BOOSTD 7

Just curious if anybody with an airbag has had a head-on collision lately? I'm just really curious, and worried about what will happen if I hit something in my '90 Vert. That airbag is 12 years old, and was made at a time when airbags were still in their infancy. I just have a picture in my head of the bag shooting out of the steering column un-inflated and lodging in my throat.

Icemark

Most airbags should be replaced every 10 - 15 years.

The biggest problem isn't the bag shooting out, but around that time the bag starts to fail to contain the explosion.

Of course that means you are much more likely to get burned in the event of an accident.

But on the brightside if the bag goes off, chances are they will total the car because they are so expensive to replace.

Samps

I am replacing my whole steering wheel for this reason only.

dre_2ooo

WTF what cars had airbags?!?! MY car doesn't have em..

Samps

Convertibles!

jmseven

I have the airbag system also...

Remember that your VIN states "AIRBAG". You might have problems in the future with the lawenforcement.

But, just double chk. My friend has an FD and we were just talking about the same thing.

Let me know.

MaxRX7

1st thing I'll do is get rid of the airbag, I hate those things !

peejay

Airbags must be replaced every 10 years. I don't know if that's part of a vehicle inspection, of if you have to show proof of its replacement when you change title, or whatever.

I've been in a crash where the airbag deployed, my mother was driving - it dislocated her jaw, burned her face, broke her glasses, and the cost of replacement of the airbag/steering column/various airbag-related electronics (all mandatory when airbag is deployed) brought the cost of repair high enough that the insurance company totalled the car. It was a low-speed accident and other than the injuries from the airbag, she would not have been injured at all. (I was fine, fortunately no passenger side airbag! Took forever to find my glasses )

Icemark

The 90-92 US spec convertibles had them (although they were optional in Japan in those years).

NZConvertible

You obviously don't know anyone who is alive today only because of one...

TxGaRedneck311

i hate the damn things too. i was driving in my dads mercury grand marquis, and the abs failed and completely locked up. the car wasnt even 2 yrs old and had been serviced regularly. i hit the brakes nothing happened, slammed on brakes started skidding, locked the wheel to the right and kept going straight. airbag goes off and im in a daze bc the thing is so ******* loud and the whole passenger compartment fills with that ******* smoke. then i fill a burning sensation in my arm look down my sleeve is black. dont think much of it, then it starts to really hurt and there were flames coming off my shirt. **** airbags! my seatbelts have always caught me. oh yeah the car was totalled bc both airbags went off. i know they save some, but to me its just not worth it. i feel if you wear your seatbelt then you should be just fine.

dra_gon_lee

i do think they harm more than help too. my girlfriend got in a accident and it popped open and broke her wrist in like 5 places, from the impact of it...

i was in an accident with one also, low speed, dual airbags from my 99 cavalier popped out and didn't do any damage to me, but it did spray that smoke everywhere...

also in accidents in my crx, where the 12 yr old seatbelts worked fine enought to not throw me threw the window at 80 when i hit the center railing

NZConvertible

I think you need to do a little research on how effective airbags have been in high-speed crashes. To complain about the noise, smoke and minor burns is simply amazing. Maybe in your accident the airbag didn't make much difference (unlikely), but what if you were going quicker?
A friend of mine recently hit a 4WD that pulled out of a side road without looking. She struck it almost side-on at ~120km/h (75mph), flinging the 2 tonne 4WD some 100ft down the road and causing the airbag to deploy. She walked from the car with bruises and whiplash. The police said even with a seatbelt, her injuries would have been quite severe if not for the airbag.
It's a simple fact that airbags and seatbealts together are far more effective at saving lives and reducing injuries than seatbelts alone.
BTW, I hope you had something to say to Ford/Mercury about 2yo ABS failing...

peejay

Very few people do. Airbags have saved maybe 4000 people in the past 15 or so years.

Now, you could argue that any lives sayed is worth it... tell that to the parents and relatives of the 150+ infants, children, and short adults who were killed by the MANDATORY "safety" devices.

There would be more lives saved per year if people would just put their damn seatbelts on. Not just from accidents, but from accidents avoided because the driver doesn't flop around in the car while trying to avoid an accident.

stickgoat

I HATE airbags...my Probe has one, drivers side only for '93, and I hate it. I wish it wasn't there...it makes me nervous. I'm short, at 5'3"ish, and I'm afraid my face would just be mangled in the result of an accident that set off the airbag.

Some vehicles have switches to turn off the airbags...so why is it illegal to have them removed? I want to disable it anyway... none of that inspection crap here in Oregon.

NZConvertible

That's because they ignored manufacturers instructions NOT to put small children and babies in the front seat. Tragic, but not the airbag's fault. Remember, American cars have bigger and more powerful airbags than cars in other countries. This is because they're designed to work without a seatbelt, because too many Americans still don't wear them. Very few people have been injured by airbags outside America. Couldn't aggree more. Anyone who doesn't wear a seatbelt is just ******* stupid.

NZConvertible

Don't worry about it, you're tall enough. And the airbag will do much less damage to your face than your steering wheel...
Those switches are for passenger side bags only, so you can put baby seats in the front, see my post above. The government has made them illegal to remove because it's the tax system that pays for all the carnage caused by road crashes. It saves money (and lives) to legislate instead of just mopping up the expensive mess afterwards. Please don't disable it, it could save your life.

hyperdaddy7

forget seatbelts and airbags..get the safest thing on the market...a five point racing harness...you could hit a cement wall at like 180 mph and walk away...or at least that is what the pro racers use

oppressor666

forget seatbelts and airbags..get the safest thing on the market...a five point racing harness...you could hit a cement wall at like 180 mph and walk away...or at least that is what the pro racers use- hyperdaddy7

yeah there cars are also designed to make sure you walk away. Even with 5pt harnesses in a FC, if you hit a wall at 180mph you would be dead.

Drakk0r

Just make 5 point racing harnesses and roll cages standard equipment and the problem is solved.. And let the dumbasses who choose not to wear the harness get mangled or die.

Drakk0r

Ooops.. looks like someone beat me to it... oh well..