Team-BHP - Car makers want expiry dates on Airbags

This news from motorbeam could spell another doom on Airbags in the Indian context.

http://www.motorbeam.com/2014/12/new...n-expiry-date/

When people are moving towards safer cars and when asking for airbags have gone up, this news could deter some into thinking additional cost involved in replacing the airbags after a stipulated period and also when going for a resale. Would be interesting to see what could be the expiry period that will be tagged!

Well this absolutely makes sense.
I am in the business of providing safety equipment to the industries, and each item in the loop has to hold a valid certificate prior to installation, and consequently has to be periodically proof tested (based on its certifications and safety calculations) to make it reliable enough to act when required. (thereby reducing the probability of failure on demand)

The airbag system is an absolute waste if it doesn't work when called upon to work and the issue is that you cannot test it unless you actually come across an exigency.

Quote:

Originally Posted by vinair (Post 3608184)

Interesting. Let me ask a different question - even now, how much premium do the top end vehicles (say a ZXi swift over a VXi) fetch? How much of that is due to the safety kit vs all the other farkles (alloys / better brakes / ICE etc)? I'd argue that it would not be too much - a couple of tens of thousands at max!

Let us not focus on the penny-wise pound foolish person who undervalues his life but values a few tens of thousands in resale value 3-5 years down the life.

Most people buy airbags for peace of mind, so I don't think it should deter those who would've bought a car equipped with airbags anyway.

Don't think this news is too relevant in today's context. Most major car manufacturers seem to agree that airbags will last the lifetime of the vehicle. Conservative Mercedes said that airbags in their cars built before 1992 would be good for 15 years, and the ones after '92 will last the vehicle's lifetime.

Even if we take the 15 year cap, considering that 50% of owners change the car after 5 years and over 95% have done so at the 10 year mark...a 15 year old car will be with its 2nd / 3rd / 4th owner. The value of a mass market car here will be so less that few will bother with replacing the airbags of what is an old car.

This absolutely doesn't make sense at all. Safety equipments which are serviceable do have an expiry date but certain safety system are last till fail. For eg Fire extinguishers fall in the former category whereas air bags fall in the latter. Airbag materials aren't exposed, hence question of deterioration, wear and tear or life of the material is ruled out. Similarly if N2 were to be used to inflate the air bag, it wouldn't decrease unless there is a leakage somewhere. Attached is the pic of the airbag located in the steering wheel of Punto, can see that air bags are inflated through an electronic system.

Airbags not inflating when required can be a quality issue, couldn't understand car maker's logic of having expiry date on the air bags. Maybe one more means of making the customer the scapegoat.

Quote:

Originally Posted by phamilyman (Post 3608230)

Most people buy airbags for peace of mind, so I don't think it should deter those who would've bought a car equipped with airbags anyway.

Seconded!
When I was deciding on my first car, went ahead with the POLO GT TSI because of the added ESP (and of course the tsi goodness).
The same can't be said for my cousin, who said "airbags are only one time use" he bought a tdi trendline.
So, I believe this will not affect the people who buy cars with airbags thinking about their safety.
EDIT: Airbags are going to be compulsory soon, so this seems irrelevant.