05 Accent Head-on w/no airbag deployment

[elantra2570]

My friend was involved in a head on collision last night with her 2005 Accent and the airbags did not deploy. She got a few bruises but otherwise she is ok. Thank god she was wearing her seatbelt or the outcome would not have been very good. I don't know why Hyundai has been having airbag problems lately, but my car has had 3 or 4 recalls for the airbag system. On one of the IIHS crash tests for the XD2, the driver's airbag DIDN'T EVEN FIRE when the car rammed a barrier at 40mph, leading to a recall. Luckily I have not been put in a situation where I needed the airbags to deploy and save my life, but this is not something that sits well with me. Anyone else have any issues with the airbag system other than the stupid "Passenger Air Bag Off" light?

[Doohickie]

I've heard about the Passenger Air Bag Off light lighting when there is someone in the seat, but the only time it's happened with my 05 is when we were on a road trip and my (adult) son was sitting in the seat sideways while snoozing. I didn't hit anything during that time, so I guess I got away with one there, boy.

[chillbro1]

Glad to hear that your friend wasn't badly injured.

Airbag deployment (or lack thereof) is based on many different factors.

Sure a vehicle can be in a head-on collision, but that does not automatically mean that the airbag is going to deploy 100% of the time.

Speed, size/force of the other vehicle or object, angle of collision and other factors are all variables of a crash that must trigger a sensor in the airbag control module (which is an inertia/g-force sensor in the Accent). If there is not enough inertia in the crash to set off the sensor in the Airbag module, then the bags won't deploy. I've seen this system in other non-Hyundai vehicles as well.

An engineering buddy explained it well to me one time...and he said "if a person is still standing/talking and questioning why the airbag did not deploy, then it did exactly what it was supposed to do", essentially saying that sometimes it is safer if the airbag does not deploy in a collision.

Also, an airbag is a Passive Restraint (meaning it is not the primary means of safety in any collision).

The seat belt is the primary means of safety in any vehicle, and airbags only function properly when the seat belt is used.

As far as Hyundai and airbag issues go...I personally feel better that Hyundai acknowledeged these issues, and created reflashes to take care of them, instead of just sweeping it under the rug as other manufacturers may have done. In the age of electronics,all manufacturers have their issues...safety related or not.

[fgummett]

^^ exactly right... it sounds like the seat belt (and pretensioner I suspect) did all that was required in this accident. Don't be fooled by the slow-mo images of soft pillow-like air-bag deployment.. these things go off with explosive force and can be dangerous. Think about it this way.. if an air-bag deploys with a force equivalient to 60-mph it might save you life in a 70 mph collision but could cause more harm that good at 50mph. There have been fatalities and broken limbs resulting from air-bags... especially the earliest types.

FYI.. I recently saw a test on Fifth Gear (BBC) where they were asking what happens when an older car is in a collision with a newer car. The oldercar and its passengers came off much worse and its air-bags did deploy... the newer car and pasengers were fine and the airbags did not even need to deploy.

[soullesselantra]

my passenger airbag light stayed on from Indy to Cincy one time with amanda in the car...but the dealerships i took it to wouldnt reset it or even try to fix it, so i just drive a little more careful with her in the car

[SuperGLS]

What chillbro said. Well said.