My daughter hit a deer with her college car. Nothing too serious just broke the grill. But it set off the steering wheel air bag and locked the seat belts. Found a duplicate car in the junk yard. Replaced the seat belts and have a nice air bag/ centerpiece. Was going to hook it up but thought… “Wait a minute” if something has been triggered maybe there is still voltage that would set this new one off??? Or can I simply do the switch? Also, is there a sensor that I need to replace when it goes off?
There’s an impact sensor, ( accelerometer) that caused the air bag to go off.
These must also be changed. Otherwise, the air bag can go off when the battery is reconnected
Best leave this to a pro.
Tester
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The pro wanted as much as we paid for the car…
Then, I recommend you find as much information about your vehicle as you can, when it comes to replacing the air bag, and the sensor(s).
Tester
You might get a couple more estimates. Ask for a breakdown of parts and labor in the estimates.
That’s immaterial.
Not that I know but if you can get a look at the factory service manual, it should spell out the procedure. I believe they are powered by a capacitor which means it stores the energy until discharged, then has to be charged up again. There may be some software issues to deal with also.
But deer hits are considered acts of god. Should be no deductible or penalty for the claim, at least in the past. My most recent bill though had a flyer in it saying any claim can affect rates. Maybe something changed, we will find out I suppose.
+1
A call to the insurance company may be worth it. Of course, they might total the car but you would get market value for it as settlement.
That usually means the vehicle only has liability insurance coverage.
Tester
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I would avoid driving a car that lets the airbags deploy from a deer hit. The ~2010 Ford Fusions are like this. They put the airbag sensors right under the front of the hood and the whole front end is plastic. I heard something similar about Subarus. Throwing a baseball at the car might deploy the airbags.
Someone might hit the back of a truck with a tall bumper at 6 MPH and push the whole plastic front end in 8 inches. The superficial person looks at how smashed their car is, tells everyone that they ran in to the back of a truck at 30 MPH (people exaggerate speeds), say that it is a miracle that they walked away, and then they complain that their airbags didn’t deploy and they will never buy another another car made by X. You can’t please all the people all the time.
I believe you’re supposed to perform a reset of the airbag ECU after replacing the airbags and pretensioners. The sensors might need to be replaced if they were damaged. Junk yards have all that stuff. As someone said, the service manual has the procedure.
I can tell you’ve never hit a deer doing 60 MPH.
Tester
2 Likes
I was going 45. He was a big buck. Right smack in the middle. Pushed the hood in about 10 inches. Just a slight thud felt inside the car. Nothing in the car moved forward like it would in an accident.
Did the deer come thru the windshield?
Tester
No, but having a bomb explode in your face at 60 MPH going around a curve is dangerous too. If you do crash, your airbag is already deployed and can’t protect you.
Have you ever had an airbag deploy at highway speed and needed to keep control of the car afterward?
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That would mean you’re already in real big trouble.
Tester
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I’ve never hit one straight on. Usually a glancing blow on one corner or the other. Had a herd run across the freeway on South Dakota. One tried to jump over the car but didn’t make it. Just cracked the windshield and slid along the side of the car. Highway patrol put him out of his misery with his .45. I still marvel at how good a shot he was with a hand gun. One shot got up a little and second shot down for good. Maybe 25 yards. Those things are a hazard. I’d be all for a year round season.
Yes we have liability only. Live out in the boondocks of north MN. Got seat belts and air bag from yard. Seat belts went in fine. Air bag was my worry but all went in ok. Sensors weren’t touched. Now we just need to figure the cheapest way to clear the crash code. Dealer wants $200 
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Here are the options I see:
- Get the car fixed right. It will be expensive, but safer.
- Don’t repair/replace the air bag at all. Pay whatever fees to turn off the warning lights.
- Trade in/sell the car for something else.
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Glad it worked out, but I think they are going to have to plug their computer in to reset it. I don’t know if the tech 2 is the computer to use but other private shops have that so might be worth checking. Still $200 wouldn’t be the end of the world. You folks have got lots of deer up there.
A long time ago, my insurance agent told me to never tell the insurance agent that you have had an accident, even if it’s not a claimable item. The insurance agent may notify the insurance company and it will be notated as a “Risk Factor” and it could increase your cost of coverage…
Do we have any member insurance agents who can dispute this? Ever since, I have used a Hypothetical Question to ask about my insurance when I might be considering making a claim…
For Example: “My brother hit a deer and it damaged his grill and set off the steering wheel Air Bag. If this happened to me, would I be covered and if so what would my deductible be, is any; and would this be a reportable accident that would raise my rates?”
Remember, your agent earns their income based on the rates the clients pay, the more the clients pay, the more the agent earns… I get a letter about once a quarter letting me know that my agent is also doing financial advising and sells annuities… The one saving grace my agent has is that she is close by and she always has a big bowl of candy on the front desk…