Crash

Oct 06, 2007 4 Replies

Hello I crashed my Lexus, a GS 300, a few days ago. The car is a total write off. It happened on the highway, under heavy rain. The back broke out, I hit the median concrete wall head on , the car shot through 3 lanes of traffic while spinning, and came to a stop on the hard shoulder . Then a truck sideswiped my car on the driver`s side . I walked out without a scratch.The car probably saved my life, and believe me, it is not a turn of phrase. No airbag went off. Not a single one. The front crash was off center, that is to say, a few inches from the left headlight. And it was at highway speed. The hood is a jumble od twisted metal.Everything under it is pretty much destroyed.



Why did not the airbags go off? Why did the ESP not kick in?



Has anyone been in a similar situation?Thanks LL.E .



Generally ESP works most efficiently during understeer / oversteer situations & or when braking / accelerating. If your vehicle aquaplained then the controls wouldnt kick in, or work effectively untill traction was restored, by which time you had probably hit the wall.

The airbags probably did not deploy because the vehicle didn't strike anything within the deployment parameters.

The electronic stability control (ESC) did not kick in because the computer for the ESC did not detect the skid, or the skid occurred so quickly that the vehicle passed through the window of opportunity where the system could recover the skid. You did not mention the condition of your tires, but if they were hydroplaning, there may not have been a differential in wheel speed, and/or the angle of the steering wheel was such that the computer thought the driver had the vehicle under control.

Is a major malfunction of the ESC and the air bag deployment system likely, since none worked during the accident?

No, since you did not get an SRS or ESC warning light prior to the accident.

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