How do you know if the airbags in your vehicle still work?
Asked by
rojo (
24179
)
March 14th, 2014
I have a 1997 truck that I still use so it is going on 17 years old. It has never been in a collision that required deployment of the airbags. How do I know they are still in working order? What is the estimated lifespan on airbags and their activation mechanisms? Anyone have any ideas?
Prompted by listening the report of General Motors non-disclosure of a years old problem while on the way to work today.
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11 Answers
Run it into a wall at speed. Or better yet your mother in law. Quick and easy test.
On key up, the system does an automatic test of the transducers and the igniters. If they are bad you will get a Check AirBag light on your dash. That is as close as you are going to get to a real test.
My truck has a dash light that comes on to show that the circuit is good to go. The repair manual says the bags should be replaced every 10 years.
@kritiper The cost to replace a set of airbags can be prohibitively expensive. It might even be more than the value of the 10 year old vehicle. I’d take my chances.
If you don’t mind my asking, what is the make and model of the truck?
@LuckyGuy True enough, but that’s what the manual says. My vehicle is a 97 Nissan. It only has 1 air bag.
The squib is usually the weak link. GM airbags were made with glass to metal squibs. They seem to last forever – and NHTSA has ample records of them working for 20+ years.
Other manufacturers used plastic to metal squibs that unfortunately collect moisture and fail in some cases. You can do some checking to see what your vehicle has. There are counterfeit, made in china, airbags for sale by unscrupulous parts dealers. Don’t do it! They are not reliable. You are better off taking your chances with the old ones.
I have quite a bit of experience detonating airbags experimentally. I have never seen an airbag failure. The oldest squib I personally activated was from a 1992 Ford and it worked flawlessly. (Kids, don’t try this at home!)
So it might be best to check with the dealer or a repair manual for your vehicle to see what is recommended.
If the diagnostic says the bag is ok the old airbag is likely working just fine. IMO, the recommendation to change it is merely a ploy by the manufacturers to cover themselves in the rare case the vehicle is ever in an accident and the bag fails to deploy. They can claim the injured driver did not change the bag according to recommended schedule. Unfortunately in many cases the cost to replace the bag is more than the vehicle is worth. Very few people will bother to do it.
And if the insurance company finds out that the air bag was not replaced as per manufacturer’s recommendation, the claim could be denied. I would bet the bag would work as intended. But that’s the chance one takes.
As far as I know, ALL vehicles equipped with airbags have a diagnostic/sensor system that will tell you on the dashboard if they are faulty. It is built into the technology, as the airbags are also deployed by this same sensor system.
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