in though, would be a PITA to have it fail twice on the airbag

Not all supras had an airbag from factory

Theres no way a garage would know which models/spec had one fitted

Mine has no drivers airbag but still has the passenger airbag and it passed fine with the bulb removed

Lots of varied opinions on this. I really want to believe that the MOT center have got it wrong, but the link Scooter posted on the last page still has me a bit worried!

Lots of varied opinions on this. I really want to believe that the MOT center have got it wrong, but the link Scooter posted on the last page still has me a bit worried!

Ask them where they got the information from to say your car should have an airbag fitted

Not all supras had one so id want to know where it says it should have one fitted

My tt6 import didn't ever have an airbag. its got the stock 3 spoke wheel. I thought only the UK model had airbags. that's how much I know

My tt6 import didn't ever have an airbag. its got the stock 3 spoke wheel. I thought only the UK model had airbags. that's how much I know

The facelift had an airbag too.

If it didn't come with one from factory (which some didn't) and the airbag light isn't on (which it's not) then it's not a fail. The tester is flat out wrong

The MOT manual only states reason for rejection

Airbag obviously missing or defective

Or SRS malfunction indicator lamp indicating a system malfunction.

The facelift had an airbag too.

 

If it didn't come with one from factory (which some didn't) and the airbag light isn't on (which it's not) then it's not a fail. The tester is flat out wrong

And I think all GZ and some RZ pre facelift models came with the same 4 spoke wheel as the UK cars. Not sure if NA's came with the 4 spoke wheel, but I suspect it was probably an option like the RZ.