WWMRFD: Auto airbags deployed... now what?

[M A V I C]

Confused. How did a highway-speed head-on collision result in only a couple minor dents?

In even a minor collision, the bumper struts need to be inspected and possibly replaced. Otherwise the airbags can go off at the wrong time in the future. It sounds like the previous repair may not have been properly done.

Chances are you can't donate the car without at least having a new driver's airbag installed.

[ztirffritz]

M A V I C wrote:
Confused. How did a highway-speed head-on collision result in only a couple minor dents?

He failed to mention that the hood ornament on his car looks like this:

[Catzilla]

Did the passenger bag take out the windshield?

[gabester]

Thought I'd posted about my previous head-on incident in another post somewhat recently (after keeping silent about it for the past couple years...)

I have to commute by car for work only a handful of times per year; I was driving for this event about 40 minutes from home in the early morning around 6:15 AM - well ahead of dense rush hour traffic but already building towards that thicket. I was in the leftmost lane and passing a semi-trailer truck in the lane to my immediate right at about 55 miles per hour when I heard squealing tires and immediately took my foot off the gas. Moments later I saw a compact sedan veering in front of the semi's cab - I was about halfway back the length of the trailer... It took me a second to realize this was not typical "cut-across three lanes of traffic in one swoop" driving as the car never straightened out in my line but kept rotating to its left until it was facing me. At this point I was slamming on the breaks, cognizant that I had about two seconds of clearance between me and the car behind me and about a half-second before impact with the out-of-control sedan.

Initial impact was nearly head-on for both cars, the other car kept turning counter-clockwise and I hit it a couple more times and scraped along its side as it was wedged between my car and the median barrier.

The semi truck fled the scene and I thank my lucky stars that there was an ambulance not far behind us that immediate responded by putting on its lights as there wasn't enough of a shoulder on the left side of the road to get out of the flow of traffic.

Highway patrol showed up a few minutes later, got us off into a safe area on the right-hand-side of the road. Was surprised to find my car relatively unscathed given the situation - the worst damage was that the driver's side mirror was detached, a crack in the fender and a couple dents on the front left body panel.

The other car was smashed in the front, the side, the rear, with the rear drivers' wheel being at about a 30% angle from perpendicular to the ground. Undriveable.

I made my report and called my insurance and was told by the highway patrol officer I could go on my way. I was shaken up, but knew I had to get to my conference.

The airbags did not go off. The insurance companies eventually decided this was a no-fault accident because the other driver reported that they were hit first (possibly rear-ended at high speed causing them to lose control) and that fourth vehicle, along with the semi-truck, both fled the scene.

The damage appraiser thought my car would be repaired for about $2k so they cut me a check minus my deductible. I never got the damage fixed because all I needed was some duct-tape to hold the mirror on; the cosmetic blemish was something I could care less about given the state of other issues I'd had with the vehicle (bought new, lost two alternators in years 2-3, other electrical/wiring issues, contracted a leaky sunroof for which there was a recall in year 8 but personal events prevented me from dealing with that in the three-week timeframe from when I received the recall notice to when they coverage period for replacement expired.)

Fast forward two more years, hit a tree by a parking pad off-center at low speed possibly the floor mat got jammed under the break. Airbags deployed.

Fritz, loved the hood ornament - I think that's what I'll get emblazoned on the steering wheel since the regular round cover there is now blown off by the airbag!

[M A V I C]

Always get bumpers checked out if they've been hit. Even if they look fine from the outside, there can be damage on the inside. What you're describing sounds exactly like that.

I didn't realize how big of an issue this was in relation to airbags until I had my current car in for work. They put the front end in "service mode" which means taking the bumper off and sliding the engine forward. When they put it all back together, it wouldn't fit right. They realized that the bolt going through the bumper and bumper strut on one side didn't align, and wasn't aligned properly before. The reason being was that the bumper strut was depressed an inch or so. The previous owner apparently tapped something enough to push it in. The bumper had since been resprayed.

The shop then educated me on how this will likely cause the airbags not to go off at the intended time.

[cbelt3]

gabester-
Thanks for the summary. Definitely swap that heap for a fat check !

[Bill in NC]

Welcome to the new disposable cars.

Airbags are some of the most expensive items in the vehicle, so most insurance companies will simply total out your 10-15 year old vehicle when there's been an airbag deployment.