Could Your Car Have Defective Airbags? How to Know

The performance of airbags is critical to both drivers and passengers of vehicles, which is why it is important to ensure that your vehicle airbags and additional mechanisms are in prime condition. These pieces of equipment must be ready to deploy correctly if your vehicle senses a collision. As defective airbags have been getting more and more attention in the media recently, consumers unfortunately have good reason to be concerned.

Watch for lamp light indicator

Vehicles are equipped with restraint machinery that has numerous internal tests that can be triggered by the system’s control unit. If your vehicle has defective airbags, a check lamp light in the dash panel will signal the driver; even if just one of these tests reveal a chance of equipment failure. However, a potential issue could arise if the check lamp indicator in the vehicle turns out to be defective. Regular performance regarding the check lamp indicator for any vehicle will be outlined in the owner’s manual.

Fortunately, the airbag system is designed with thorough redundancy, so that even in the unlikely situation during which the sensor malfunctions the airbag system can still identify a collision due to reinforcement for the sensor within the control unit.

Standards for Manufacturers

Regulations can sometimes be the best signatory of an airbag’s performance, because it is close to impossible to monitor airbag performance ahead of time in a situation similar to what could occur in the real world. The bottom line is, airbag equipment must meet standards to be effective, but unfortunately auto manufacturers sometimes look for methods to reduce costs. While an airbag system is highly complex, an innocent vehicle occupant could be injured if a mechanical issue is not resolved, which is why there is standard protocol that manufacturers must follow.

It is important to remember that just because a vehicle has airbags, it is not automatically safer. Airbags are not the primary safety component in a vehicle. The majority of countries have designed the airbags in their vehicles to work only with operation with seatbelts. The two must work together; in fact it is even more critical to have functioning seatbelts then to have functioning airbags. Airbags are a restraint system, but they are supplementary to seatbelts and are not designed to operate without seatbelt use.

Newsworthy Airbag Recall

Recently, over 19 million vehicles were recalled in the Takata airbag recall. In functioning airbags, ammonium nitrate produces gas to expand the airbag in case of crash. In the airbags that were recalled, there is a chance that the chemicals behind the gas produced may destabilize and push the metal portions of the interior of the airbag, causing them to burst.

To date, over 20 deaths have been associated with the issue, and several types of vehicles have been affected including Honda, Nissan, Ford, Dodge, Chrysler, and BMW. Potential related issues are also being researched within the industry to locate additional issues linked to the malfunctioning airbags. Owners of affected vehicles will be alerted of the recall via first class mail if they have updated the mailing address on their vehicle registration.

Necessary Airbag Maintenance

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) found that as low as 70% of owners of recalled vehicles have actually taken the cars in to be fixed, which means that there could be hundreds of cars that have open recalls driving on roads today. Whether or not the vehicle owners are simply ignoring the recall or never received the notification of recall in the first place, owners have a responsibility to monitor recalls and keep up on necessary maintenance. These repairs cannot be overlooked and must be resolved as soon as possible.

How to check for open recalls on any vehicle

It is simple for vehicle owners to be proactive in regularly monitoring for open recalls on any make and model of vehicle. There is a free and easy tool available to the public on the NHTSA website that allows for lookup of open recalls by vehicle identification (VIN) number.

Resolving repairs on open vehicle recalls

Vehicle recalls are not time-limited and the majority of dealers should fix the issue for no charge. Every auto recall is a safety concern and must be regarded as such. Repairs should be conducted as early as possible or as soon as the service can be arranged and parts can be made available.

However, if the vehicle in question is more than ten years old when the recall takes place, the dealer may have to charge to repair the vehicle. It is significantly more important for owners of older cars with recalls to have these repairs made, because age has been proven to be a main factor in a majority of the Takata airbag accidents. Franchised dealerships will have to perform this repair work, as mechanics are not legally permitted to complete recall jobs.

However, necessary repairs should still be made, or the vehicle manufacturer may be contacted directly so that they are made aware of the issue. “Anyone affected by an auto collision could find themselves in a complex situation, especially if the crash occurred because of an open recall and the vehicle was not taken in for repair,” stated Newsome Melton Law.

There is typically a statute of limitations in regards to how long one can file a lawsuit after an accident, which is why it is important to contact a lawyer shortly after a collision to ensure protection of your rights. For circumstances where the individual was correctly informed of the recall and chose to ignore it, the auto manufacturer could claim that compensation should not be awarded due to negligence. On the other hand, if a recall note was not sent and that can be upheld in a court of law, the vehicle manufacturer may be responsible for not providing a recall warning or for failing to commence the recall process in an appropriately timed manner.