WASIII

On Tuesday my fiancée was involved in a car crash. She was headed straight through and intersection and a guy in a Dodge Durango SUV hit her. Since she lost consciousness during the accident, we were later told by an eyewitness what happened. The driver of the Durango was headed the opposite way and in his left turning lane behind a bus. Feeling the need for himself to get where ever he was going faster, he went around the bus, cut it off in the intersection, proceeded through the intersection that she was driving through and hit her pretty much head on. His right front hit her left front. Needless to say she was taken to the hospital. No broken bones or contusions but in a heck of a lot of pain. What happened to the car you ask? You'll see momentarily. Now here is some info I need from the community. The weird thing about the whole accident is that all the damage was done to the front driver's side of the car, but her airbag did not deploy on the driver's side, it deployed on the passenger side. I searched the forums but did not come up with too much. Once you see the pictures can anyone tell me why the driver's airbag did not deploy and the passenger one did? She was alone in the car while driving with only a bottle of water on the front seat. But if you look at the windshield, the passenger side is cracked like someone's head hit it in the crash. Any explanations for that? Has anyone else had an unfortunate occurrence such as this? And also, do you think the car is totaled or will they repair it? Never even got the oil changed yet. Only about 2K on the car.

Thanks in advance and I'll follow up with a report later.

JTso

iTrader: (2)

Links don't work...

robert_tsxgeek

Ouch...ouch...ouch ouch !!!!

Once again: To eternal hell with those careless drivers !!!
>;]

jkochis

I would find out why the airbag didn't deploy, that doesn't seem right since the car was hit on the drivers side. Interested to hear if you find anything out.

iamhomin

Man, what is it with the accident these days? Hope your fiancee feels better.

As for the damage, I think it could be repaired. If the engine is still fine, then I guess your total estimate for the repair will be around the 10~13k area? Try a search on some accidents (the one's I can recall are jcg's and az_21's) about their accidents and results.

Dan Martin

I think it's totalled but 21_in_az probably has the most experience in this category.

Sorry to hear about that. :'(

robert_tsxgeek

She was wearing seatbelt, right ? so sorry this crap happened to your queen, man...hope she get well soon

TSX 'R' US

Wow
Hope she's doing better. I think the crack from the pass windshield was from the passenger airbag deployment.
But I'm not sure why the driverside airbag didn't deploy... Looks like it should've deployed though.. Might want to have your insurance comp look into that further..
Seeing pics of that TSX makes me want to :'(

dabuda

ouch! sorry to see those pix

looks like it's fixable but if the frame is bent i think it's automatically salvage... 21_in_az would know more

phile

Sue that SOB...

I can only think of 2 reasons why the airbag didn't deploy:
1) It's defective.
2) I think side airbags anticipate rollovers. Because the car was hit from the left side, the computer probably anticipated the passenger would more likely bang his head against the passenger side window?

robert_tsxgeek

I want to castrate that SOB SUV driver....was that a guy btw ? :angry:

WASIII

but if that's the case, shouldn't the 'side' airbag have deployed instead of the front? Don't know much about how airbag sensors work.

WASIII

.....shouldn't the 'side' airbag have deployed instead of the front? Don't know much about how airbag sensors work.

WASIII

Yeah, he was with his wife/girlfriend in it. And one thing I forgot to mention was that after the accident that a$$hole did not even go over to her to see if she was okay. I got a call from a volunteer fireman who told me they were going to take her to the hospital but he figured I would make it before they left. I missed them. When I saw the guy at the accident scene, I asked him if he was the other driver and he told me yes. I asked if anyone was hurt he told me no. Sort of too-bad that $hithead wasn't hurt.

:fingerfawk:

gfxdave99

#1 i'm glad she's okay
#2 I would call acura about the airbag, that doesnt look right
#3 I think its totalled
#4 Take the fog lights off before you give it to the insurance company

jcg878

I'm afriad this is not the case. My frame was somewhat bent around the C pillars, and it was still repaired at a cost of $16,000.

WASII I'm sorry to hear of the accident. If there wasn't any substantial damage to the mechanics, I think they'll fix it. I'd be pissed about the driver's airbag not deploying! I wonder if you can exploit that somehow with Acura.

jcg878

Looking again... no intrusion into the passenger compartment at all

robert_tsxgeek

jcg878, how you doing with your TSX ?
Notice any difference from before the ho-with-a-SUV crashed into it ?

phile

Oops - I thought I saw side airbags, but that is indeed the front.

cmf

Damn, that looks horrible, glad to hear that your lady is OK, even without the bags going off.
I would agree that the passenger side bag went off and cracked the windshield, the force of those bags is amazing. Additionally, I would call Acura and your insurance company to discuss the drivers airbag not going off. If one should go off, they both should. For that, I would think the car has more problems than is visible to the eyes.
Like jcg878 said though, unless there is some crazy amounts of engine or mechanical damage, based on what has happened with others, they might just fix the car. It might also depend on the insurance company though.
Assisting your lady with her pain should be your top priority, and also to get the bastard that hit her to pay for it, but also be persistent with Acura and the insurance about that airbag deployment. That could have cost a life if it were any harder or more severe.

People need to wake up and pay attention to the road. Hopefully that guy gets hit hard with fines for reckless driving and damages.

McGriddle

Sorry to hear of the accident. That really sucks. Since it's clearly the SUV driver's fault, just be prepared to sue the heck out of their insurance.

I also hope your fiancee feels better. Glad to hear there were no major injuries! Send her sympathies from all of us.

About totaling: it all depends on your insurance adjuster and the extent of damage to the frame, etc. Hard to tell jsut from the pics.

Anyway, good luck... and hope things all turn out well.

toddstuh

Airbags are triggered by a series of sensors. This is being a dual airbag system, The fact that one airbag deployed indicates the sensors determined the impact was significant enough to trigger them. The fact that only one bag deployed in a dual bag system indicates to me that the steering wheel bag of the driver was most likely faulty and should have deployed as well.

21_in_az

Sorry to chime in so late.........

And i'm truly, TRULY very sorry! i hope your wife will be ok.........i know im not, yet.

as far as the car goes, after seeing all my mess, i think they will fix your car. probaly about 15k in damage.
my total was 26,000-ish to fix it all. so........... good luck though man!

also, THE AIRBAGS ARE A F^IN JOKE! i knew it!!!!

there is a MAJOR malfunction in the air bag deploy system/the SRS unit's are shity!!
my lawyer is looking into honda/acura about this, so in the mean time, i dont much about the whole thing........but, there is a problem with the system.

what was your build date, or car #?

also, check out my pics in my sig.......

good luck man.......

21_in_az

i forgot about the airbag..........i think whenever a car's airbag deploys, they SALVAGE it and pay you off.

i think......

so, it might be totalled after all.

euroStyle

make them buy you a brand new tsx.

DEVO

i don't know why one deployed and not the other... but it looks as if the bumper was really not hit where I think the sensor is located, which would explain why the air bag didn't deploy.

and the crack in the window looks like it was hit by your wife's head.

miner

First off, get an attorney and DO NOT talk to the other insurance company. Leave that to your attorney. Secondly, someone on this site took a picture of a TSX involved in an accident on a highway in the NE I believe. That car (TSX) rear ended another individual and the TSX bags did not deploy either. There is definitely a fault with this airbag system in the TSXs. I smell a recall from Acura but hope it is not too late for others in case of a major accident. :'(

One other thing, this SRS system is designed to not deploy bags is someone is not in the passenger seat which was obviously your case. I think Acura has got the Air bag sensors switched around - This is not good.

jcg878

Are you sure?? I know there is a system to detect if a passenger is in the path of the side airbag (i.e. a slumping sleeper) that will prevent it from actuating... are you thinking of that?

bob shiftright

Paranoid minds must think alike ... yeah, since there's a sensor replacing the seat heater in the back of passenger seat to tell if the seat is occupied, I'm also wondering why the airbags deployed the way they should in Japan, ie. the LEFT airbag should NOT deploy if the passenger's seat is unoccupied on a RHD car. Don't suppose they didn't tell the car's software that we have our steering wheels on the LEFT and drive on the RIGHT over here????

sleepygreggy

when i bought my car salvage the passenger windshield had cracked from the airbag. Also, the upper dash needs to be replaced when the passenger bag blows. In my case, someone flew around and cracked the lower dash with their leg I presume and the A/C vent with their hand. The passenger bag alone is about ~800 and the module is ~400. Upper dash is around 400 if i recall correctly and from there the parts start adding up.

You can push them total it very easily if you tell your wife to claim that she no longer feels safe driving this vehicle and refuses to get in it (particularly good excuse here since in this accident here driver bag didnt blow). Any questions let me know, I work in my family business body shop for the summer.

corbs

The crack on the passenger side couldn't have been caused by her head, she was driving and alone. Plus the airbag on that side went off. Maybe the water bottle hit it before the airbag went off. . . although it's still sitting on the seat.

Only thing I can think of is somehow the two airbags were wired incorrectly/crossed, which would be Acura's fault.

One thing the dealer told me (although it doesn't explain the driver's side not deploying) was that if I was riding alone, I shouldn't place anything on the passenger seat. If I had any kind of bag or anything like that I should place it on the floor or in the back. He said the sensors were pretty sensitive and would take even something like a package to be a person and would deploy the air bag in an accident. He felt that I wouldn't want to pay for repacking an airbag for nothing.

It's got to be bad wiring. . .

EDIT: Damn you guys are fast posters

Viking

WASIII - hope your fiancee is feeling better.

If they don't total it make sure you go to a reputable body shop maybe your dealer if its covered by insurance.

gurneya

I am not 100% convinced the airbags worked properly in my TSX accident. Both bags deployed in 5-10 MPG front end collision but nothing was in passenger seat (person or otherwise). I had understood the passenger bag would not normally go off in that situation. As in photos displayed above, passenger airbag demolished the windshield. I was also quite surprised the bags went off at that slow of an accident.

Just to replace airbags, windshield, and dash was over $3000. WasIII, I don't think they will total it. Based on my accident damage, I'd guess your damage is ballpark $14K assuming there's not significant engine damage.

One word of warning, parts were hard to come by getting the TSX fixed. It took over 8 weeks to get my car fully repaired. Bodyshop was waiting on one Honda part that was significantly backordered and the car was not driveable without it.

robert_tsxgeek

and you didn't tell us anyting about what happened ?

yuhoo22

First off....glad to hear that your GF/wife is ok and didn't break anything. That SOB should be in the hospital for what he did and in pain not her.

I would agree that the airbag on the passenger side is what caused the crack in the windshield. I feel that the airbag should have deployed on both sides, but a friend of mine got into a similar accident in her TL and the airbags didn't go off either. I believe Acura said it was because she was going slower than 15mph, but I doubt that was the problem.
Definitely find out with your insurance.

Send your wife/GF my regards and sympathies!

jginnane

1. Yes, the front impact missed the steel bumper, so it missed the primary sensors. Look around for pictures here showing the plastic bumper removed to install a CAI. (I also know about it because I couldn't mount my fog lights in the corners, because there was nothing to mount to.)

2. Even if the insurance company says it's repairable, push for them to total it. A unibody gets twisted. THAT is why the glass cracked ... which in turn, triggered the airbag.

From a more practical standpoint, the value of your vehicle even after a complete repair has dropped by several thousand, thanks to Carfax. (No one wants to buy a car that's had severe body work done on it.)

3. Your fiancee is young, like you. You both think you'll heal fast. WRONG! Take every medical test, go through every procedure, exercise every precaution. Any injury sufficient to cause someone to lose consciousness can have repercussions that don't show up for months, even years later. (My wife fell off a horse over 20 years ago. 99% of the time her back never bothers her, then WHAM! -- she'll be doing something in the garden, and all of a sudden the once-ruptured disc erupts in pain.)

4. You did not mention that the other driver had been ticketed. Try to press the policeman to charge him, as soon as possible. (It's very helpful when dealing with insurance companies.)

WASIII

What would he get ticketed for after the fact?

jginnane

1. Yes, the front impact missed the steel bumper, so it missed the primary sensors. Look around for pictures here showing the plastic bumper removed to install a CAI. (I also know about it because I couldn't mount my fog lights in the corners, because there was nothing to mount to.)

2. Even if the insurance company says it's repairable, push for them to total it. A unibody gets twisted. THAT is why the glass cracked ... which in turn, triggered the airbag.

From a more practical standpoint, the value of your vehicle even after a complete repair has dropped by several thousand, thanks to Carfax. (No one wants to buy a car that's had severe body work done on it.)

3. Your fiancee is young, like you. You both think you'll heal fast. WRONG! Take every medical test, go through every procedure, exercise every precaution. Any injury sufficient to cause someone to lose consciousness can have repercussions that don't show up for months, even years later. (My wife fell off a horse over 20 years ago. 99% of the time her back never bothers her, then WHAM! -- she'll be doing something in the garden, and all of a sudden the once-ruptured disc erupts in pain.)

4. You did not mention that the other driver had been ticketed. Try to press the policeman to charge him, as soon as possible. (It's very helpful when dealing with insurance companies.)

jginnane

The policeman (at least, those down here in NJ) can wait up to a week after an accident to issue any kind of traffic ticket. (Right now it's only 48 hours after.) This is because sometimes the assessment of fault may not be completely clear at the scene of the accident (believe it or not). The officer will want to interview the driver who lost consciousness.

If the policeman tickets the other driver, 2 or 4 points on his license and a nominal fine may not be all that we think Durango Man deserves. However, the assignment of 100% responsibility to that driver means the insurance companies don't need to dicker over billings. It also means you won't get the three- or four-year surcharge, but the other driver will.

JOZMAN

SHIT... I HATE THOSE FUCKING ASSHOLE WHO THINKS THEIR IN FREAKING FAST AND FURIOUS MOVIE....: >;]