tamathumper

I understand the desire for airbags, especially if the car is for your daughter. It might be hard to find an air bag that old that works, though. They're supposed to be "inspected" every three to four years, but that doesn't mean they'll go off.

docmirror

I used to work in the electronics of the early airbag systems. First, the entire electrical sense and fire circuit is checked each time the car is turned on, and it's checked continuously when the key is on. This POST runs a scan on all the components and reports back a fail safe code. If any part of the system fails, the aibag light comes on and stays on, and the seat belt warning light stays on.

The ignition pill is electronic quick heat element inside the gas gen. They cannot be tested without firing so if they fail, that's it. The last of the airbags for the Porsche 968 and 928 production was probably 15 years ago, so even the newest airbag is pretty old.

There really is nothing to inspect on airbag systems.

tamathumper

Yeah, hence the quotes.

BikePilot

I'm pretty sure I saw an airbag time-table in the 968 owner's manual. Memory is fuzzy, but maybe worth reading through it if it is of concern. I agree that the self diagnostics of the electronics are pretty good. I'd be more concerned about the integrity of the bag itself and viability of the propellant and ignition systems. Overall it's pretty well enclosed and I'd guess that they'll last a really long time. I'm sure probability of failure goes up with age, but it's probably 1 in 5mm vs 1 in 1mm or some similarly remote chances of failure.