[Sheel]

Originally Posted by IshaanIan

Sometimes you can even cause the airbags to deploy (if the key is in the ignition) just by whacking the bumper with a good swing of your arm and a bat at the right position

Hitting a dog at 80/90 kmph hasn't resulted in air bag activation. I am not good at maths, but if someone is, can work out force etc & can calculate.

I was the co-driver, nothing happened to the dog, it simply walked away. It simply jumped across from the median.

[Zappo]

At the onset, let me acknowledge that I have absolutely no interest in defending either Renault or their A.S.S. On the contrary I very firmly believe that they have a very ham handed approach towards their customers and their issues. I have said as much on the Kwid accident thread. This case is just another example that makes my belief about Renault and the incompetence of its service stations firmer.

However, in this case, I thought a few things might help us consider a different perspective about the extent of damage here.

1. In the past there have been cases where minor front nudges on the bumper in city traffic caused the airbags to deploy in several cars

2. Some manufacturers, Renault in particular most probably relocated the crash sensors underneath the car with appropriate impact sensor tweaks to ensure that these freak deployments stop happening and yet the airbags work when really needed

3. The rare but a new case that happened post that is if people by mistake went over a rock or a sump or something similar they started seeing airbag deployed along with a broken sump guard. I have seen a Scala and a Duster with similar problems in the A.S.S. here. No major visual damage from outside but the airbags deployed

Does this case also falls under such a case. Won't know but looks suspiciously similar. The guy seems to have overrun a sump or a rock which damaged the lower part of the bumper if not the sump guard and deployed the airbags.

If the above actually happened then the damage may not be very big (as in structural damage) and as long as the superficial damages are taken care of (bumper, dashboard and any other things) the person may have a car as good as new.

[shivasuma]

Well, for starters the owner should get the car evaluated by an automobile engineer and see what the damage is. I went through the same thing with Ford (my car was 2 weeks old). Finally I had to resort to the legal way and finally after 18 months or so, I got a brand new Fiesta. One thing to be careful about is that usually the service centers know the independent evaluator and may try to influence his report. The service center is legally liable for any damage they make. Putting something on a piece of paper doesn't absolve them of the blame. If the owner does take the legal route, he must be prepared for a long fight, for these guys will use every trick in the book and manipulate the system to frustrate the hell out. Good luck!

[VW2010]

Personally there is no question here but the dealer cough up the cost and replace the car with a new one. Sell the old one as a refurbished or pre-owned and make up some lost cost.

There is no way as an owner I would be willing to take a car that was damaged to the point the Air Bag has deployed.

Either give me 10 years warranty with bumper to bumper coverage or change the car.

[IshaanIan]

Originally Posted by Sheel

Hitting a dog at 80/90 kmph hasn't resulted in air bag activation. I am not good at maths, but if someone is, can work out force etc & can calculate.

I was the co-driver, nothing happened to the dog, it simply walked away. It simply jumped across from the median.

I believe you completely as I have been in a similar situation once and have also read someone else's experience where the airbags were deployed as a result of hitting a dog not that hard. I can also tell you I have witnessed instances where a 30kph crash that didnt result in anything but bumper replacement and some tinkering, resulted in the deployment of front airbags. One can calculate and even if one does enough research you will find the "required" force, BUT do not make the mistake of thinking that it is absolute. Crash testing agencies and vehicle manufacturers themselves cannot guarantee all the various possibilities in which airbags are deployed or not. Forces are transmitted in many ways and sensors themselves could interpret forces differently based on angle of impact etc. Moreover I for one do not trust the quality of components used in a Dacia Duster so would not place bets on what kind of impact caused the airbags to spill out.

[Doge]

Originally Posted by swiftnfurious

Sorry, all I see is a mis-aligned bumper + scuff plate + the additional bullbar(?). Am I missing something?

While I feel they should replace the car (no doubt, its just one month old), I am not sure I can call this a serious crash or something. And if it was a serious crash, shouldn't both the airbags deploy? I see only driver side airbag is deployed here. The bumper is not even broken & calling it a serious crash is going overboard IMO.

It doesn't have a passenger airbag AFAIK. This is the explore edition which is only available in Rxl trim which doesn't have dual airbags.

[GTO]

Originally Posted by sourabhzen

I remember seeing a clause in Maruti's Service job card that stated something like- "the car is being handed over to the service center at owner's responsibility". I don't know if that clause still exist but that time I signed on the job card.

Originally Posted by ::CMS::

I faintly remember seeing the terms for service says the dealer is not responsible for any accident during a test drive, in the sense the car's insurance will be used.

Originally Posted by landcruiser123

That being said, it'll be difficult to get a replacement as most service forms have the fineprint which says "The customers car is left and can be driven around at the owner's risk."

These clauses account for junk in a legal case. Just because you write whatever you want doesn't absolve you of legal responsibility. This has happened by a dealer employee and it is the dealership that is responsible. Any court of law will enforce that.

Originally Posted by WorkingGuru

This happened to another person I know & he accepted the dealers offer to repair it off the record at their own costs - repairs took a week. Then, coincidentally it happened so the very next day that he took a test drive of the same model from the same dealers sales showroom and somehow, the car crashed. Apparently the TD car had a fault & he didn't bear any liability.

Originally Posted by shivasuma

Well, for starters

Awesome post, thank you!

[(Alok)]

So anyone knows about the current situation? Incident is just 2 months old and it is a very short time to get it resolved.

A related thread is here where dealer persons were playing with a Audi Q7 (http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian...s-tracker.html).