NCT Failure for faulty Airbag sensor

Shane O' Malley

Hi,

My Volvo V50 failed the NCT for the above reason. Garage when they sold the car to me 3 years ago said it was a faulty sensor but that to fix they need to replace the full curtain airbag as it is one unit.

At the time having an dashboard airbag warning light was not a NCT issue so i did not force the garage to get it done.

Now they are quoting me over €700 to fix it. As the curtain airbag is not a safety feature needed to pass the NCT surely there must be a way past this.

Anyone with bright ideas or experience.

Cheers

Shane

Atlantic Dawn

If the curtain airbag could be somehow disconnected from the rest of the system that may work, I don't think there's any quick fix for the light on the dash as it must appear when the ignition is turned to indicate it is functioning, if it doesn't it will fail.

keithclancy

Atlantic Dawn wrote: »

If the curtain airbag could be somehow disconnected from the rest of the system that may work, I don't think there's any quick fix for the light on the dash as it must appear when the ignition is turned to indicate it is functioning, if it doesn't it will fail.

Disconnected unit on the S40/V50 causes a warning light also.

Did you have a car kit installed by any chance, i've heard this being set off if they don't follow the procedure.

Your supposed to put the key to position I
Disconnect Battery
Wait 20 minutes
Do work and when done
Put key to position II and reconnect battery

Have they tried clearing the warning via the ODB-II Cable ?

I know its annoying but I wouldn't buy a car with any warning light showing, something small can turn into a big problem or be masking something else, i'd be especially wary of making sure all the lights come on and go off.

Shane O' Malley

I do have a car kit installed but installed it after i got the car.

I agree with you now about not buying the car when the light was on but was getting it from a well know volvo dealer was told it was just that one airbag.

Was getting great deal though a friend who worked there so did not want to push things. Mistake i agree.

listermint

I would suggest looking to obtain the parts list, It may very well be the unit is one whole section but i very much doubt it. The sensors have always tended to be separate.

Check this first.

If they are the whole unit you could possibly by a second hand one undeployed. But I would definitely get it fixed as spoofing your airbag system is not the best of ideas.

keithclancy

listermint wrote: »

I would suggest looking to obtain the parts list, It may very well be the unit is one whole section but i very much doubt it. The sensors have always tended to be separate.

Check this first.

If they are the whole unit you could possibly by a second hand one undeployed. But I would definitely get it fixed as spoofing your airbag system is not the best of ideas.

Volvos usually have an all in one unit to justify the f*ck you price associated to it :mad:

I have a V50 as well, while it drives well and is a nice car the parts are expensive.

Darsad

You could always get someone competent to fool the air bag ecu into thinking the air bag is in place a simple enough process involing placing a resistor in line ! The trick would be getting someone competent

crosshair1

Darsad wrote: »

You could always get someone competent to fool the air bag ecu into thinking the air bag is in place a simple enough process involing placing a resistor in line ! The trick would be getting someone competent

Them resistors are pretty effective too at cushioning the blow to your head..

The amount of this sh1t I come across is unreal, warning lights tampered with, compoents deactivated just because theres a circuit fault etc.

I dont know how anyone that carries out mods like this can sleep at night, do they not think in the unlikely event of a fatal accident where this may be contributory, that they will not have to answer questions.

keithclancy

Point to note that if the Airbag system is reading an error it will not function at all in the event of an accident (I.E. all Airbags)

johnthemull

Always suspect dealers are taking the piss with the airbag light. My independent mechanic put my car on the computer and turned off the airbag warning light that was glowing away on my V40. Seems to be a problem with Volvos. The dealers wouldnt maximise things for income sake? I was delighted as my NCT is up soon. I would try this before forking out 700 notes.

Fey!

€40 (delivered) sensor here; could this solve the problem?

ebay ad wrote:

On sale here is a brand new genuine Volvo SRS airbag sensor. Part number 30737130

Made by Temic in Germany

Also printed on the label is MRSA5 8840A6

Fitted to:

C30 C70 S40 S80 V50 models. Please make sure this is the correct part for your car.

This part is also used on some Aston Martins and it carries the Aston Martin part number 4G43-37-10260

Another one (part number 30773786) here.

That's just ebay Ireland. Ebay UK probably have a lot more.

kirving

johnthemull wrote: »

Always suspect dealers are taking the piss with the airbag light. My independent mechanic put my car on the computer and turned off the airbag warning light that was glowing away on my V40. Seems to be a problem with Volvos. The dealers wouldnt maximise things for income sake? I was delighted as my NCT is up soon. I would try this before forking out 700 notes.

I love the mentality that once a car passes an NCT, it's perfectly ok to drive. Now, €700 is very expensive, and people should get a second opinion, but I bet whatever it costs would seem like a bargain if you were ever in a crash.

Shane O' Malley

keithclancy wrote: »

Point to note that if the Airbag system is reading an error it will not function at all in the event of an accident (I.E. all Airbags)

Are you sure about this. Then this would mean that the dealer lied.

To confirm, you are saying that the side and front airbags will not work even though the fault is with a sensor on the curtain airbag?

kirving

They should still work, but with a light on for what the dealer said was an easy fix, the only safe assumption is that none of them work.

unkel

Kevin Irving wrote: »

I love the mentality that once a car passes an NCT, it's perfectly ok to drive. Now, €700 is very expensive, and people should get a second opinion, but I bet whatever it costs would seem like a bargain if you were ever in a crash.

+1

And I wonder what the insurance company would do when they find out one or more airbags weren't working (and the owner was aware of this) after a claim...

Dardania

unkel wrote: »

+1

And I wonder what the insurance company would do when they find out one or more airbags weren't working (and the owner was aware of this) after a claim...

Presuming they survive.

I would never drive without the safety systems...it's just tempting fate. And even though I might consider it unlikely that I'll crash (due to a no doubt misplaced and inflated sense of my own driving ability) there are a lot of other numpties on the road to crash into me...