Crazytree

I've always thought that it would really fuck me up... especially since I always drive with sunglasses. Don't really mean to make light of the issue... but it's something I've often wondered about.

accsuperstar

ive been hit by one. its really fast and burns a little bit. doesnt really hurt though.

try punching yourself in the face. airbag wont hurt as much as that

dom

I've had one go off in my face, I can't say that it hurt at all but the fumes in the air after it explodes leaves you disoriented and reaching for the door handle ASAP. I remember seeing nothing but white mist in the air and remember not being able to breath properly. My nose I think may have sore for a day ot two but I'd rather have that than a broken nose.

Either way is not something you want to experience.

723dragon

oh my goodness the fumes. this happened to me not long ago, and i can tell you right now, you'll never forget how that nasty ass airbag smells like. at first you open your eyes and its all foggy and dusty, looks almost like smoke, which shocks you to think that it is on fire for a few secs. then finally you find out you've just been in an accident. try to get out but just remembered that car is still in D. try to shift but its stuck. remember to put foot on brake. shift P good. reach for door, open, ding ding ding....where are the keys? oh forgot to take them out of the ignition. take it out, open the door get up as the smoke like fumes follow you out of the car and you turn around to see it all cloudy inside the car. the guy next to you says,"i saw everything, it was her fault' the lady over there yells over "do you need 911?" and finally you see your car :'(
sorry for being dramatic. just telling you my expierence.

dom

Is that your TSX?

If so I'm so sorry. Thats not a sight anybody wants to see.
Great explantion of what it feels like to have an airbag go off BTW, you hit the nail on the head. I had forgotten about all the other "little things" that race through your head after an accident.

dabuda

ouch, sorry to hear/see your experience...hopefully you're alright even if the tsx is not

accsuperstar

yea forgot about the fumes. of course i was more in shock over what happened

Brad

Thank you for the description. I was surprised at how an airbag explosion causes disorientation. Interesting. That would not have occured to me, but it makes sense.

I've never had a car with airbags before. Let's hope none of us ever experience airbag explosions going forward.

captainjack

I've seen someone with burns on her hands from the propellent. Maybe a sprained thumb, too. Not positive--it was about a decade ago.

larchmont

Great thread. A lot of people have wondered, I know I have, and y'all are really describing the whole thing.

Brad

Another issue is the TSX's airbags--how many, 6 or 8? Imagine all of those simultaneously exploding. Powder, mess, and ugly pink bags everywhere.

duugk

Yeah, I have heard that wearing glasses actually will protect your eyes from the airbag. I have read a few stories of small statured people having their eyes blinded by the airbag.
Some points I have picked up along the way:

- Keep your hands, head, feet, etc, away from the airbag deployment path at all times.
- Don't try to "disable" the airbag without good knowledge of the system.
- You still have to wear a seat belt for maximum safety.
- Try to adopt a comfortable driving position that will maximize the distance from the steering wheel to your chest.

Air bags have lots of good attributes but for some reason, many folks overlook their risks and compromises, especially for the vertically challenged among us.

XPLORx4

Somehow I think the disorientation has more to do with getting into an accident (i.e. one that takes you by surprise, not one that you see coming) than having the airbag go off, but maybe it's the entire experience that does it.

fdl

You look like you are a little disoriented in your avatar.

dom

I'm sure its the accident that causes the disorientaion but the white dust makes you wonder whats going on. I remember reaching for the door but finding it locked and then having a hard time unlocking and opening it. I'm sure all that would have been easier without all the white dust making it difficult to see and breath. Not to mention the odor that accompnies that dust does'nt make it any easier.

Crazytree

I guess the disorientation issue is more related to the actually getting hit in the face... much like getting punched in the face out of the blue and wondering... WTF.

Our side airbags are in the actual seats... right? I need to adjust my driving style as my "gangster lean" driving style of days past still has me reclining in that driver's seat/door nook.. for maximum comfort and coolness.

larchmont

Despite the airbag factor, I would think the best thing is just to keep driving however we're most comfortable, and not worry too much about the airbags. My guess would be that there's less likelihood of having an accident if you're driving in the most natural and comfortable way, and that this far outweighs the rest. (Unless you can really find equally natural positions that obey the airbag thing.)

Kwijybo19

Another thing that makes you disoriented (besides the mass of smoke present) is the rush of adrenaline through your body. The body goes through it's own fight or flight response. And the response is massive amounts of adrenaline. As you step out of the car, you will be shaking and quite disoriented. Your limbs especially will be pretty bad. It's all quite harrowing.

Sidenote: Airbags cost a lot to replace. Often times, when a Mercedes or Volvo gets in a 30-40 mph accident, all the airbags will deploy and sometimes that's quite a large amount of airbags. The S-class has 12 or something?? Figure $1000 or more for each airbag replaced. It's quite expensive. Thus, sometimes when a Mercedes or Volvo is in an accident (mentioning these two marques b/c of how many airbags they tend to have) it will be totalled over a comparable BMW or Cadillac. There was an article in Car and Driver a few months back about this. Very interesting.

Crazytree

I just had an idea on how to end all the high-speed pursuits we see on TV. Hint: it involves a remote control.

ClutchPerformer

8

Brad

And with the TSX's 8 airbags, airbag replacement would run 8 grand alone. Add to that whatever body and component damage occurred, and it would not take much to total the car.

Which airbags are legal requirements? Perhaps rather than waste away (total) a car because of airbag costs, one could have only the legally required bags replaced?

larchmont

Well, then, a big question would be, How often do some or all of the airbags go off when not really necessary? Because I think you'd all agree that if they go off when they are necessary, you wouldn't feel any reason to quibble.

Is the answer known, or anybody have some impression? (I have no idea.)

teombe

It's quite rare that a side/headcurain airbag will go off if it's not needed. However, the front two airbags often blow together on many vehicles. Some newer cars have occupant detection sensors in them, and an empty seat will prevent the corresponding bag(s) from deploying.

XPLORx4

Additional information about airbag deployment is on pages 46-52 of your owners manual. It basically says that in a severe frontal collision only the front bags will deploy. In a side collision, both the bags (side and curtain) on that side will deploy.

So, it sounds like in most cases only 2 bags will deploy at once.

Also, there are only 6 airbags, not 8.

Ozzman

Not true. Someone corrected me on this a while back. There are two in the front, two on each side of the front seats, and two side bags for the back seats. You can see where they are in this link . . .


Ocho Airbags

jcg878

Just the front two, and just for new cars. I think if I were in an accident where any airbag deployed and saved myself or my passenger from injury, I'd feel compelled to replace it immediately. Techinically though, I don't think 'the man' would make you replace anything since they are only required in new cars (as far as I know).

jcg878

I had a familly member who was in an accident several years ago where the front air bags deployed. She had burns on both forearms on the inside near the wrists - exactly where the bag had pushed against her as it deployed. They were the same kind of burns you'd expect from rubbing your arms against the carpet - running along at 100mph or so. She was otherwise uninjured.

larchmont

In my very humble opinion, not replacing all the airbags is an insane percentage play, almost as bad as running across the street with your eyes closed just for the hell of it or something like that. You've paid for the basic airbag set-up already, and that's a terrific luxury to have -- it could save you big-time. Yeah, people live without them, but you have a better chance to live with them.

Replace those friggin' airbags if it comes to that, all of them. Although of course hopefully nothing will happen to make you have to do it.

XPLORx4

I think that person was mistaken.

The number of inflatable safety devices (i.e. air bags, air curtains, etc.) is SIX:

1 driver's side front airbag (steering wheel)
1 passenger's side front airbag (dash)
1 driver's side front SIDE airbag (side of front seat)
1 passenger's side front SIDE airbag (side of front seat)
1 driver's side air CURTAIN*
1 passenger's side air CURTAIN*

*The air curtain extends the entire length of the passenger compartment, protecting both front and rear passengers from head injuries. There are no individual seat-mounted side airbags for the rear passengers. There is no separately inflatable rear air curtain.

The photo you linked shows that the air curtain has separate inflated sections from front and rear passengers, which might explain why it appears that there are 8 bags.

Anyway, the point was that in a severe collision, only TWO safety devices will deploy: the ones on the side of the vehicle that experiences the highest instantaneous deceleration. The likelihood that the others will also deploy simultaneously is small, although could happen if you're hit head-on and t-boned from both sides. (But you'd probably be dead, too! )

Kwijybo19

So, correct me if I'm wrong.

The side curtain airbag encompasses two airbags, one deploying from the C-pillar and one deploying from the A-pillar, yes? If so, then it might 'officially' count as one airbag, as the 'side curtain' denotation would mean the whole length of the car, but realistically, two airbags are deploying from two different places.

So:
Driver- front, side, front curtain, rear curtain
Passenger - front, side, front curtain, rear curtain

That makes eight actual airbags that deploy. Even though the front and rear side curtains are encompassed by the 'side curtain' designation, it still means that if deployed, the owner or person at fault would have to pay for the installation of four new airbags. Front and rear driver curtain and front and rear passenger curtain. Yes?

So, officially, it has 6. Technically, 8.

XPLORx4

This discussion is becoming merely academic. The side air curtain is not an airbag or a series of airbags. It's a curtain. It's one piece, not separate pieces that deploy from different locations. In other words, there aren't "front" and "rear" curtains; there's just one per side.

Basically, if your side air curtain deploys (and it appears to explode not from the A and C pillars, but along the entire length of the roof from the A pillar to the C pillar, with the largest air-filled portion being near the B pillar), your headliner is going to be toast, but it won't matter anyway because the car will be totalled by a severe side collision.

Again, only 2 inflatable safety devices are going to deploy under most severe collisions:
front-side collision: both front airbags (2),
left-side collision: left side airbag (1) and left side curtain (1)
right-side collision: right side airbag (1) and right side curtain (1)

Ozzman

From Acura:

The standard Supplemental Restraint System (SRS) features dual-stage front air bags, seatback mounted side air bags, and a first for an Acura vehicle: standard headliner-mounted side curtain air bags for the driver, front passenger and outboard rear-seat passengers.

Basically two front airbags, two headliner mounted front side airbags, two seatback mounted side airbags, and two rear seat side airbags, for a total of eight airbags.

Again, check this link and you can clearly see all eight, and the side curtain airbag refers only to the headliner mounted airbags. The seatback airbags are completely seperate.

http://www.acura.com/models/model_sa...asp?module=tsx

ClutchPerformer

I think Xplor is trying to say that the front side curtain and rear side curtain are the same "bag".

XPLORx4

Ozzman- I only count 4 air "bags" (there are 2 more "behind" the camera.) I see a steering-wheel airbag (cyan), a dashboard airbag (yellow), a driver's seat side airbag (red), and a side air curtain (magenta). I don't see a rear-seat side air bag. All I see in the rear is a continuation of the side air curtain.

Don't be misled into thinking that a rear seat passenger benefits from 2 air-deployed safety devices. He/she only gets head protection from the side air curtain, not torso protection like the front-seat passengers.

peter_mowat

OK, Let's get this straight. The TSX has 6 airbags. I work at an Acura dealer bodyshop and we had one in with the right side curtain airbag deployed as well as the front driver airbag. Some of you may be surprised to hear that we didn't write it off, it was very nicely repaired actually. While it is true that the headliner must be replaced after the inflation of the side curtain airbags, most times, vehicles are repaired unless there is significant damage to the rails and/or frame. The right side curtain airbag comes from Acura as one unit, in one box. It is activated by one relay. It is one contiguous piece of material that is stitched in such a way that the rear portion of the bag is inflated parallel to the rear occupants heads and likewise in the front. The unit does, however, have two charges/inflators (in order to inflate both portions of the bag, front and back). Cheers.

Dan Martin

Man you did some digging to find this thread!

biker

for the for recycling old threads.

ric

Yep - the adrenaline surge creates a heightened state, allowing you to be acute in your response to the incident, but as the adrenaline leaves, which can happen as quickly as it came, your body becomes rapidly depleted, and you experience "shock" - risk dizzyness, fainting, certainly disorientation and loss of extremity control. I was in a nasty accident as a kid (car broadsided, flipped, turned, landed on roof, rolled on its side and then spun around on its side for a mo........) accident felt like it was happening in slowmotion; the disorientation came as I left the car (after smelling gas fumes). Hours later, I realized that every muscle in my body was strained, and I was actually badly bruised, but escaped any major cuts and no broken bones. Made me a true believer in seat belts, which were not mandatory at the time (ancient history). The gas in airbags is nasty, not lethal in of itself, but it does deplete the oxygen in the air for a moment, and that adds to the other explosion of senses.

When you get your airbags replaced, make sure they are installed by a reputable shop or reputable dealer. In most large cities, there is an active black market for stolen airbags; these have frequently been damaged in the smash and grab theft, and they may not deploy properly the next time they are needed. Do you need to replace them in a car that has them? It depends on the annual inspection protocols in the state where you live; I believe both PA and NJ require working airbags in cars that have them installed. If not, I am sure someone will correct me.

Nasty as the side-effects are, it beats the alternative...........

bigwilliestyle

Mine didn't feel so good. Went off in a front'end collision with my GSR a few years back. Felt like an uppercut to my nose and upper jaw; worst I ever felt. Plus the seam of the airbag left an imprint on my face for like a week. Don't want that to happen again.

mg7726

i haven't experienced any airbags exploding in my face...frankly, i hope i never do either!!