MOT - Rear seat

[michael_askew@hotmail.co.uk]

Hi

'09 Berlingo First 1.6HDI

The rear seats split, single and double. The double seat is always folded down, it will now not fold up because the seat belt is jammed.

It's an MOT failure, because they cannot test the rear seat belts and head rests.

Is it possible to remove the double rear seat completely, therefore it will not be taken into consideration when the MOT is being carried out?

Or will the van fail the MOT because the rear seat is missing?

Thanks
Michael

[Sol]

If some optional items are not present, they don't record it on the test. For example you don't need to have a spare wheel, so it can't fail if you don't have one, but if you do, the tyre must be legal etc.

I'm sure the rear seats and belts are one of those "if fitted" or "if present" parts. Think of guys who remove rear seats for track use but still drive the car on the road, no seats so no test (likely remove the rear belts too - which may even release the jam!)

[brodfather11]

my B9 is/was a wheelchair adapted vehicle (WAV) but is now a car. It has only three seats two front and one rear. Mot was passed no trouble and nothing said about lack of fourth/fifth seat.

[oilyrag]

It is possible that the MoT man will add a note in advisories that the seat could 'not be tested as not present', but unless the jammed seat belt isn't removed the man may not be happy that it isn't in working condition, seat or no seat.   
Probably simpler to just fix the problem, which is only a jammed belt.

[cancunia]

The MOT man is correct to fail the car. But, as above, if you remove the seats they may well put an advisory on the MOT as they can't test the seat belts but other than that it should be ok. I've seen a few like that when looking at the MOT history of Berlingos that I was interested in buying. As it's a B9, the seats can be removed without unscrewing anything so it's a completely legitimate thing to do.