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Toyota Avensis Airbag Light Mot Failure


smoky2004
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Hi folks

On my 2004 1.8 Avensis auto the airbag light remains on and has just failed the MOT as a result, the MOT man said it's new rules. The Drivers side rail airbag has been ripped out at some stage prior to me owning the vehicle. To replace the airbag toyota want £590 approx just to supply the part, I didn't even bother asking them how much they would charge to fit it.

Any other options?

Cheers

Edited by leonkehoe
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Just got an online quote for £50 from a breakers yard. How hard are they to fit? Drivers side curtain airbag. Once fitted does the airbag light reset itself?

Thanks

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I'm not 100% here but it possibly depends whether it has been deployed or not. If it hasn't there's a chance the system is reading a "missing or damaged component" and therefore showing the error. Replacing it might fix it. If however it's been deployed then it'll probably need reset. This is educated guesswork from write-offs I've previously worked on, so maybe check it out a bit further.

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And there's no way of resetting the airbag light without fitting a new drivers side curtain airbag? The original has been ripped out.

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I was going to answer earlier, left bit to see what responses were to this thread. If I was buying a car, I would try to spot any possible faults and depending on that type of fault, decide to buy the car or walk away.

If any warning lights show up, I would want to know why and get more information on remedy and cost.

The airbag is missing having as you said 'ripped out'! That means to me that it has been deployed unless there has been another reason for it not being in place.

We all know that airbags only came in recently so it should not make much differnce in general, but it is a safety feature.

What is the history of the car. Was ever involved in an accident? Even before the MOT rules change, I would not have touched the car with that fault.

If you do buy a replacement airbag, who ever is going to fit it must disconnect the Battery and wait at least 10 minutes touching anything on the circuit. It should left to somebody who knows what their doing.

I am not sure about the system resetting itself, but logic tells me that when fitted the light should go out - it did when I changed my leanburn sensor and also a hub when I broke the ABS wheel whilst doing the rear bearing.

The bulb trick will not work if the tester is doing his/her job properly, so get the replacement arbag fitted for that MOT.

I have said my piece.

Konrad

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The car has been passed down through family, it was involved in a side on collision which deployed the airbag and caused considerable damage to the side of the car. A replacement manual Avensis was purchased almost immediately but my old man wasn't happy with it after a couple of weeks, said the car doesn't drive like it's been looked after. So the replacement was sold and the original Avensis was repaired, just needed 2 new doors but the airbag wasn't replaced. The airbag light has remained on since this time, about 5 years.

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Does anyone know if fitting the drivers side curtain airbag is an easy job? I'm not very mechanically minded so will have to pay someone to fit it, is it time consuming?

Thanks

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Phoned a fair few garages in the area, not even one have said they will fit the replacement airbag so far. Headache!

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Asked my local Toyota Garage how much to fit the airbag if I supplied the part. £160 labour time to fit, they said I will also need a sensor and another part I cannot recall the name of for another £445 and £127 parts and labour. So much hassle.

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. So much hassle.

But you knew that when you bought it? Did you not think buying a car with the air bag "ripped out" might not be a tad foolhardy?

Kingo :thumbsup:

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The car has been passed down through family, it was involved in a side on collision which deployed the airbag and caused considerable damage to the side of the car. A replacement manual Avensis was purchased almost immediately but my old man wasn't happy with it after a couple of weeks, said the car doesn't drive like it's been looked after. So the replacement was sold and the original Avensis was repaired, just needed 2 new doors but the airbag wasn't replaced. The airbag light has remained on since this time, about 5 years.

See, now we have the full picture to my earlier post. You did not that say the car was in an accident in your original post, merely the airbag had been 'ripped out'.

When a car is repaired the airbag should have been factored in. Was the car classed as a write-off?

You also said that when your dad got another car and it did not drive like it was cared for, I would rather fix the faults and if it very similar to your car, used your car as spares if needed. Then I would have scrapped it. Right now your car is unusable until the airbag is re-instated. You cannot sell the car without disclosing the fault, as that would be dishonest. That includes getting through the MOT too.

What if in future the MOT includes a diagnostic check for any faults then clears them to see if the faults repair again? Those existing faults that still come up after reset, if safety critical will fail the car. Then no rewiring the bulb will work. This is only a suppose ( I hope I have not given the authorities any ideas!).

The airbag can be re-fitted safely, so long the car has been disconnected from the Battery for a long period. Once plug bag in and the Battery reconnected, the system will check all airbags are present and correct and hopefully that will turn the warning light off. Check with Toyota if a reset is necessary.

It is up to you now.

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I'm trying to get the airbag parts priced up second hand. When Toyota contacted me they said I will need 3 parts, 1 - The drivers curtain side airbag, 2- The airbag sensor, 3? Can't quite remember what the third part was they mentioned, any idea's anyone? I'm thinking it was possibly airbag module?

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This thread makes me very uncomfortable, specifically the post that provided instruction on how to disable the airbag warning light in order to pass the MOT (now hidden).

Please bear in mind that if a car passes its MOT under false pretenses, the MOT is likely to be invalid, and if a car's MOT certificate is invalid it invalidates the insurance. If you cannot afford to buy and fit a replacement airbag then I suggest you SORN the car until the time comes when you can.

The Toyota Owners Club does not encourage or endorse circumvention of a car's safety features.

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I've unlocked this thread at the request of the author on the promise that they'll be no future posts about duping the MOT tester into believing the car has a passenger airbag. If there are, the thread will be locked (again) and short term bans will be issued. Please bear in mind that, although unlikely, the lack of an airbag could result in the death of the passenger and the prosecution of the driver.

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I've unlocked this thread at the request of the author on the promise that they'll be no future posts about duping the MOT tester into believing the car has a passenger airbag. If there are, the thread will be locked (again) and short term bans will be issued. Please bear in mind that, although unlikely, the lack of an airbag could result in the death of the passenger and the prosecution of the driver.

Thanks for re-opening the thread.

I'm pretty new on here and didn't realise what is and is not up for discussion.

So back on track, Toyota named 3 parts thyat would need to be replaced, the airbag, the airbag sensor and they mentioned another part which I think may have been airbag module? Does anyone know if these are the 3 parts needed? I asked Toyota to send me the bill in writing via email but still awaiting reply.

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This thread makes me very uncomfortable, specifically the post that provided instruction on how to disable the airbag warning light in order to pass the MOT (now hidden).

Please bear in mind that if a car passes its MOT under false pretenses, the MOT is likely to be invalid, and if a car's MOT certificate is invalid it invalidates the insurance. If you cannot afford to buy and fit a replacement airbag then I suggest you SORN the car until the time comes when you can.

The Toyota Owners Club does not encourage or endorse circumvention of a car's safety features.

Thank you Leon for the above and your other post.

Konrad

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  • 2 years later...

I own a 2002 Avensis and recently the airbag light flashed intermittently. It just went in for MOT and failed because of the light. The Toyota Dealer said that the driver side impact sensor is faulty but they are unable to supply a part because of the age of the car. Is it likely that Toyota does not supply parts for a 13 year old car? They said that they would fit the part if I could buy one from a scrapper but I have been unable to find the specific part number for this particular model so far. My car has never been in a collision and has only done 32000 miles. It seems ridiculous to have to scrap a perfectly reliable vehicle. Can anybody suggest a way out of this mess?

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