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My daughter's car has just pased its MOT but the airbag warning light is on. Tester said it would be £45 + VAT to hook up to the computer to identify the fault (about the rate for the job so far as I can tell) and he said that not having it fixed could invalidate her insurance. This might be so but to what extent can anyone say? Presumably if she was hurt in a crash in which her injuries might have been less with a functioning airbag that would be the case but what about if the car is just stolen or hit while parked. The airbag issue would not be relevant but might an insurer try to use it as a "get out"? It is fair to add that the problem may have started when a new battery was fitted about 3 months ago and by the garage that did the MOT. Comment and advice welcome.
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It might invalidate the insurance; it might not. It all depends on the wording of the policy. If it's passed the MoT, it's clearly roadworthy, so if that's all the policy requires, it'll be fine. If the policy expects more than that, e.g., for the car to be fully original and all systems to be fully functioning, there is a danger that the policy would be invalidated. Of course, the extent to which this would be possible would be a risk and probably not worthwhile for the insurance company to litigate on, e.g., if she scraped the side of her car then the ombudsman would make it very difficult for them to refuse to pay up. In any case, it would be for them to prove that the bag itself was faulty and not the light.
As for passing the blame on to the garage that changed the battery - you might argue that they didn't use reasonable care and skill but they'll simply put you to proof, whether that be a legal technqiue or just a mechanic telling you you're having a giraffe. By all means take it to anotehr garage though if you think this one's trying it on.
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Insurance is quoted on the basis that all originally-fitted safety and security equipment is present and functional. So Ins. Co. might be able to make a reduced payout on injuries if airbag was not working.
Installing a new battery *can* cause the light to come on - I have seen this.
Disconnect the battery for half and hour and then reconnect - see if that helps. Otherwise trip to dealer will be required.
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Perhaps Pug Ugly will give us his opinion on Section 148 (1) and (2)(b) RTA 1988 which I have always understood to cover third party risks and Insurance Company cannot deny cover in relation to "the condition of the vehicle".
But in the same breath they can recover from the Insured under civil action what they lose or part. i.e. the Insurance is valid, they pay out to third party and claim back off Insured because of the defect.
DVD
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I'm not a specialist like PU but that would be my interpretation. However all this section will really do is prevent a conviction for driving without insurance and the accompanying £200 fine and three points.
Of course, the possibility of having any losses recovered, the remainder of the policy declared invalid, and having to answer "yes" when that question comes up again for future insurance proposals, for life, would mean that it's a very small measure of protection for the insured.
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David, DVD,
I agree, I looked for some case law this afternoon (bad cold!) can't find anything relevant. I dare someone to phone an insurance company !
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Armitage, what kind of car is it? Reason I am asking is there have been various posts over the months about faulty airbags, especially Citroens and other French cars.
Seems there can be an issue with the wiring which goes under the passenger seat and is a 2 min job of just making sure the connection is clean.
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Many thanks for replies to date' 30 minutes with the battery disconnected didn't change anything. The car is a T plate Ford Mondeo estate.
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On a mondeo, it can be the seatbelt tensioners under the driver/passenger seats - they also trigger the airbag light. Turn the ignition off, and try unplugging/cleaning/reconnecting the leads.
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How about cars that allow you to disable the airbags with the flick of a switch or the turn of a key?
How would the insurer deal with an incident where a passanger was injured through the disabled airbag not inflating?
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