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Air bags

R

Russ from MN

Well-known Member
Location
Bemidji MN
Recently I saw a funny little video about a little old lady crossing a street. A guy in a car thinks she is moving too slow and honks his horn, she hits the front of his car with her shopping bag and the air bag goes off. I know an air bag shouldn't go off that easy, but it made a funny video. What I was wondering, can you drive a vehicle after the air bag inflates? Or does something have to be reset?
 
Air bad light or other warning light may be on but the car should still drive ok.

Unless there is other damage to the car of course.

Gary
 
A buddy of mine bought a pickup with front end damage to fix up and drive. After he fixed the front end he cut away the limp airbag and drove it that way, with about an inch of airbag sticking out of the steering wheel.
 
In my state, once an air-bag is deployed....you are not allowed to drive the vehicle until the air-bag is replaced (very expensive).
 
Couple of months ago I t-boned a red light-runner with my F150. My air bag deployed--and did its job very well. I drove the truck home with the spent bag intact. The cop was reluctant to let me take the truck, but he was more concerned about the damage to the truck. His supervisor told him it was my call--and responsibility.

Bottom line: a 2009 F150 will crank and run with a popped air bag. Don't know about any others.
 
Russ, do you have ANY idea of how much of a CRASH it takes to set off air bags, plus the deceleration has to be in the correct plane... in other words, if a vehicle with simple "air bags" gets "T-boned" it ain't gonna happen, 'cuz the deceleration/acceleration is not in the correct plane to break/trigger a sensor.

It ain't gonna happen when granny whacks the hood with her purse, either.
 
When they first came out. My sister in law set one off in her Ford. While cleaning the car. Threw her in the back seat. Broke her neck. Ford said it couldn't happen. But after checking over the car. They couldn't explain why it did. They did pay all medical bills.
 
What model and brand of car that several yrs ago kids would hit the bumper while it was parked and the bags would go off then owner came back to his car with air bags deployed it was in the early days of air bags.
 
It doesn't always take much of an impact. I hit a deer at 55mpg, not a very big deer either, and mine went off almost dislocating my bad shoulder, (again!), when it flung my arm rearward. Damage to the car was the grill, hood and in front of rad. Pretty mild accident.

I'm not the biggest fan of air bags.
 
Ya,at least you can still drive an 02 Ford Explorer Sport Trac. The wife rear ended a car when another one pulled out from a yard sale one time. The bags went off. The passenger side broke the windshield. I cut the bags off,we got the windshield replaced and she drove it while we waited for the body shop to fix the rest of it.
 
majority of the SRS (supplemental restraint systems) are set to deploy at a 3g decelleration, ie 3 times the force of gravity. many vehicles now run a 2 stage system, a low velocity deployment for a moderate impact, and a high velocity deployment for a high speed impact. you are also seeing side curtain airbags, and airbags located in the front seats for side impacts. vehicles can be driven after deployment.
 
Most air bag systems use two switches to activate an air bag deployment. The deceleration switch is usually located somewhere inside the passenger compartment and closes only when the vehicle slows quickly. This is generally faster than can be accomplished with just braking. A second switch is designed to close under impact. There may be more than one impact switch but only one needs to close if the deceleration switch is also closed. If only one or he other closes the air bags should not be set off.

The other thing that set off the air bags is improper servicing. The system is designed to maintain enough electrical energy to be able to set off the bags even if disconnected from the rest of the electrical system That is why it is important to follow the correct procedures when working on the system. Generally one or two connectors neat the bag will be designed to short the wires together when disconnected If the system is disconnected elsewhere first it is possible that they will deploy unexpectedly.
 
My wifes Grand Cherokee has three recall notices for the air bag. Quote, "An inadvertant deployment while driving could distract the driver and cause a crash without warning." This statement just doesn't seem to be worded correctly. I have recieved three recall notices for the air bags and they are all worded differently.
Scheduled for repair next week.
 

I think that it is worth mentioning in any discussion about air bags, is don't allow your wife or sister or anyone to ride with their feet on the dash. A minor crash can result in horrible injury from the air bag.
 
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