MOT 7.1.2 help please

Jami74

Hi, anyone able to help with an MOT question please?

My little 2005, 120k miles hatchback has failed it's MOT on rear seat belts not functioning as intended and the garage are quoting around £700 for parts and labour to fix. This is probably more than is worth spending on it.

I do not take human passengers and therefore do not need seats in the back of my car. Do you think I could just remove the seats and re-MOT it?

Looking at the gov.uk MOT guidance page it states:

You do not need to inspect:

• a belt fitted with no corresponding seats 

MikeJXE

I have read elsewhere on a motoring forum there is no MOT legislation that demands  more seats than the drivers as long as there are no seat belts either so. from that if you take the seats and the belts out it should pass. 

angrycrow

An easier alternative would be to visit your local scrap yards. Look for a matching car which does not have crash damage and ask to buy the rear seat belts. You are probably looking at around £20 for the lot. If you are capable of removing the rear seats and belts you are capable of swapping the rear belts as it will only be three bolts per belt. 

Bigwheels1111

Have you looked at the problem.
Do the belts pull out smoothly.
Do the catch.
Do they latch in the buckle and stay there etc.
If not used they could just be stiff and if you spent 30 mins using them they could pass the mot.
I have a 7 seater, never used the 2 rear seats, belts used once a year for mot only.
So could have the same problem in the future.

You need to ask which belt, near side, middle or off side.
Plus what the issue is. Most common I’ve found id the snatch part stops working.
When you crash the belt does not lock.
Also frayed belts are common. Fix that with a lighter, just run it up the belt where it’s frayed.

Nobbie1967

MikeJXE said:

I have read elsewhere on a motoring forum there is no MOT legislation that demands  more seats than the drivers as long as there are no seat belts either so. from that if you take the seats and the belts out it should pass. 

You would also need to inform your insurer as this would count as a modification. They may not be happy as they may suspect you are using it as a van.

Jami74

angrycrow said:

An easier alternative would be to visit your local scrap yards. Look for a matching car which does not have crash damage and ask to buy the rear seat belts. You are probably looking at around £20 for the lot. If you are capable of removing the rear seats and belts you are capable of swapping the rear belts as it will only be three bolts per belt. 

Yeah, I am probably not capable of this plus. I will get hold of them today and find out what is involved that would cause the cost of replacement to be so high. If it's the cost of the parts maybe I can source some second hand online, if it's the labour then I might be stuffed.

Bigwheels1111 said:

Have you looked at the problem.

I haven't done any of those things as I dropped the car off to the same garage that has done the last few MOT's and gave them my partners phone number and went to work. I know the moneysaving way is to do pre-MOT checks but I work long hours and am happy to support a local business. There is every change that they are full of dirt and grime and a good clean would sort them out, but I until I speak to the garage I don't know exactly what the problem is. It just says 'not functioning as intended'

I was hoping to have an idea of my options before I spoke to them. Now that it has a failed MOT my options are limited, I am not sure if they'll let me drive it away to bring it home so I guess I need to make a quick decision.

facade

Jami74 said:

 until I speak to the garage I don't know exactly what the problem is. It just says 'not functioning as intended'

You will have to ask. I've absolutely no idea what this can be. A frayed or damaged belt, the buckle not fastening, or the retractor not working have separate failures. I really can't imagine what else can cause it to "not work as intended"

Assuming they applied the catch-all rather than the specific failure, it could just be that they have tried to use the wrong buckle- the centre belt is different and will not fasten in an outer buckle, and vice versa.  Usually, they fasten all the rear belts and leave them fastened to prove they have tested them, so you can spot this easily, but you'd think an experienced tester would know so it may well be something else.

Provided your old MOT hasn't expired you can still drive on it without getting stopped for no MOT, BUT it has a dangerous defect which would make it unroadworthy, even though it wont matter if there are no rear passengers. (Plus, it is no more unroadworthy/dangerous than it was on the way to the MOT )

Jami74

facade said:

or the retractor not working 

Yeah it's this. They are kindly going to look after the car for me while I source parts/make a decision.

daveyjp

Its crazy, but if you have car seats in the back using seatbelts they won't be checked.

facade

Jami74 said:

facade said:

or the retractor not working 

Yeah it's this. They are kindly going to look after the car for me while I source parts/make a decision.

Check it yourself

They can "help" the mechanism to retract. As long as all the slack belt eventually retracts until the buckle gets to the top it is a pass. 

If it does, I'd just take it somewhere else for MOT.

If it won't retract at all, then likely the spring is broken*, swapping the seatbelt for one from a scrapyard is just a matter of undoing the bolts- if there are yellow wires going to the retractor mechanism disconnect the battery for 5 minutes before you mess with them.

*It can be caused by a really dirty greasy clammy belt, but this isn't a problem in the unused back seat.

sevenhills

If the seats fold, they won't be checked in the MOT