Airbag light on, insurance still valid while waiting for replacement part to arrive?

l.c.elliott

My airbag light came on this week. After a diagnostic, it came back saying it needed a new drivers clock spring. I've tried to order one, but there are none at all in the UK, only in Belgium. I can order it with the manufacturer but they've said could take 2-3 weeks to come. Will I still be covered to drive with my insurance (swiftcover) while I wait for it to arrive?

I'm toying with thr idea of buying a new car but I don't really want the additional cost of finance if I can help it. This new part plus labour will cost me £500, not ideal but happy to do it if I'll still be covered, as I literally have no other options/nowhere else I can purchase from to get it here quicker.

Keep_pedalling

I would be more concerned about being seriously injured if I  had an accident where the airbag should deploy but failed to do so. 

Emmia

Keep_pedalling said:

I would be more concerned about being seriously injured if I  had an accident where the airbag should deploy but failed to do so. 

There are also reports of an airbag fault that will deploy airbags at random, killing drivers. Cars affected have a "do not drive" order... 

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cly24w3z6p7o

https://www.theguardian.com/money/2025/jul/08/citroen-ds3-stop-drive-recall-airbag-repair

Frozen_up_north

Service loan car from the garage?

Bigwheels1111

WOW, I'm over 50.

The cars I drove many years ago would not get 1 star for euro NCAP.

Held together with rust and gaffer tape.

We lived.

I was in  head on crash with my friend who was driving a 1995 rover, both air bags did no deploy.

We were fine. We were hit by a mini bus at speed.

The Rover was able the start and drive after the crash.

All these extra features are nice, but a strong body shell is the best.

No one can say if you should drive it or not.

That's up to you.

If it was my car I would, I could be old and stupid though.

sheramber

l.c.elliott said:

My airbag light came on this week. After a diagnostic, it came back saying it needed a new drivers clock spring. I've tried to order one, but there are none at all in the UK, only in Belgium. I can order it with the manufacturer but they've said could take 2-3 weeks to come. Will I still be covered to drive with my insurance (swiftcover) while I wait for it to arrive?

I'm toying with thr idea of buying a new car but I don't really want the additional cost of finance if I can help it. This new part plus labour will cost me £500, not ideal but happy to do it if I'll still be covered, as I literally have no other options/nowhere else I can purchase from to get it here quicker.

Ask your insurance company.

Better to know than find out you are uninsured after you have an accident.

Aretnap

Bigwheels1111 said:

WOW, I'm over 50.

The cars I drove many years ago would not get 1 star for euro NCAP.

Held together with rust and gaffer tape.

We lived.

Lots of you didn't.


For some reason, the people who didn't live don't post much on internet forums about how things were better (or worse) in the old days.

Hoenir

l.c.elliott said:

I've tried to order one, but there are none at all in the UK, only in Belgium.

Depending on the manufacturer. The whole of Europe is likely to be serviced from one centralised depot. Minimises the amount of parts stock that needs to be carried. 

prowla

Aretnap said:

Bigwheels1111 said:

WOW, I'm over 50.

The cars I drove many years ago would not get 1 star for euro NCAP.

Held together with rust and gaffer tape.

We lived.

Lots of you didn't.


For some reason, the people who didn't live don't post much on internet forums about how things were better (or worse) in the old days.

Is that a Lockheed Hudson?

facade

prowla said:

Aretnap said:

Bigwheels1111 said:

WOW, I'm over 50.

The cars I drove many years ago would not get 1 star for euro NCAP.

Held together with rust and gaffer tape.

We lived.

Lots of you didn't.


For some reason, the people who didn't live don't post much on internet forums about how things were better (or worse) in the old days.

Is that a Lockheed Hudson?

The turret seems too far forward to me, but it is probably supposed to be one as it is about a US survey.

It is from an oft quoted piece about designers looking at all the bullet holes in the aircraft that made it back, and deciding to add armour to those spots, until the boy who made the tea pointed out that they didn't need armour there, as they made it back even with the holes, and it would probably be a good idea to add armour in the places where they never saw bullet holes!

(Survivorship bias we call it, hence the reference to the surviving The Olden Days with no airbag- the people who survived are the ones who didn't actually need one to survive...)

Ectophile

sheramber said:

l.c.elliott said:

My airbag light came on this week. After a diagnostic, it came back saying it needed a new drivers clock spring. I've tried to order one, but there are none at all in the UK, only in Belgium. I can order it with the manufacturer but they've said could take 2-3 weeks to come. Will I still be covered to drive with my insurance (swiftcover) while I wait for it to arrive?

I'm toying with thr idea of buying a new car but I don't really want the additional cost of finance if I can help it. This new part plus labour will cost me £500, not ideal but happy to do it if I'll still be covered, as I literally have no other options/nowhere else I can purchase from to get it here quicker.

Ask your insurance company.

Better to know than find out you are uninsured after you have an accident.

That just gives them an opportunity to say "no, you can't drive it".

Better to read the policy document.  If that says nothing about driving with warning lights on, you're fine.