Air bags need to be replaced every 10-15 years???

Originally on the instructions it said change at 10 years, this got extended for many (& as they're all made by the same few companies you can generalise for yourself) to 15 years. AFAIK there's nothing published about what happens to them after that.

I guess the issue is that if they need replacing (perhaps more due to MOT legislation than customers desire to replace them) then it's going to cost more than most 10yr old cars are worth.

I know you can't get a car through it's MOT with the ABS light on, so perhaps this is only an issue if the airbag light is on. Of course many people will just remove the bulb and hope the tester doesn't notice it's not working on start up.

I have had a Rover 25 for the past year, and ive just bought a brand new one. In both the owner handbooks, it states that all SRS (Supplementary Restraint System) components, including Airbags and seat-belt pre-tentioners must be replaced. It goes on to say that this must be carried out by a Rover dealer, as the undeployed airbags must be deployed and disposed of in a controlled environment.

The bulb doesn't come on due to age anyway.

They say that about everything though. Presumably under the recycling directive they have to dispose of them if you retuen them to them :-)

Purely because the gas cannister *could* leak. In practice, however, the airbag *should* last the life of the car.

sPoniX

must be carried out by a Rover

They say that about oil and coolant etc. Doesn't stop me from doing my own services though

Air bags are not included in the MOT test.

I think he means the fact that all the telltale lights come on with ignition, as a bulb test only.

The message from snipped-for-privacy@yahoo.com (sPoNiX) contains these words:

There isn't a "gas canister". It's a lump of sodium azide which when detonated decomposes to release nitrogen.

Haha! That reminded me of the time (drunken :) when I said to an engineering mate that, as a chemist, I could make the azide propellant if he came up with a sensor (blu-tacked somewhere to the front bumper) and a bag that we could bungee to the steering wheel - then sell them in Halfords for a tenner - "bosh, bosh, bosh; last you a lifetime, Guv"

:-)))))))))))))

Steveski

My understanding was that the ABS light merely had to work as specified - ie to warn you that the ABS wasn't working. As long as the brakes dyno OK then it was still a pass? Or did my Mondeo go through MoT's when it shouldnt have?

Ditto my XM

-- Malc

my supra says on the sunvisor that the airbag systems needs replacing after

Sounds frightfully expensive that. Most of the other supra owners don't even know about it 'cause that writing is in Japanese on their (jap import) cars.

I'm sure that if the vehicle has ABS, it must function. :-/

DervMan ( snipped-for-privacy@hotmail.com) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying :

Yup, if the ABS light doesn't do it's self test or does come on with the car running, then it's a fail.

Yes, it does, assuming everything else works, a car with broken ABS is as safe* as a car without ABS - this is on the assumption that the load adjusting funky things in the brake lines are included in the car with ABS, and I can't believe that they'd not be included.

DervMan ( snipped-for-privacy@hotmail.com) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying :

Of course - but if the proportioning was vastly different, then the whole brake balance would be different, which would cause - erm - "issues" before the brakes locked.

I used to have a Citroen Mehari that'd been rechassised onto a normal 2cv chassis - minus the load proportioning valve for the back brakes. The arse of a Mehari weighs 2/3 of sod all. If somebody pulled out in front of you on a wet roundabout... - let's just say that the vision out the plastic sidescreens wasn't great. Especially when that was the direction you were heading.

Hence the quote marks around the word "safe"...

In news:Xns95A1901C01281adrianachapmanfreeis@130.133.1.4, Adrian decided to enlighten our sheltered souls with a rant as follows

Heh, Fiesta Courier vans tend to be like that, especially when unladen.