Repair costs

Airbag warning light repair garage rates and how often MOTs call for it

What UK garages charge per hour, from ONS price quotes, and how often MOT tests fail on the items this repair fixes, from 130,233,413 DVSA MOT tests (2022 to 2025).

Prices updated 22 September 2026. MOT data updated 28 September 2026.

Garage labour rates

No public source records the price of this whole job, and the time it takes varies from car to car, so we do not publish a single figure. Garages charge by the hour, so ask for a quote that lists labour time and parts. The rates below are what UK garages charge per hour.

The warning light or emissions reading is only the symptom. What the repair costs depends on what the diagnosis finds, so treat any figure as the starting point, not the full fix.

Local garage labour, per hour (65 shops)£78

Local garage, middle half£70 to £96

Main dealer labour, per hour (62 shops)£156

Main dealer, middle half£144 to £174

Median hourly rate charged for car repairs, from 1,058 local garage and 953 main dealer price quotes collected by the ONS, September 2025 to August 2026. The same shops are priced each month, so the number of shops is the real sample.

MOT defects this repair fixes

Airbag (SRS) warning lamp indicates a fault0.47 per 100
Airbag (SRS) warning lamp does not illuminate0.039 per 100

Records per 100 MOT tests at all ages (n=130,233,413 tests).

How often by age

All cars: 0.47 fail items per 100 MOTs that this repair fixes (n=130,233,413 tests), highest at 20 years with 1.44 per 100 (n=1,845,952). A test with two such items counts twice.

Fail items fixed by airbag warning light repair, per 100 MOT tests of cars at each age.
Age	Per 100 MOTs	Tests (n)
3 years	0.12	8,016,463
4 years	0.13	8,699,937
5 years	0.14	9,425,360
6 years	0.16	10,382,720
7 years	0.20	10,537,318
8 years	0.24	10,440,457
9 years	0.30	9,949,012
10 years	0.39	9,049,507
11 years	0.47	8,087,514
12 years	0.54	7,303,151
13 years	0.60	6,612,160
14 years	0.71	6,054,526
15 years	0.83	5,591,675
16 years	1.00	4,858,625
17 years	1.18	4,040,458
18 years	1.32	3,261,622
19 years	1.39	2,479,858
20 years	1.44	1,845,952
21 years	1.36	1,321,417
22 years	1.28	913,980
23 years	1.19	619,531
24 years	1.05	428,815
25 years	0.94	313,355

Models that fail on these items more often

At least 1.3 times the rate of cars of the same ages and fuel, over ages with at least 1,000 tests each and 20,000 in total. Each generation of a model is compared on its own. 34 of these have their own page.

Model	Times as often	Tests (n)
MG 3	at least 11.2	81,125
SEAT Mii	at least 6.3	72,945
Nissan NV200	at least 5.4	122,396
Mercedes-Benz A-Class	at least 4.5	1,360,594
Mercedes-Benz CLA	at least 4.4	243,385
Mercedes-Benz Viano	at least 3.6	20,403
Nissan Qashqai	at least 3.3	2,264,112
Chevrolet Captiva	at least 3.3	25,550
Hyundai i20	at least 3.2	511,594
Renault Twingo	at least 3.1	101,465
SEAT Altea	at least 2.9	62,006
Renault Kangoo	at least 2.8	229,058
Rover 75	at least 2.8	33,751
Nissan Almera	at least 2.6	64,930
Volkswagen Crafter	at least 2.6	27,414
BMW Z3	at least 2.6	36,516
Volkswagen CC	at least 2.6	56,184
Nissan Navara	at least 2.5	286,820
Land Rover Range Rover Sport	at least 2.5	498,033
Nissan Note	at least 2.4	620,623
Nissan Primastar	at least 2.4	36,364
Mitsubishi Colt	at least 2.4	93,891
Volkswagen Beetle	at least 2.3	180,577
Kia Carens	at least 2.2	59,911
Chevrolet Aveo	at least 2.2	36,812

31 more models

Model	Times as often	Tests (n)
Kia Rio	at least 2.1	395,218
Volkswagen Passat	at least 2.1	792,205
BMW Z4	at least 1.9	141,225
Mercedes-Benz B-Class	at least 1.9	290,232
Mercedes-Benz CLK	at least 1.9	121,510
Land Rover Range Rover	at least 1.8	352,624
Nissan Pathfinder	at least 1.8	23,532
Hyundai Tucsonfirst used before 2015	at least 1.8	21,949
Volkswagen California	at least 1.7	37,172
Nissan Pixo	at least 1.7	46,726
Audi A1	at least 1.7	865,891
Jaguar XE	at least 1.7	174,594
Vauxhall Vivaro	at least 1.7	739,286
Audi TT	at least 1.6	459,803
Renault Clio	at least 1.6	1,326,120
Volkswagen Touareg	at least 1.6	149,245
BMW 7 Series	at least 1.6	72,995
Peugeot 3008	at least 1.5	542,666
Peugeot 5008	at least 1.5	130,903
SEAT Arona	at least 1.5	173,475
Mercedes-Benz GLA	at least 1.4	329,115
Skoda Octavia	at least 1.4	817,089
Kia Sorento	at least 1.4	147,328
Volkswagen Jetta	at least 1.4	56,076
Renault Trafic	at least 1.4	428,817
Mercedes-Benz Vito	at least 1.3	350,481
MG TF	at least 1.3	36,093
Mercedes-Benz SLK	at least 1.3	227,766
BMW 6 Series	at least 1.3	89,667
Mitsubishi L200	at least 1.3	356,000
Volkswagen Eos	at least 1.3	49,528

Models that fail on these items less often

At most 0.7 times the rate of cars of the same ages and fuel, on the same rules.

Model	Times as often	Tests (n)
Ford Pumafirst used 2019 or later	at most 0.5	171,401
Porsche 911	at most 0.5	174,386
Mercedes-Benz GLC	at most 0.5	298,696
Jaguar E-Pace	at most 0.6	114,724
Porsche Boxster	at most 0.6	129,291
BMW X1	at most 0.7	414,040
Toyota Hiace	at most 0.7	55,241
Audi Q5	at most 0.7	422,669
Toyota MR2	at most 0.7	30,113

Read this with care. A fail rate is not a measure of build quality. How far cars are driven, how they are used and how well owners maintain them all change it, and wear items such as tyres and brake pads are common fails. Compare a model only with cars of the same age. Methodology and limits.

Other repairs

Exterior bulb replacement£3.99 median
Tyre replacement£87.05 median
Headlight alignmentlabour rate
Coil spring replacementlabour rate
Wiper blade replacement£9.99 median
Handbrake repairlabour rate
Brake pad replacementlabour rate
Suspension ball joint replacementlabour rate
Anti-roll bar link replacementlabour rate
Headlight bulb replacement£3.99 median
Engine warning light diagnosislabour rate
Screenwash top-uplabour rate
Suspension arm bush replacementlabour rate
CV boot replacementlabour rate
Track rod end replacementlabour rate
Brake disc and pad replacementlabour rate
Shock absorber replacementlabour rate
Corrosion welding repairlabour rate
Binding brake repairlabour rate
Washer system repairlabour rate
Exhaust repair£212.09 median
Emissions fail repairlabour rate
Brake pipe replacementlabour rate
ABS warning light repairlabour rate
Brake imbalance repairlabour rate
Wheel bearing replacementlabour rate
Tyre pressure sensor replacementlabour rate
Horn repairlabour rate
Number plate replacementlabour rate
Exhaust mounting repairlabour rate
Wheel nut or bolt replacementlabour rate
Steering rack gaiter replacementlabour rate
Brake efficiency repairlabour rate
Headlight mounting repairlabour rate
Headlight unit replacementlabour rate
Headlight lens restorationlabour rate
Swivel pin replacementlabour rate

All repair costs All MOT defects

Buying a used car?

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Source

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: DVSA anonymised MOT test data, class 4 normal MOT tests, 2022 to 2025, and the MOT inspection manual published on GOV.UK. Prices: ONS consumer price inflation price quotes, September 2025 to August 2026, UK.

MOT data updated 28 September 2026. Prices updated 22 September 2026.

Not affiliated with or endorsed by DVSA or the Office for National Statistics. How we calculate these figures · Data sources