Will the airbags still work in my 1997 Mercedes-Benz C-Class?

I have owned a 1997 Mercedes-Benz C180 from new and it has now covered 97,000 miles. It has never been in an accident. I seem to remember that airbags when originally introduced had an expected life of about 10 years. Am I deluding myself in thinking that my airbags would deploy correctly after 15 years? This car has provided excellent service and a minimum of repairs, and I am a well satisfied customer.

Asked on 11 May 2013 by BP, Plymouth

Answered by Honest John

Who knows? That's the fact. Apparently an airbag worked on a 1972 Chevrolet that crashed, but it's impossible to accurately predict whether they will work on a car more than 10 years old or not whatever the warning lights tell you, or an MoT inspector.

Tags: air bags safety

Similar questions

Exploding airbags - what's latest position?

Back in May you had this article which revealed a problem with potentially exploding airbags affecting certain Toyota, Honda and Nissan cars. http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/news/miscellaneous/2015-05/huge-number-of-uk-cars-involved-in-exploding-airbag-recall/ That...

Please revise your advice regarding children and airbags in the front seats of cars.

In 2010 you stated that "You only ever turn off the passenger airbag when fitting a rear-facing baby carrier in the front passenger seat." However, this advice is wrong. Please see here: www.cdc.gov/features/passengersafety/...

Why aren't air bags inspected after ten years?

My wife drives a Toyota but it is not affected by the airbag recall. That said, I felt that all airbags need an examination after 10 years. So I think that the manufactures recalling cars for a potential...