Jim M.

I've heard that if the passenger airbag inflates in a minor accident that the secondary damage to the windshield, dash and A-pillar will result in the car being "Totalled" by the insurance company. Any BTDT's out there?
Jim Bailey care to comment, what have you seen with cars 928 Intl gets?
If it's true I would like to look into adding a switch to the passenger airbag like the newer cars.

Or what other options might we have?

Jim Mayzurk
93 GTS

JPTL

We can always wait until the sensor goes bad, and our "Airbag Warning" light comes on....
I'm curious if when the light is on, if the bags won't deploy under the same front end impact as if the light weren't on (hopefully I won't answer my own question)

aaron3

Hey Jim,

Whatever you find out about this topic please share on the Forum. I've heard about this massive damaged caused by the airbags. I'm also interested in the turn the airbags off option as you stated. TIA.

Jim bailey - 928 International

The damage from the air bag is new dash air bag cover ,new air bag, new windshield, new air bag sensors, new air bag control unit ,new steering wheel airbag .......it is a significant amount of damage. For liability reasons it may be hard to get someone to disable all or part of that system. I believe that when the warning is illuminated the system is OFF ! Also note the control unit stores enough electricity to expode the airbags without a battery connected as I recall. READ manuals carefully !!

Jessa

Many cars (not specifically 928s) with minor - easily repaired - crash damage get totaled if their airbag deployed. The reason for this that I've heard is that the airbag itself is a very expensive component to replace. What's a 928 airbag go for new?

hacker-pschorr

From the Wisconsin DOT:

Removing
You should not remove an airbag. It's against the law.

If you remove, change or tamper with an airbag, you can be subject to the Wisconsin Defective Air Bag Law (2001 Wisconsin Act 28). Any person who unlawfully removes or tampers with an airbag can be subject to a fine of not more than $5,000 or imprisonment for not more than one year in a county jail or both.

ViribusUnits

Deactivateing air backs is rediculusly easy though. Any idoit with a wrench set, and some common sence can do it. Or at least they can on other vehicals.

For most Fords, there is a wire that comes out of the clock spring, with a connector that goes to the air back unit. If you want no air bag, you simply remove the connector. This causes the "air bag" warning light to come on, but big woop. I would assume that most dumb air bags are this way.

If you buy a connector from a junk yard, you should be able to wire in a resister to make the air bag monitor think there is an air bag installed too. I haven't done thise yet...

JPTL

(not to mention the body damage that resulted from the impact)
Wow! How can a car not be totaled, considering that laundry list. I'm having second thoughts about trying to get that warning light (sensor?) issue resolved. I've heard of airbags going off after very minor front end impacts in some cars. The idea of totaling my car after being involved in a 5 mph 'bump' into the guy in front of me is scary.
A year ago or so, I swung by the local Porsche dealership to get the service manager's take on my airbag warning light situation. He didn't seem too thrilled at the prospect of even messing with it - even though he had the hammer. I got the impression that he wasn't aware of a quick and/or permanent fix. I don't blame him for his lack of enthusism. I'd guess there's a huge risk to benefit factor there with this being a very litigious area and there not being much of an upside to servicing an airbag for a 928 enthusiast (who's clearly not going to be buying a new Porsche any time soon.) In my mind messing with airbag circuitry is a little like testing a detonator to see if a bomb is active. No way in hell am I going to try to troubleshoot this system.
If the default of the "Airbag Warning" mode is to disable the system, every time that light comes on, I'll now thinking that I'll be regarding it as a blessing instead of a nuisance.

heinrich

I have a like-new car that was totalled because of light damage to its fender and one side's fog light. I replaced the fog light; bumper support (only slightly tweaked) and fender (cheaper to replace than to fix)... and the car is like new. You will see more and more totalled cars or cars with rebuilt titles as time progresses. I kept full records of the parts I replaced, for future reference.

So, to total a car for the loss of a 4500 dollar dash seems very possible. Even to replace an airbag seems like a possible total. Pretty much anything can total a car these days.

FlyingDog

When the airbag went off in my 1991 Saab 9000, it was $4248 to replace all the parts mandated by Saab. Airbag(1), steering wheel, steering column, seat belts for all occupants (2), driver knee pads, sensors, computer. I swerved off the road to avoid an idiot driving with no headlights at 11PM, right tires were stuck in a ditch and hit a driveway. There was no damage to the car. The insurance company considered totalling the car. Once they decided not to total it, they insisted that all of Saabs rules had to be followed when fixing it. I wanted a no airbag steering wheel, but Saab and Liberty Mutual wouldn't allow it.

Try not to set off your airbags. They hurt you and your car.

hacker-pschorr

The warning light does not mean the system is disabled. Airbag systems have fault tolerances built in just in case something goes wrong.

Most warning lights have to do with the contact in the steering wheel. That is the only wear item (I can think of) in the system that is used on a normal basis. Most cars I've played with have a wire wrapped around the steering column or a metal ring and a contact point.

It's a nice feeling when I hear stories of local car dealers trying to talk local repair shops into disconnecting the airbag light because they do not want to pay the big money to fix the real problem. Sad thing is, my friends turn them down, somewhere is a shop that isn't. I have not taken apart a 928 airbag system so I have no idea how those are designed.

perrys4

I can tell you my 90 model was twice as much to insure as an older model ( non-airbag). When I inquired they said it was because it had the passenger side airbag. Told me pretty much the same as is being repeated here. Very expensive to fix after they deploy.

Thaddeus

How long is the service life of an (undeployed) airbag before its replacement is mandated? I know it isn't forever.

Jim bailey - 928 International

Some info borrowed from a air bag web site" ...Audi-The company recommends that the system be replaced after 14 years. For a 1996 A4, the estimated parts cost is $1,000, plus six hours of labor.
BMW-Total airbag system replacement is not recommended at any particular interval. The self-diagnostic system will indicate any SRS problem it detects.
Mercedes-Benz-Replacement is recommended every 15 years. The cost for a 1990 300E sedan, which has just a driver-side airbag system, is $1,760 for parts, plus 0.3 hours of labor. Add 0.3 to 0.5 hours if additional electrical diagnostic checks are called for.
Porsche-The carmaker recommends SRS diagnostic checks at the fourth year and eighth year after the date of manufacture. After that, the system should be checked every two years.
Volkswagen-Replace the system every 14 years. The estimated cost of parts for 1996 Golf and Jetta models is about $860, and the labor time is six hours. ........" So it appears that something like 14 years is about the minimum expected life BUT Porsche wants to check it at 4 ,8,10,12,14,16,18.....

Nicole

I had airbag lights come on twice on two different 928s, because of grounding errors. The light needs to be reset with the propertool (Bosch Hammer or equivalent) - it won't go off automatically, if you fix the problem.

My '91 S4 does not cost more than the '88 I had as my first 928. In fact, I am getting an airbag discount. I'm with Farmers Insurgents.

I was under the impression that airbags don't deploy under a colission speed of 24km/h, which is about 15mph. That's a speed where an occupant not wearing a seat belt would otherwise be severely injured.