WARNING....Airbag deployment problem
03-19-2003, 06:21 PM
#1
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WARNING....Airbag deployment problem
My six month old 2002 Audi A4 3.0L fully loaded to the brim was recently written-off after
having sustained severe frontal damage from a head-on collision with a concrete barrier, the
result of being rear-ended. Transport Canada has a recall (#2002221) which applies to the
2003 A4 model. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in the U.S. also has the same
recall on the 2003 A6 (#02V275000). There is also a Technical Service Bulletin for the 2002
A4 (#690201) issued Feb 2002 and titled "Deployed Air Bag-Repair Warning". There could be
other information I am not aware of as well. Here's the problem....the passenger side frontal
airbag deployed but not mine. I was the only one in the car. All emergency personal on site
expressed their disbelief when they saw the driver's side frontal airbag did not deploy and
said that this should not have occured and I should take it up with Audi. Audi customer
service was told of this 10 days ago and I am still waiting for a an explanation for such a
severe safety issue that appears not to be important to Mr. Len Hunt, VP of Audi USA and
their customer service department (800)822-2834. I only sustained minor injury this time and
perhaps I'm lucky the airbag didn't go off because it may have caused more injury BUT what
would have been the consequence in a more severe collision when I would have needed the
help of the airbag!!!?
<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/53078/audi001.jpg">
<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/53078/audi002.jpg">
<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/53078/audi003.jpg">
<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/53078/audi004.jpg">
<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/53078/audi005.jpg">
having sustained severe frontal damage from a head-on collision with a concrete barrier, the
result of being rear-ended. Transport Canada has a recall (#2002221) which applies to the
2003 A4 model. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in the U.S. also has the same
recall on the 2003 A6 (#02V275000). There is also a Technical Service Bulletin for the 2002
A4 (#690201) issued Feb 2002 and titled "Deployed Air Bag-Repair Warning". There could be
other information I am not aware of as well. Here's the problem....the passenger side frontal
airbag deployed but not mine. I was the only one in the car. All emergency personal on site
expressed their disbelief when they saw the driver's side frontal airbag did not deploy and
said that this should not have occured and I should take it up with Audi. Audi customer
service was told of this 10 days ago and I am still waiting for a an explanation for such a
severe safety issue that appears not to be important to Mr. Len Hunt, VP of Audi USA and
their customer service department (800)822-2834. I only sustained minor injury this time and
perhaps I'm lucky the airbag didn't go off because it may have caused more injury BUT what
would have been the consequence in a more severe collision when I would have needed the
help of the airbag!!!?
<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/53078/audi001.jpg">
<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/53078/audi002.jpg">
<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/53078/audi003.jpg">
<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/53078/audi004.jpg">
<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/53078/audi005.jpg">
03-19-2003, 06:50 PM
#2
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You posted in the wrong forum
Secondly - I do not know the engineering design on the airbags - Perhaps there are separate sensors on the car to determine which ones to operate (whether someone is in the seat or not). You should be looking into that before you accuse Audi of being negligent.
Also as a note - seat belts are the main source of protection in a car - the bags are icing on the cake.
Also as a note - seat belts are the main source of protection in a car - the bags are icing on the cake.
03-20-2003, 06:06 AM
#3
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May not be a problem.....our cars have multi-stage airbags (more)
Must have been a relatively low-speed crash based on your pics. Compare to the 40mph crash test below performed by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.
<img src="http://www.iihs.org/vehicle_ratings/ce/photos/0216_1_3.jpg">
<img src="http://www.iihs.org/vehicle_ratings/ce/photos/0216_2_16.jpg">
It could be that because the passenger seatbelt was not fastened, the passenger airbag went off while your's did not. When seat belts are not fastened, the threshold for deployment is much lower.
Not trying to belittle your situation and I'm glad that you're ok, I just think that it is important to fully understand how all the safety systems in our A4s function.
<img src="http://www.iihs.org/vehicle_ratings/ce/photos/0216_1_3.jpg">
<img src="http://www.iihs.org/vehicle_ratings/ce/photos/0216_2_16.jpg">
It could be that because the passenger seatbelt was not fastened, the passenger airbag went off while your's did not. When seat belts are not fastened, the threshold for deployment is much lower.
Not trying to belittle your situation and I'm glad that you're ok, I just think that it is important to fully understand how all the safety systems in our A4s function.
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