Figures my first auto accident had to be in my five month old 2004 TL. I nailed someone in traffic, pretty bad. The other car was barely damaged. The passenger airbag went off and cracked the darn windsheild, that seems odd to me. The airbag is also going to require replacement of some of the dash because it damaged something underneath it. Pretty crazy. The other scary thing is that my airbag didn't go off. I'm gonna make sure someone checks it before I get it back from the shop.

I also put a nice crack in the dash from my left knee slamming into it. Since I've never been in a crash before, I guess I don't know, but it seems like there is a lot of side items that need to be fixed here. Has anyone else had this experience?

And... for the big news... Repairs will total over $10k!!!

Joe

Picture of the car and a small movie from my camcorder...

http://www.globalgrimace.com/acura

 

Link will not provide access.

 

Sorry to hear about it. It does seem odd that your airbag didn't fire. By the way, the link you provided doesn't work.

 

Good to hear that you are safe but sorry about the car. Hope the shop does a good job. Check the work throughly and if you dont know much about bodywork, have an expert check it since it is such a new car. Also, please check your link.

 

Seems my site is too secure.

http://www.globalgrimace.com/acura/tl-wreck.jpg
http://www.globalgrimace.com/acura/CarWreck.mov

 

Ouch

Funny that you added mood music though, hehe. Insurance paying for any of it?

 

You seem to have a good attitude about it...


Good luck on the repairs.

 

sorry to hear about your loss...after seeing the pictures I have an overwelming desire to go to my garage and give my baby a hug

 

Damnn that sucks whose fault was it? Hopefully not yours. I nned to give my car a kiss and a hug. I know you will miss it while its in the shop getting fixed.

 

OMG! This would be my worst nightmare! My cars exactly the same combo!

 

The disturbing thing here is that the passenger airbag went off, but the driver said didn't - ESPECIALLY given the location of the impact. Something seems really odd there.

 

Sorry the hear about the accident, but glad the no one was hurt. Your airbag
should have gone off...something not right

 

sue acura for airbag not going off. get to a lawyer quickly

 

sorry to hear your loss and thx for the info.

something definately not right with the air bag sensor... did anyone sit at passenger site when the accident happened? Also.. did you hit a SUV or a TRUCK? it seems to me that the other car has a much higher bumper!

and for a wreck like that, it only cost 10k to fix it... it is pretty good I image already!

 

Engine was hurt? Or just radiator and bumper?...

 

Are you sure that is only going to be 10k? Looks like more to me...

Glad you are ok though!

 

Yikes! That looks awful. Although, notice how the rear part of the hood is still shiny. You were keeping her looking good before this happened, weren't you? What a shame. Glad you're OK. I agree with others - what the hell was up with the driver side airbag? I also agree with 1hottl's comment above...bet the final bill is closer to $15k (if done right, which you should insist it is). Good luck.

 

your airbag should have went off. the accident seems like it hit your side more than it did your passenger. you should definitely follow up with either a lawyer or acura because you could have seriously been hurt.

 

Sorry to hear about your accident. It is scary to hear that your airbag did not go off and only the passenger airbag went off. Glad to hear you are fine and not hurt though. It would be interesting to find out though why your airbag did not deploy. Do find out and update us...

 

Thankfully the insurance is paying for all of it, minus the deductible. It was a very quick turnaround too, about 2 days. I have a feeling the body shop will find more damage too and it'll go up. It just doesn't seem like $10k worth of damage, but you never know. $4k of it is laber, according to the estimate.

I do plan on griping about the airbag not going off. I WILL make sure its fixed. I'm not one to sue, especially since I'm fine. Now, if I had a broken nose that would be a different story.

Some prices I thought were interesting:

Xenon Headlamp Assembly - $525
Hood - $495
Radiator - $290
A/C Condenser - $200
Windshield - $425
PAssenger Airbag - $675
Seatbelt - $150 and the buckle is $40!

Thanks for all the condolences and good wishes.

Joe

 

Oh yeah, and it was my fault. I was in traffic on 476 outside of Philly. I looked right to change lanes to get make way to an exit on the right, turned forward and saw a Firebird right in front of me. Slammed the dude good. I assume the car was diving pretty good because of all the damage. It seems I got underneath his bumper. The only damage on his car was the bumper was falling off and the rear passenger quarter panel was bent. I have a feeling his car my be totaled, which stinks.

Joe

 

I suspect that the collision was right at the threshold for activating the airbags. It is possible that there are slight differences in the threshold for activiation of the two airbags even thought they have the same specifications. '

I think you should discuss the failure to activate with Acura but I wouldn't be surprised if there is nothing wrong with the driver's airbag.

If the airbag had gone off it probably wouldn't have saved your knees but you likely would have broken your nose.

 

The repair fee for 04TL seems not so pricy...

Wish you would get your car back soon.

 

sorry to hear about your baby. damn i knew air bags were expensive but not that expensive. hope she'll be as good as new when they're done w/ her. good luck

 

I've been told from ther dealership that if your not wearing your seatbelt at the time of the accident, the airbag will not go off.

Were you wearing your seatbelt? Its all stored in the ECU, so they just need to plug into and look at the log.

 

Yeah. I was wondering that too since your knee hit the dash. Unless you were sitting very close to the dash, then, you should not hit it since the seatbelts have pretensioners that fire to take up any slack in the belts to further decrease the likelihood your would slide forward due to belt slackness. But very glad to hear you are OK.

 

But why would the passenger side airbag go off. I thought he didn't have anyone sitting in that seat?

Furthermore, I would be amazed to hear that the driver's airbag wouldn't deploy if the seat belt weren't fastened. The whole reason that manufacturers were compelled to equip cars with airbags in the first place was to give some protection to people who refused to wear seatbelts. Are they covering the case where the car was being driven without someone in the driver's seat?

Airbags are, in fact, dangerous. People have been killed by them. They will, however, save the lives of many people who won't buckle up. That's why, they have a net positive benefit in spite of the risk of injury they introduce.

 

at least your passenger headlight was salvaged. it just missed getting hit. BTW, those prices you listed seem somewhat cheap actually.... from what ive seen, an aribag could cost upwards of twice that price. and the windsheild seems like it shud b more than 425

 

Sorry to see your baby injured. At least you (and hopefully the other driver) are OK!

 

How can you sue a company if you aren't hurt? "Your honor, the air bag didn't deploy. I could have been killed!". judge: "but you weren't hurt at all". "But I could have been killed!". "It looks like the car safety features were more than enough to protect you. You want the car to protect you _and_ explode a device six inches from your chest even if it doesn't need to?"

 

As far as the airbag is concerned, it does seem really odd that the passenger side front airbag deployed. If no one is in the seat, I thought that it wasn't supposed to inflate. Not too sure.

I know that Acura has what they call Occupant Position Detection System (OPDS), that monitors the position of the passenger and if it determines that the person is leaning into the deployment path of the air bag and or is short in statue like a child, it won't fire. Not sure if there is something like that on the driver's side. If so, then that would possibly explain why the driver's side did inflate. It would seem as though you were a bit forward in the seat, especially if your knee hit the dash.

Just a little speculation. I am glad that no one was seriously hurt in the accident. Speaks well for the TL's crash protection in the event of an accident.

 

It is good to hear that you are ok. I travel 476 plenty and the traffic blows.
it is always good to hear someone who is not sue-happy. You should take pictures of your car and send them to Acura, they will be pretty interested to see a car with front end damage and only passenger side airbag deployment. That is not right. when my CL got hit on the passenger side, the passenger side and both front airbags deployed. They need to know about stuff like this to improve the product and continue to save lives. I'm guessing you were belted?

 

It's attitudes like this that jack my insurance up and put that stupid warning on my Navi screen.

 

hum..don't think so..airbags will do more hurt then help if you don't wear ur seat belt. Also airbags won't help ppls without wearin seat belt. THEY CAN KILL. One of my uncle got into same kind of accident like yours in his MB S320. And his airbags didn't go off coz he didn't buckle up.

 

That sounds like that ramp outside of King of Prussia near Plymouth Meeting! Worst road design ever. Sorry about your mishap. Glad no one was seriously hurt though. Good luck with repairs!

 

I was wearing a sealtbelt. I'm 6'5" so there isn't a whole lot of room in front of my knees with the seat all the way back.

The estimate says both headlamps, so both must be damaged, even though the one looks fine in the picture.

I do plan on talking to the dealership and/or body shop about the airbag. As long as they tell me its fine, I'll trust them. It could also be that it wasn't needed like someone before said. My head/face didn't even come close to the steering wheel, so maybe its ok.

The accident was right before Plymouth Meeting, yes. The last bridge before the tolls to get on 276 and the Northeast Extension. The accident was on the bridge, so I didn't have any options but to nail the dude. The left side was the cement guard rail and the lane on the right had a truck. So, I guess this was the best option of all. The guard rail would have done even more damage and if I swerved, I'd have wrecked up more cars.

Thanks again for all the best wishes!

Joe

 

Sorry about the wreck man. Seems your spirits are up tho - judging by your video - enjoyed the Simpson clip. I feel kinda like a baby for making such a big deal to my wife about some of the chips I found while washing over the weekend. Makes you put it all in perspective. Important thing is you are OK and the other guy too. Take it to a quality shop you trust.

 

From the damage, it just LOOKS like the driver air bag should have deployed. Yes, you're fine, and that's what really counts. No, you couldn't sue anyway - as someone already pointed out, you have no bodily damages to sue for. But still, it doesn't seem right that it didn't deploy. I guess it will take expert engineers to figure out if it worked as it should have.