So the other day I was backing out of a gas station parking lot and my airbag went off. Crazy stuff when not expecting it. I took pictures of the damage to my arm and the car. I don’t really care about the bruises and arm pain, what I don’t want to do is spend $1200 to replace the air bag. First because I think it’s ridiculous it went off without accident and I have to fork out $1200 because of that, second I’m not going to lie I have a little fear of driving the car with another air bag in it.
If that air bag had went off while I was on the highway I would have been dead. Simply no way to be able to react in time not to crash at full impact.
So I’m wondering what my options are here. It’s a 2006 Lincoln Navigator that I have owned since 2008. Any thoughts? Also once it goes off, there isn’t air left to deploy again right? Last thing I want is it to blow with no bag.
I would think it can be a terrifying experience zooming along and the airbag suddenly and without warning deploys. It sure is scary. Having a catastrophic tire blowout, or losing a complete wheel while traveling on the highway is equally scary and can be life threatening as well.
I wonder would happen to the court system if each of those cases is taken to court or an attorney hired to make a profit or recover the cost of the repair/replacement. Take your loss and go on.
You need not worry about that. Once it blows, there’s no longer any charge left to discharge the bag system.
You’ll need to simply get it fixed and eat the cost. However, I also recommend that you file an incident report with the National Highway Traffic Safety Association (NHTSA). See the reporting process on their website. If there are a sufficient number of incidents of this happening in these vehicles, they may open an investigation, and at that point your vehicle will become included and you may receive restitution. Note that this may take years, however if an investigation is opened it just may save people’s lives.
I agree. Who know why this happened. Maybe it is short wire and they install another and poof it goes again when you turn the wheel to a certain point. If it were my car, I would either get rid of it or not replace the bag.
Excellent point. The OP should call the insurance company ASAP. And ask the local dealer to get in touch with the Regional service rep to see if Ford will repair it free.
I would not be comfortable doing that unless and until the defect has been positively isolated to the old airbag assembly. What if there’s a problem with the crash sensors? You’re setting yourself up for a repeat!
There are a number of inertial sensors in the car that can trip the airbag. If one is malfunctioning, and the airbag is replaced without finding out which, it could be dangerous. The errant sensor could again trip the bag… this time on the highway.
I’ve never diagnosed this problem, but I have to believe there’s a way to identify the defective sensor.
Anyone here with information on that would be a great help.
By the way, I would include this thought (see first paragraph) in my correspondence with both the manufacturer and with NHTSA.
Yes I have the takata airbags, problem year, asked about getting them disconnected as there is no recall, I am not recommending you drive without a properly functioning airbag, but I could live maybe without one.
