Team-BHP (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/)

-   The Indian Car Scene (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian-car-scene/)

-   -   Airbags in economy cars in India (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian-car-scene/88442-airbags-economy-cars-india-2.html)

What scares me most is not if the air bag will deploy in case of a crash, but what if it goes off when the car goes through a huge crater and bounces like a sponge ball. It is going to be a serious problem and could result in a major crash also.
India is also a very dust, dirt & mucj prone country. What if these have clogged the sensors and the wiring along with it. Will the cars give a signal that the Air Bag functionality has been compromised?

Yes. The air bag light which glows for a few seconds while starting will keep on glowing.

Air bags not just inflate, but also deflate immediately after the occupant acceleration is reduced during the crash. So no need to worry about it. But the catch here is that if the car continues in a trajectory and crashes into another barrier, post, car,etc. the air bag will not deploy again (Remember Diana - Dodi crash scenario!)

As soon as a sensor is clogged / there is a flaw, the OBD (On - Board Diagnostics) will provide the info on the dash display. Believe that there is a tell tale for the air bag check.

But the chances of the sensors getting affected is very much unlikely, as they are packaged inside the closed members of the BIW and only trained service guys could actually check them.

But the over all reliability of the system far exceeds the reliability limits of the cars themselves.

I just wanted to share a presentation which i made years back to my sub-ordinates about how airbag system works and some of the acronyms which are used in the presentation are

DAB - Driver Airbag Module
PAB - Passenger Airbag Module
M/F Switch - Multifunction Switch (the switches we use for wipers and headlights )
ESPS Module : - its otherwise known as the control modules

regards
prithvi

lol. Now I know the reason why manufacturers insist us to wear seat-belts :D

Thanks a lot Raj for the information.

PS: Sorry for going OT.

Amith

Will the airbag be deployed in the following scenario?

Waiting for the green signal in a junction. Car gets banged from the front.

The reason why I'm asking this is, I have read somewhere that Airbags in a particular car model work based on Accelerometer only i.e rapid deceleration.

If its banged hard enough, your car will move backwards and that will trigger the accelerometer.

I don't think there is any difference in quality in airbags fitted to expensive and cheaper cars (in our context. Not talking of super luxury cars). Things might change as more cars/ components from our northern neighbour land on our streets though.

An airbag is not like the soft fluffy pillow you use at night to shut the world out. It is an explosive device with enough power to maim and kill. And have. However, airbags will not work if they do not have that power.

The deployment of an airbag will cause injuries. The idea is to deploy it when not deploying it will cause greater injuries. And different manufacturers have different ideas about when that should be.

Codrivers airbags are normally deactivated if the car 'senses' that the seat is unoccupied. Saves on insurance costs. Also for a child, airbags can do more harm than good. Very high class cars have a two level charge, and use complex calculations to decide how to set off the charges most appropiate for the weight. Cheaper cars take a yes/ no approach, essentially because these use a single charge airbag.

Incidentally I see a very disturbing trend. People think technologies like ABS, airbags etc make them invincible. Worst is bikers with crash helmets. They don't realize that all they are doing increasing their survival chances slightly. I don't really know how to get the message across to such people! If I'm too effective, I think they'll stop using all safety measures. If not, they take stupid risks.

Regards
Sutripta

1. If everything was working right, car was probably below threshold speed. Possible that prior crash damage has disturbed system

2. Airbags do not deploy during rear impact and also they are of no use during rear impact.

Sorry for getting graphic, but if the airbag saves your skull from cracking & brain from being splattered on the dashboard, I'm sure you will willing pay the replacement costs. Fact is, airbags save lives. Somethings in life are more important than money, especially life itself!

Incorrect. The airbag will still function as intended. However, there is a reason you see the SRS sign (i.e. Supplementary Restraint System) below the airbag. Supplement = Secondary. The airbag's effectiveness is majorly dependent on your wearing a seatbelt. Without a seatbelt, the airbag can sometimes cause damage!

More people die in India from road accidents than cancer. C'mon guys, lets promote the cause of every safety device we can.

Bingo! What you need in the case of a rear impact are neck restraints (or headrests, as they are more popularly known) to prevent whiplash.

Folks, do airbags have a life of some years and need to be replaced after a particular period? Will airbags in a 10-year old car work as efficiently as new ones?

Bumping this thread up, now that the review of the ford Aspire is out. The lower variants of the Aspire have 2 airbags but no ABS. So if you unfortunately get a four legged animal crossing the road suddenly, while you're doing 80 on the NH, you will end slip-sliding into it, hoping that your airbag sensors will detect the crash.
My question is, shouldn't Airbags be added after ABS on a car? To me, it feels like adding high end speakers to a lousy Chinese music player. A gimmick.

Exactly. Ford Aspire forcing their customers to their top models (Read Titanium and Plus) If you care about ABS. IMO, ABS would play a vital part to avoid certain type of accidents. Had they been added ABS in lower variants of Aspire (Of-course with a premium), It would have been really fantastic.

As far as I could recollect airbag don't have a expiry date. As long as the electronic and sensors are in condition no problem.

Apparently, some of them do.



Benzworld

From the service information sheet:

Source

Volvos:

Swedespeed

Volvoxc

Audi:

Audi A4 B5 also has a similar sticker stuck on the door sill indicating the expiry dates of the airbags.

Audiforums

Alfa Romeos:

Alfaowner

Not sure if the chemical compounds used for triggering the inflation would lose its life over 10-15 years.