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Air Bag Deployment

410 views 21 replies 15 participants last post by  Cobra Cory 
#1 ·
My son has a 2000 Mustang and as he was driving in a parking lot last night he hit a pothole at about 10 miles an hour and both air bags deployed. Scared the crap out of him but otherwise everything is fine. Luckily he was moving slow, I can only imagine what would happen if they deployed without warning while traveling at high speed.

Any ideas what can cause this to happen? Defective sensors? I hope Ford covers this under warranty.

Thanks

Tom
 
#2 ·
Tom, should'nt be defective sensor... There is a "safing sensor" in the air bag module that must also be activated to confirm impact along with actual crash sensor. If I'm not mistaken the software can report what the mph was as time of deployment. I have seen deployment without any cosmetic damage. HTH
Ed R
 
#3 ·
My 1997 Audi A4 was at around 37 mph when I hit the back of the semi (long long story) and the air bags didn't deploy. The impact caused over $19,000 damage to my car, including pushing the engine and trans back into the trans tunnel.

And Audi North America said I was going too slow, they shouldn't have deployed.

Number 973 in the extremely long list of reasons why I'll never even sit in an Audi again.

Lawman, I think that most auto manufacturer's reps will say whatever it takes to get you off the phone and/or out the door. At least what they say will help with an insurance claim, if needed.

AJ

P.S. If you are Audi North America and are reading this, well, hello again. No, I haven't forgotten.
 
#4 ·
Aj cobra Nj :

Audi's are good cars (well they are crap) we pay about 45 k$ for our A4 2002 and the wiper don't work, and then the horn stopped working and then you would need the open the hood to clear all the messages on the computer to start it....and then the washer fluid would stop working.... and there are these dealers that are asking you when will you sell it and change it for an another new audi ....and don't forget the other problem they couldn't find...great car but has an attitude....


As for airbags, they should not go off in a slow impact, they have been modified not to go off at slow speeds. But there is Canadian and American Airbags, Canadian Airbags don't go under a
certain speed (like 30 mph) because most Canadian wear there safety belts (like 98%) so bags designed for the canadian market are made to go off at a higher mph, but american airbags are made to go off at lower mph (like 20 mph),

Now most of the car manufacturer have switch to the higher limit bags because of children issues.

This is not a impact or accident so it should be covered by the waranty, Just tell them it is an unnecessary deployement.

hopes this help

Nick
 
#5 ·
I agree that Audi has gone down the tubes in the past few years. In their infinite wisdom, they use 4 ball joints per corner that are non serviceable and have a 75k mile lifespan in our climate. WHen them go bad, its big bucks to replace them. My dads twin turbo needed a timing belt, we got rid of it. After it cost over 1k for brakes, we didnt even want to know what the timing belt would have cost.

As for the airbags, that is weird that they went off. Must have been one hell of a pothole.

My buddy crashed his volvo with 47 miles on it. All sides and the front were completely ruined, no airbags went off and his spleen broke and one of his lungs was collapsed, the airbags went off on the flatbed. I believe they sued volvo and won.
 
#6 ·
It aint just Audis that dont deploy airbags... Last week my wife "T" Boned a Caddie Sedan Deville in her 2002 Pontiac Gran Am. The Caddie was in the oncoming lane and decided to take a left RIGHT in front of my wife. There was maybe 4' of skid mark from the Pontiac before impact. The Pontiac needs ALL new sheet metal from the windsheild forward. Have'nt gotten it on the frame machine yet,so I cant say anything about if it's straight or not. The Caddie Passenger side Doors are caved, the C pillar is bent all the up in to roof, The A pillar is bent all the way into the roof the windsheild broke from the A pillar bending so far. Basically it's totaled.If there had been anyone in the passenger side seat it would have been a bad thing :eek: .The impact was at 30-35 MPH. No one was hurt. The airbags in the Pontiac did not deploy. The amazing thing other than no injuries were that the raditor did'nt get punctured and I drove the car to the body shop about 5 miles away. Other than the bent sheet metal and the broken lights it did'nt drive bad.


[ July 14, 2004, 10:33 PM: Message edited by: Smitty ]
 
#7 ·
Originally posted by Smitty:
Last week my wife "T" Boned a Caddie Sedan Deville in her 2002 Pontiac Gran Am. The Caddie was in the oncoming lane and decided to take a left RIGHT in front of my wife.
let me guess...stupid old man/woman that has the thought process and reflexes of someone that is drunk and who shouldnt be allowed to drive.

:rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:
 
#8 ·
Airbags are capricious things. I think manufacturers should build better seats and people should wear 5-points all the time. :D

You can read elsewhere about my Olds Bravada that slid 100+ yards on ice this past winter before leaving the road at 40+ mph, traveling straight down (nosefirst) about 20 feet, impacting, rolling end over and and then side over side, and coming to rest on its roof. Not one airbag deployed. Car was obviously a total loss. Four adults climbed out the broken windows and were fine, if shaken up.

Still, if that doesn't set off an airbag (side or front or ANYTHING), what does? I'd rather not have them there at all -- just another way for manufacturers to keep prices and repair costs nicely inflated.

Cheers, John
 
#9 ·
I don't know who makes the controllers for Ford, but Bosch's guidelines state that any car suffering an unexpected activation of safety devices (pre-tensioners or airbags) should be rigorously checked for pre-existing impact damage. If you do not know the full history of the vehicle it would seem prudent to have this done.
 
#10 ·
Bosch's guidelines state that any car suffering an unexpected activation of safety devices (pre-tensioners or airbags) should be rigorously checked for pre-existing impact damage.
This should always be done regardless of the MFG.

BTW the 2002 Pontirat I bought new. There is no prior accident history.
 
#11 ·
let me guess...stupid old man/woman that has the thought process and reflexes of someone that is drunk and who shouldnt be allowed to drive.
Nope 30ish yr old guy that pulled a big time bone head play. Stupidity isnt reserved just for the old ;) ...I know plenty of stupid young people :rolleyes: .
 
#12 ·
When the NHTA tested slow impact 5 mph to check which cars passed and failed due to damage ( supposed to be minimal damage ) the Kia Sorento deployed at 5MPH!

Also, any of you pickup guys with those big brush guards....you have several problems with that setup. First, your crumple zones will not work and Second, the air bags will not deploy because the sensors are in the crumple zones. Many people have died due to this setup, not on the truck end but whoever gets hit. I know first hand what this will do.

JQ
 
#13 ·
Continuing the o/t theme
:

Well said JQ. I've seen the immediate aftermath of an accident involving a Chelsea Tractor fitted with 'bull bars' - not that you see many bulls on the King's Road :confused: - I won't share what happened to the occupants of the smaller vehicle, but the driver in the 4x4 discovered what having the floorpan fail under (through) your feet feels like :eek: - according to the fire brigade a direct result of the bars.

There really is no excuse, even if you need them for offroad use, removable bars come off in minutes.

Edited for crimes against grammar
 
#14 ·
Thanks for the replies. I have the car going in to Ford next Monday so we will see what they say. We have had the car for about a year but dont know the full history except that Carfax indicates no serious accidents (I bought it used from a local Ford dealer).

Reading JQs comment about the brush guards on trucks, can someone clarify something: I always assumed that the airbag sensors in the bumpers were some type of "eletro/mechanical" sensors, that is they would activate when contact was made with them as the front end collapsed in a collision. However, in speaking to friends about what happened here, I was told that the sensors actually measure velocity change, so that they activate when there is a sudden change in speed, regardless of whether anything contacts the sensors. Anyone know if this is true?

Thanks

Tom
 
#16 ·
Originally posted by UKCoupe:
Yes, it's true, they're acceleration sensors.
Actually - it depends on the sensor year/mfg. The older ones were a gold plated ball held in place in front of the gold plated contact. They were designed for front impacts only .. and would only deploy if contact was made within a 30% impact zone of the front bumper. IIRC - deployment was 14mph into a fixed object, 28mph into a same direction moving object .. or there-a-bouts.
 
#19 ·
Originally posted by Giff_4872:
Is there any chance your son might have been moving faster than 10mph?
The dealer will answer this using the data stored in the "black box". They can also determine throttle position, brake pressure, ABS activation, engine speed, seatbelt useage, and other parameters at the time of deployment, as well as a period of time beforehand.

Jeff
 
#20 ·
P.S. If you are Audi North America and are reading this, well, hello again. No, I haven't forgotten.
My dad gave me good advice when I contemplated buying a foreign car... "I wouldn't own a VW unless I lived in Germany."
My '80 Malibu was dirt cheap to own, maintain & fix. He said if I had taken care of it I could have gotten another 210,000 miles out of it! :rolleyes:
 
#21 ·
Giff, I'm pretty sure he is being honest about the 10mph. There is absolutely no damage to the body of the car or air dam, the rim is not dented and the alignment is not off. I think there would be some sign of damage if he was going significantly faster. As Jeff says, we'll know Monday when the dealer checks the computer.
 
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