Airbags

[caffrey]

At what speed and type impact are the side airbags supposed to go off?

I was involved in a RTA last night (not my fault) a 4x4 tried to drive through me,

In the iqs defence it held up really well - impressed, just not impressed with lack of airbag deployment.

Not sure of the speed I was hit, I was travelling at 30mph, other driver the same (they didn't stop at a junction)

[s44gtw]

Sorry to hear of your accident.

Have you looked in the Owners Manual to see which Air Bags go off with which type of collision and which forces?

I remember the diagram showing a car rolled & at which angles which airbags deployed, just cant for the moment be sure if this was in the Toyota Owners Manual or on Youtube or similar.

I dont have a Manual but will put up a link when i have Net speed to find an explanation.

george

[DFish]

It all depends on where/how the car is hit. There's sensors all over the place.

Fish

[caffrey]

Think it did well, new kia sportage at about 30mph. all the interior trim is damaged on the door, think I cracked my head on the grab handle above the door

[s44gtw]

I think i would have expected a side airbag to deploy with that.

But,

was it a sliding along the side incident?

Get the insurance company to request that the Accident/repair Assessor/examiner has the bags checked to see they are in place.

& functioning.

I would request that they are replaced as part of the repair proccess.

I would Email that picture to Toyota UK and enquire about the Air Bags deployment.

Sorry, Small & unimportant point considering, but my iQ's have not had grab handles on the drivers side.

I cursed often enough that a Glasses holder should have been fitted there.

george

[caffrey]

Was direct impact full front to my side, i'll ask the insurance company about the airbags, the picture doesn't really do the damage justice - the sill and the a and b pillars are creased too.

[surfcitylocal]

Glad you're OK.

[JordaniQ]

Whao! Glad you're okay! That looks messy!

Jordan

[DFish]

Looks as if the car has gone down the side, which I would doubt would set the bags off. Still might be worth contacting Mr T. though.

The main thing is you walked away intact, and thats all that matters.

Fish

[s44gtw]

Sorry i hope the sight of this does not traumatise.

I think the iQ did pretty well, shame about the airbags.

I think we can see exactly how the ugly brute impacted.

Did the Sportage's airbags go off?

george

[craggle]

Airbags are funny things and controlled by so many sensors and systems and won't go off unless they really will help. There is a section in the owners manual that states certain situations when they won't work but I think it mainly concerns rolling over.

Glad your OK though, The bruises and aches will start soon, I felt fine after a car hit the side of my Land Rover a few years back but a few days later I had all sorts of funny bruises in odd places!

Hope you get everything sorted out soon.

Craig.

[AndrewMW]

I wrote a peugeot 306 GTi off years ago, had a huge side impact. No airbags were deployed. Peugeot stated that they would only go off if sensors decided that the integrity of the side impact beam was in danger. Seems that would mean a more 45 degree angle giving more angle to intrude into the cabin than a full 90 degree hit would give.

[AndrewMW]

Double post for some reason

[caffrey]

Thanks everyone,

I've read the ncap report and watched the video, at 30 seconds in, it's quite clear the airbag should've deployed in my opinion, i've informed my insurance company about it, doesn't matter about the speed - that airbag would'v'e saved me from the sore head that i still have!

[craggle]

I did have a read of the manual last night and it does state that side airbags beploy in an impact on the side of the vehicle at anything from about 20mph and up but it does keep stating "side curtain airbags" (if fitted)

It's the "if fitted" part that got me wondering, are they fitted to all vehicles and how do you tell if they are?

Craig.

[Parts-King]

I see bumps in cars every day and people THINK the airbag should go off, when in fact, the car is designed to absorb huge forces BEFORE the airbag is deployed. Remember, it is an SRS system, a Supplementary Restraint System, it will NOT go off if it does not detect exceesive forces no matter where in the car, the fact you only had a bump on the head is testimony to this. Often cars look destroyed, but they are designed to bend like that and can often be easily repaired. If the car is repairable then the air bag system will be checked, they will not be replaced unless they need to be, insurance companies do not replace componants "just in case" Cars that have been in accidents, and the airbags deployed, often cause other injuries to occupants, such as friction burns, you should be glad they did not go off, it is not a pleasant experience ;)

Kingo

[caffrey]

side impact at 30 secs in at 30mph , very similar damage to mine - but like you said mind can play funny tricks when it's shocked.

[caffrey]

some more pics for the morbidly curious :)

[Parts-King]

To be honest, that is light damage, it looks more like a glancing blow rather than a T bone type of accident, it is just the type of crumple you see in modern accidents, it looks bad, but the safety structure on the Shell has not been breached

Kingo

[s44gtw]

Just a little point from my experience as a Qualified Panel Beater/Sprayer, long time ago now. lol not.

Still involved in Vehicle repair and purchase of 'Insurance write off's'.

Many Insurance companies do Replace things, just incase.

Like in Motorsports where after an 'Incident' the Harness is cut up so as it will never be used again.

'Some' vehicles examiners will have or specify the seatbelts replaced.

'Some' will have wheels/tyres replaced after side on shunts or closely inspected, many just dont give that much attention to the tyres after a shunt.

These are 'not just incase', they are reasonable precautions that should these days be an asssement made as a matter of course for the reason of future safety. JMO obviously..

*much less common these days on lower value vehicles but much more common on expensive ones.*

Many people will not like the fact that the 'Expense of the repairs & parts, obvious and precauctionary ', might mean the vehicle being a 'None Economic repair' ie 'A write off'

Toyota make such a deal of the iQ airbags, funny its less than obvious to purchasers of iQ's how and where the airbags are.

george

[Parts-King]

From my experience of dealing with a multitude of insurance companies George, the replacement of "just in case parts" is negligable. it is ALL about cost. yes they will pay to inspect things, and quite rightly too, but rarely would they replace anything just in case. Try getting an insurance company to pay for a tyre, not a hope in hell, they MIGHT pay a small contribution if you are lucky, after measuring the depth and offering a pittance. Similarly belts will be examined, and unless there is any sign of stress, it would be rare to get them replaced. As for an air bag that hasnt gone off or shows no sign of a fault? No chance, I price estimates daily and rarely price things "just in case" I regulary have to delete off estimates, mangled bits of metal that will "repair"

Kingo

[s44gtw]

That can be where and often is where the vehicle will end up getting Repaired, when the costing is done that way.

(things will need to change with parts like bulbs, and various sensors that last very short times aften accidents, but might be working right after the incident and during the assessment of the damage.

Also its How people can 'Buy' certain classes of 'Write off' that just needed parts finding at less than a 'Main Dealer'/Repairer quotes, & quality repair and parts used a totally good and safe repair carried out.

More parts replaced than the 'Approved repair centre' is willing or allowed to do,and costs less than the Approved Repairers costing.

Might be bad for the innocent victim of an accident but keeps the motor trade and independent repairers & re-cyceles/breaklers in business.

Not getting at anyone, just generalising about 'Insurance assessors and Insurance Approved repairers.

Many are very good, sadly some have not a clue.

george

[caffrey]

I just checked the manual, and says curtain air bags if fitted, how do you know if they are ? I've airbag labels on both pillars and a label on the seat, bit confusing.

Toyotas marketing blurb on the website clearly states 9 airbags as standard, the ncap test has side airbags yet the manual says "if fitted" - even tho there's no choices / options to add or remove - confusing again.

according to the manual the curtain airbags deploy if hit by a 1500kg vehicle at 12-18mph perpendicular to the vehicle - I believe the kia is 1800 kg.

[Parts-King]

The labels on the pillars and side of seat indicate side air bags

Air bags go off for a number of reasons, firstly the amount of decceleration is measured by a sensor, you cannot generate enough deceleration from braking alone, you need to hit something or be hit in order for the deceleration to be measured. In your case, the amount of deceleration required was probably not suffcient to set it the airbag off. You might have been doing 30 at the time, but with a bit of braking on both parties, you could be down to less than 20 mph at impact. We are not in possession of the full facts but that looks more like a glancing impact rather than a full on T bone, so it is quite possible that not enough deceleration was measured to set them off. As I said above, you dont really want to be by an airbag when it goes off, at very close distances, they can be leathel !!! There is nothing better at protecting you in a car than the seatbelt, the SRS system is only an addition to the seatbelts, to assist the seat belt in doing its job, not to replace what the belt does. Your head is never restrained and can weigh between 3-6 KG, and even with a side airbag, trying to stop your head decellerating is a difficult job. its all about motion and trying to control the laws of physics, a side airbag can help in stopping crush injuries from typical T bone accidents, those that would normally crush your pelvis, but stopping your head moving is much more difficult

Kingo

[s44gtw]

Lots of people can have lots less trust in their vehicles and 'all the airbags' if it turns out you are travelling but stationary & hit by a vehicle (t boned) but none of the many airbags deploy because there was 'no decelaraion' or not the correct deceleration.

In the T Bone described here it is going to be interesting as to if the iQ is repairable.

Or, If it is a Write Off with an impact not enough to deploy the bag, what does that say??

I think the car did a good job of protecting you.

If it was mine & it is written off,

i think i would be love to be in the position to be able to buy it back from the insurance and then stage another T Bone into it, just to see when the Bag will deploy.

http://www.bbc.co.uk...siness-16653221

Fore armed is fore warned.

If you are not satisfied or happy with your insurance company & the Accident examiner/loss adjuster, you can get your own cheap enough.

Remember the 'Loss adjuster' is employed by the Insurance company and does not always have your best interest at heart,

they are trying to limit the expense to the Insurers.

'If you want the vehicle examined on your behalf then maybe worth getting an independent examination, & get the Replacement valuations from the prices you will need to get a like for like vehicle.

Good luck.

george