10-Year Air bag Maintenance/Check ??

Since you haven't used it in 10 years, what are the odds you'll need it in the future? I have a '71 Jag I've had since it was new. I've never hit anything or been hit by anything. The only crease I got was when it was parked at work in the parking lot and some dolt hit it and left no note.

If you drive your car with your cortex instead of your brain stem, I doubt you will ever need it.

Al

This was an industry thing ten years ago. Now some of the mfrs are backing off and saying "replace every 15 years." (There really isn't any practical inspection.) Personally, I think they are being too finicky. I'm not seeing reports of air bag failures due to age.

Mike

Some new souped up Toyotas reportedly would have a dual airbag system. Makes me wonder what would happen in case of a partial failure. Maybe the front seat occupants would twist in a new and interesting ways. Was it ever tested by Lexus? On live people? :^) I'd personally be rather punched on the face with a single piece airbag than risk serious spinal cord injuries.

Anyhow, unless you live in New Mexico or on an street lined up with bars I think disabling airbags on old cars rather than risk them being triggered spontaneously is a worthwhile task to ponder.

I think you are describing an air bag that went off when it wasn't supposed to. That isn't a failure in the airbag but in the SRS controller. That has been a real problem, especially with certain makes/models/years. The airbag has failed if it doesn't deploy when it receives a "fire" signal from the controller.

Mike

Recently there was an ad on TV showing a little old lady hitting the bumper of a car stopped at a crosswalk. She was slow moving and the driver beeped at her. When she hit the bumper, his airbags went off. Could this really happen, or does the car have to be moving at some minimum speed?

BTW, I don't remember what the ad was all about, just the drama. So much for silly ads!

Al

Not with modern controllers. They require a specific threshold of deceleration for a specified period of time, and in the proper direction, to activate. In addition, the car has to be going some minimum speed for them to activate. The controllers are designed for not activating if there is doubt, because the early ones were too touchy. They would even go off if the car was stationary, leading to all sorts of litigation.

When I was in avionics we tested Emergency Locator Transmitters regularly. You could drop them on the floor and they wouldn't go off, but if you held them to your chest with both hands and pushed suddenly until your arms locked straight they would cry wolf. Same principle.

Mike

This is an interesting thread. You know, air bags were originally installed as a "passive" restraint system because people are too stupid to use their seat belts. Remember the automatic seat belts in the older Legacy's? What a pain, and if you didn't buckle them completely I'm sure they did more harm than good.

IMHO seat belts will do more to protect you in a crash than air bags, with the exception of the new side curtain air bags in a collision from the side.

Let's stir the subject:

A female coworker, a few years ago, got disfigured when the airbag of her toyota tercel burnt her face and arms. When I saw her, 30 mins after the accident, I was furious about the airbag injuring her more than the crash itself.

I believe in side airbags and seatbelts.

You will probably find this link interesting:

Sheld>

IIRC the automatic seatbelts, and the airbags that replaced them, were the result of safety legislation passed by the US congress. The mandate was for a passive restraint system to be used as a supplement to seatbelts... thus the Supplemental Restraint System (SRS) designation. Personally, I thought SRS stood for Stupid Rider Saver.

Mike