Safe Speed Forums

I've just got an '02 Impala (american) and had to take out the seats to clean them - the warnings in the shop manual just to unplug the airbags were unreal, it did make me wonder just how stable the wiring system was. Perhaps considering the danger that an airbag can cause (see the pic!) it was just them being double-sure.

Gareth

Totally unrelated to the subject in hand, but..........

Congrats to Derick for achieving RoADA Silver!

Having just started on the first rung of the ladder (IAM associate), I have lots of time for people having passed any RoADA course!

Nice one.

S

_________________
Safe yet Swift.

On most new Peugeots I have seen, 206, 307, 406 and 407, ALL have had a switch operated by the ignition key, which enables you to switch off the PASSENGER airbag.
I suspect the injury might be due to a piece of the dash cover over the bag, which while flimsy, is travelling at some speed. I would'nt be discouraged by airbags if that was the only injury at 60+ accident - but I would worry over accidental deployment!

My wife's nephew breaks up accident damaged cars for spares, and routinely removes the airbag charges if still intact. They have to be kept in a safe place - a locked box with a limit on the number that can be kept in one place is usual as far as I remember!

Edited to add this helpful link....http://auto.howstuffworks.com/airbag.htm

_________________
Time to take responsibility for our actions.. and don't be afraid of speaking out!

Doesn't answer the question very well. The explantation of the bag it's self is good but it skimps on the trigger side.

As far as I am aware airbags are trigged not by one sensor but by a combination of three or more sensors. The impact has to be a certain force, and from the correct direction. (no point front airbags going off for a rear impact).
The instructions I have read for removal of airbags have implied that one of the sensors is located on the airbag unit it's self. I hope this puts Paul's mind to rest over the "stray pulse" theory. You would need a stray pulse and (presumably) a high G force to trigger the detonator.

Don't forget the whole system is tested every time the ignition is turned on and disabled if a fault is found. A common problem on some cars is the airbag being disabled due to a faulty connection on the seatbelt pretensioners.

Quite surprised anyone has managed to avoid an airbag equipped car since they have been standard on most models for at least 10 years. Nowadays it's not unusual to have half a dozen or more.

Am I hell, especially as it is the wrong side of £400 to replace.


Technically speaking, whoever works on the airbag itself is supposed to have an explosives license. In the real world though, I encountered no problem is disconnecting the airbag in our car & removing it as soon as we bought the thing.

Like Paul, I have this (possibly) unhealthy paranoia that the bag will choose to deploy for no reason at all (probably on a motorway at 70mph knowing my luck).

_________________
What makes you think I'm drunk officer, have I got a fat bird with me?

My own limited knowledge / experience of airbag deployment would put a distinctly positive spin on this topic. If the actions of the airbag deployment had caused the injury as depicted, I'd rather have that than the potential consequence of 'mixing it' with the steering wheel / windscreen on a 60 mph impact.

Two comments routinely heard after collisions are

1 - Why did the airbag not go off?
Because the impact speed was not high enough or the angle of impact was not correct.
And

2 - That airbag saved my life / face.

I've yet to see any rogue deployment, but I'd assume that such a deployment would occur in a natural driving situation. A normal relaxed driving position would be out of the range of the airbag itself, although some debris would be spread around. I'm not sure if the loss of concentration would equate to much more than a couple of glances at a speedo in an inappropriate situation . - My thoughts only, no experience / knowledge to back it up.

From my own experience of dealing with collisions, I'd much rather have the airbag and wear the seatbelt rather than be encouraged to consider too seriously their negative aspects.

_________________
Fixed ideas are like cramp, for instance in the foot, yet the best remedy is to step on them.

Ian

Well yes, a ripped nose is a damn sight better than a smashed skull

_________________
"Show me someone who says that they have never exceeded a speed limit, and I'll show you a liar, or a menace." (Austin Williams - Director, Transport Research Group)

Any views expressed in this post are personal opinions and may not represent the views of Safe Speed

also worth mentioning of course after the inital shock the airbag only stays inflated for a very short period (part of the reason why the timing of the trggering is important) so its not going to be like driving along with a balloon in your face.

Cheers for that!

Back On Subject. My 11 Year Old Escort Probably Needs a New air Bag. I reckon It should Be the Manufactures responsibility to re-new them, if they haven't been Used.

_________________
RoADA Member -GOLD 2008
If you don't know where you are going, any road will get you there.

It seems crazy that they're only made to last ten years, when manufacturers must be aware that the cars they're building now are capable of lasting twenty or more.

Also, IanH's words put the airbag in a much better light, although I don't think equating its deployment to being no more distracting than a speedo check is quite the case - it would give me one hell of a fright if it went off for no reason, probably resulting in erratic movement/panic braking for the second or so whilst it was in my face.

_________________
-mike[F]
Caught in the rush of the crowd, lost in a wall of sound..

I'd have thought airbag technology is pretty well tried and tested by now, and that false alarm inflations, for want of a better phrase, are probably less frequent than car crashes. I recall seeing a Top Gear (I think) about ten or twelve years ago where an airbag system was being tested on a Disco or Landcruiser or something large and 4WD. The problem apparently was that a nice hard thump while off roading could potentially trigger the airbag, and to simulate that they drove it along a track at a moderate speed into a lump of concrete small enough to pass between the wheels but large enough to catch the sump. Even though they bust the sump the system knew not to deploy the airbag. Seemd pretty good, and I'm sure the systems have been refined since then. Certainly I've never known anyone or read about someone saying that an airbag went off when it shouldn't have. I'm sure it wouldn't be a barrel of laughs if it happened, but the odds seem so good that frankly I just don't worry about it.

_________________
Make everything as simple as possible, but not simpler - Einstein

It was ever so slightly tongue in cheek Mike.

But I was in truth thinking about the time gap of motoring concentration lost to the unexpected event, rather than the level of surprise / shock.

I don't think there would be a huge difference.

_________________
Fixed ideas are like cramp, for instance in the foot, yet the best remedy is to step on them.

Ian

Er, surely the same applies to many other components in cars.

Perhaps it would be better if airbags, like tyres, only lasted a couple of years, but cost under £100 to replace.

Is it an offence to drive a car with a deactivated driver's airbag?

_________________
"Show me someone who says that they have never exceeded a speed limit, and I'll show you a liar, or a menace." (Austin Williams - Director, Transport Research Group)

Any views expressed in this post are personal opinions and may not represent the views of Safe Speed

can anyone verify this 10year lifetime claim??


and regards testing... yup you should see sme of the abuse testing these things get from sump strikes to being launched off 2foot high kerbs etc.

no of course not.... the airbags in our test cars are deactivated to stop them firing screens/keybaords/laptops at you!

I did read a news article in a car magazine that some manufacturers are self-certifying the lifetime for another five years, presumably for product liability type reasons only.

Gareth

In the US you need special permission to disable a driver or front passenger airbag.

That's about th emost useful bit of info I've managed to Google on the subject so far. Lots of ranting and obviously exaggerated claims.

Just seen that picture .Am I wrong or did we not get similar as adverts for seatbelts some years ago.

Did you get as far as this page here? http://auto.howstuffworks.com/framed.htm?parent=airbag.htm&url=http://www.lemurzone.com/airbag/crash.htm
and this link too, which details future directions of airbag and other safety features within the passenger compartment.
http://auto.howstuffworks.com/framed.htm?parent=airbag.htm&url=http://www.lemurzone.com/airbag/crash.htm
How much more detail do you want?

_________________
Time to take responsibility for our actions.. and don't be afraid of speaking out!

Hmmmmm....., all very interesting.
Having been preparing and competing in historic rally cars for the last 16 years, I have just prepared my first 'modern' car for the new 'F1400 Enduro' rally category. I have had to disable the air bags and de-activate the fuel inertia switch. But then I have had to install proper comp seats, full harness belts, fire extinguishers and a roll cage.
I would rather crash in my rally car than in any of my road cars if I have to crash at all.