I registered here shortly after buying the car but haven't had much to say. I figured I should share with my fellow late model Protege owners what a <25 mph collision under hard braking looks like (I say <25 as a guess because the airbags did not deploy):

rainy afternoon, I was going about 40 down a four lane divided business route, 17 year old girl in a Hyundai Accent crosses into my lane and stops just before an intersection. The light was yellow, I had no room to stop so I was proceeding through the intersection when all of the sudden this Accent appears. I braked and slid into the driver's side corner of her rear bumper (instantly regretted not getting ABS on this car). Police found her at fault thanks in large part to the eyewitnesses who stayed to support my side of the story. My car is in the shop now, the estimate is over $6200 and 3-4 weeks.

 

Wow... Hyundai Accents coming at you from all sides. Am I right in interpreting that there were two separate Accents?

No airbag deployment? How fast must you be travelling in a head-on collision in order for them to deploy?

I know a guy whose airbags in his mid-90s Ford Ranger didn't deploy in a 40 mph head on collision, and after suing FoMoCo, received a brand new Cougar on them...

 

I do not know for sure, but I am going to guess that the sensors are in the bumper. It looks as though his bumper is relatively unscathed. Therefore, no airbag sensors were affected.

 

"Crumple points". I don't know whether to love 'em or hate 'em. To make cars safer, they made 'em so they'll just BUCKLE. Even in a (relatively)minor accident. It's all about "impact absorbtion".
I hope that you're OK. Was the girl in the Hyundai alright? It sounds to me as if she went left in front of you. Sorry about you little car... At least the air-bag didn't deploy and break your arms like a lady I know. (She was in a parking lot going 15mph in a lincoln)

 

Actually, the way I understand it, there should be two separate equilibrium sensors (two as a safety feature in case one has malfunctioned). If there is a sudden change in momentum (e.g., head-on collision) they will be triggered. Can anyone confirm or contest this?

 

Ouch dude, sorry about what happened to your car, but look at it this way: Can you say new carbonfiber hood and Mp3/WingsWest front bumper?

 

you know instede of replacing your bumper and hood with stock ones you should get aftermarket ones there better looking and cheaper, must the time you have to be friends with bodyshop people to do that thou...

 

no no, only ONE Accent was involved, the one I hit. I was in the left travel lane, she cut in from the right lane and stopped in front of me at an angle. I guess the combination of the angle she was at (corner of her bumper is where I struck) and me braking (causing the nose to dive down a bit) is what resulted in the damage being pretty much above the bumper. As for aftermarket replacement parts...#1 It's not a fast car, I don't want it to be a fast car and I don't want it to look like a fast car #2 Insurance is paying for repairs, they aren't going to pay for aftermarket stuff

 

As far as I know, airbags work in this manner:

First off, the sensors are generally in the bumper. A collision involving the bumper is usually the most violent to the occupants, as this is the strongest part of the front of the car. A crash like in your pics, while no less scary or jarring, has the hood absorbing most of the impact. I'm not too sure how you did it, but you missed the bumper altogether.

Second - again, as a general rule, there are THREE sensors - one toward each corner (but still facing forward) and one in the center. In order for the airbags to fire, TWO of the three must be triggered. Just triggering one sensor will not deploy the bags. And car manufacturers have lessened the sensitivity of the sensors in recent years, so that it requires a slightly more severe crash to deploy the airbags.

And for anyone who has never been in a accident where the airbags deployed - it ain't like in the movies where the bag fills and stays that way. And it's not "air". It is a chemical reaction - an explosion, really - which rapidly fills the bag in a fraction of a second. Airbags are HOT when they fill. But the gas cools quickly - almosty immediately. And the bags are also sometimes vented - this absorbs more of the impact, and also allows the bag to deflate quickly.

If your airbag goes off in a crash, it will be flat and uninflated before you even know it was deployed. It's a VERY fast process from deployment to deflation.

It also makes a minor crash seem a lot worse - at least from the noise. Airbags going off sound like a goddamn gunshot.

Believe me, for cost purposes - insurance or not - as long as you are not hurt, you're better off if the airbags don't go off. I was involved in a VERY minor crash (like well under 10 mph) in a rental Cavalier several years ago. Both airbags went off. So not only was the front bumper cracked, a headlight broken, and the hood slightly bent, but the dash was now trash, as was the steering wheel cover. The force of the bags also broke the windshield. Not to mention the cost of the bags themselves. Insurance paid, of course, but the total cost of repairs for a little smack was over $2700.

~HH

 

Are you happy that you wrecked your car?

 

Sorry that happened to you. But like others said I would go with different parts up front.

 

I wrecked a Ford Contour a couple years ago and I was F'd up by the airbags. As posted before, they do pretty much explode due to the gasses...right after the crash my whole car was filled with this white powdery gassy **** that smelled awful and made it impossible to take a breath. Not only that but they care like a rough canvas material...makes no sense to me. Anyway...I ran off the road and hit a hill at a pretty good speed (40-50?) On this hill was a niiiiiiice big tree. As I moved kinda forward as I hit the hill I hit the tree and the airbag deployed directly in front of my face. Burned my face, neck and chest (through my shirt) and gave me a concussion. The collar of the white shirt I had on was brown...burned somewhere.

They aren't fun...at all.

 

No...it's called sarcasm, look it up.

My brother plowed in to a parked truck in the family Aerostar a couple years ago, the airbag deployed. It kind of tweaked the thumb that was holding the wheel but I don't think he had any burns or difficulty breathing.

 

In December last year I had a collision almost exactly like yours. Front-right side of my car hit their back-left side.

I hit them going 45mph and my airbags didnt deploy...


it took the body shop 30 days to fix and cost $5,500.

 

Oh that's so cute