Airbags and used cars

Honest John Back Room » Motoring discussion
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Tue 13 Sep 2005 16:14
Airbags and used cars - Stargazer {P}
Just to follow up on a comment I posted in the Merc build date thread.

The earliest cars with airbags are now over 10 years old and so onto their 2nd or third (or more) owner. Would you want to follow recommended procedure and have the airbags checked or even replaced on a car worth buttons? Will the market for 10 year old cars vanish if airbag maintenance becomes a MOT issue?

StarGazer
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Tue 13 Sep 2005 17:05
Airbags and used cars - Blue {P}
Wouldn't touch them personally, the manufacturers are just covering themselves with that statement about changing them. I don't think there's any actual proof that they stop working after 10 years.

I would still trust it to deploy, but then airbags seem to be a bit hitty-missy sometimes, I've seen some fairly heavily damaged cars where the sensors haven't triggered the airbags. I suppose sometimes you just have a double streak of bad luck!

Blue
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Tue 13 Sep 2005 17:14
Airbags and used cars - AngryJonny
Odd things airbags. I find myself always assuming they don't work because I hope never to have to find out whether they do.

Though they're hardly going to wear out due to repeated use are they.
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Tue 13 Sep 2005 22:36
Airbags and used cars - bikemade3
Having workred with explosives all my working life it is easy to see why manufactures attatch a calender life to airbags. After all (IIRC) the violent chemical reaction required to produce sufficent volumne of gas to deply and fill an airbag in a tenth of a second can only be produced by a minute explosive charge detonating.Over time the chemical composition alters, affecting the efficency of operation.
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Wed 14 Sep 2005 20:00
Airbags and used cars - Cyd
Strictly speaking airbags contain a pyrotechnic charge, not explosive.

Most side aircurtains and many side bags are inflated from gas storage canistors not from a pyrotechnic charge.

Anyway, leave your airbags alone. You or your car will expire long before their performance falls off enough to worry about it.
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Wed 14 Sep 2005 00:40
Airbags and used cars - JohnM{P}
Think you may find this previous thread interesting:
www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?t=7034&v...#

(Having paid before a small fortune for a side Passat airbag replacement, the thought of replacing 8 airbags + belt tensioners in the LagunaII Tourer I had was unimaginable!)
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Wed 14 Sep 2005 20:04
Airbags and used cars - Adam {P}
I read somewhere that some sort of residue after airbag deployment was highly toxic. I'm pretty sure it was a Sodium of some kind.

That's more than enough to keep me messing with them!
--
Adam
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Wed 14 Sep 2005 20:15
Airbags and used cars - Stuartli
I've had a wide variety of cars since 1964 - all bought secondhand - and each has had a fully primed, ready to go airbag.

But don't tell her I told you.....
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What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
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