My 04 Megane estate is about to fail its mot because the airbag warning light is on. Even pottering through the forums but am none the wiser so have come here to ask as there’s usually someone here with a bit of knowledge…

Am I in for a massive bill?!

(I know this is the wrong forum but the drop down menu won’t let me change it to chat on my S5…)

It always seems to be the connectors under the front seats that have caused it with me. Or disconnect the light.

Buddy had an airbag light on his V50.. either due to a leaky sunroof drain hose and unplugging the module with the battery connected or taking apart the steering column to repair the ignition switch.

Anyway, the dealer reset the airbag module for him. Light gone. 40 quid odd.

Yup,

try jiggling the wires underneath the drivers and passenger seats. DON’T disconnect them without disconnecting the battery first!

Get engine codes read, mine ended up just being a new switch, but the codes told me which part and which side (passengers or drivers seat). Got switch and garage fitted it, so i avoided the air bag risk factor!

Thanks all. Yep had read about the wires under the seat and the seat does get shifted around a lot as my midget wife uses the car a few times a week ( I can barely get in afterwards ) 🙂

Fixed one on a punto by disconnecting the battery, popping the passenger deactivation switch out of the dash, unplugging and cleaning the contacts with a nail file, popping it back in and reconnecting the battery, and then using a £10 USB box to plug my laptop into the car and resetting the airbag fault.

(I had already reset it a few times and it always came back on)

If you just want to get it through the test then take the bulb out. The airbag test says that it must go out when turn the ignition on but it doesn’t say that it must light up in the first place.

Might manage to get at the bulb but I ain’t going anywhere near my car with my laptop 😀

Disconnect the battery for 30 minutes , then turn key for 15 seconds not starting engine to drain charge in ECU , remove fuses and replace with correct resistors in airbag line under seat , obd2 the code on the dash after reconnecting battery .. youtube the how to do , a lot of people did this when changing seats in older civics for the recaro ones

Don’t remove the lamp ^^
The manual says, “Check that the…lamp does not indicate a fault in the system”
Which to me means that the lamp should come on and then go out again

Downloadable MoT Manuals (zip files)

I ain’t going anywhere near my car with my laptop

Really not that scarey, just a very simple program that allowed you to reset about three fault things.

remove fuses and replace with correct resistors in airbag line under seat

Do not do this. It’s a critical safety system, so why would you not want to fix it correctly?

Get it on a code reader, ID the problem and fix it.

Hth
Marko

Just get it fixed. Simples. It a device to assist saving your life in an accident and people are saying to remove bulbs etc. My daughters ancient Polo had the airbag light on when I bought it. Bought the software and a lead for a tenner off ebay. Found the ribbon on the steering column was faulty. Replaced for another tenner. Reset and never had a problem. So a life saving device was fixed for £20. You need to get it plugged in and checked on the fault, rather than guess on what it could be. Sure there must be some cheap software and lead on ebay for a Renault to help.

The MOT people have clarified what the rules say – it not lighting in the first place is not a reason for failure.

Common mistakes made by MOT testers

Rh, I’m clearly out of date on this one, thanks

I’ll be looking very closely at any “and we’ll put 12 months MoT on it” used cars!

The air bag light was a pain in the arse for mots but I would rather have it working than some plumb just take the bulb out and sell the car on.