Ron Steinke takes a quick look under the hood of his newly purchased, 2006 Chrysler 300.

By law it must pass a vehicle safety check, because it’s changed hands.

Steinke welcomes the inspection over the alternative that something could go wrong on the road.

"You do get in an accident you've got the safety of the pedestrians, as well as your passengers and everybody else involved,” Steinke said.

However, there is a key safety feature in the vehicle that isn't scanned as part of that examination. CTV News spoke with mechanics that said Manitoba’s vehicle safety standards check list has a glaring omission.

Airbags do not have to be inspected if the check airbag sign is lit up on the dashboard.

"A little scary, something I think our government should look into for sure,” Steinke said.

Jeff Rempel, the owner of George Rempel Auto Centre, said that needs to change.

"If you get in a collision, airbags are there to save your life,” Rempel said.

In most other provinces, airbags must be in proper working condition, for the vehicle to pass an inspection.

Manitoba is in the process of updating vehicle safety standards, last overhauled more than 20 years ago.

Manitoba Public Insurance tells CTV News, the new check list will be more rigorous and vehicles will fail an inspection if the airbag is deemed faulty.

"Moving forward the airbags will certainly be part of the inspection process,” said Brian Smiley from MPI.

However, including more provisions could mean more work for mechanics.

Right now Manitoba caps the price of a safety at $55, unlike other provinces that allow hourly market rates, which can be more than $100. Rempel said $55 dollars is too low.

"That's about half hour of time at most facilities, government safety takes anywhere from an hour to two hours depending on the condition of the vehicle coming in,” Rempel added.

Increasing the inspection fee could lead to added costs for car buyers.

Marc Lussier owns Lussier Sales in Headingley, where he repairs and sells vehicles.

Lussier pays for 150 safety inspections a year for his business and said those costs become part of the sticker price.

"Too big of a jump, again it would increase prices overall on used vehicles because expenses are up,” Lussier said.

MPI explained that once the new safety standards are complete, the fee will be revisited. The province hopes to have the new standards complete within a year.