It sounds like a simple system. The car
crashes, the airbag pops out, death and injury are avoided. The piece
missing from this picture is your liability if you fail to adhere to all
repair procedures required by the OEM.Since it first began to show up in
vehicles in the early 1980s, the typical airbag safety system has become
one of the most complex and technology-loaded subsystems of the modern
automobile. And the new breed of smart bags and side-protection systems
are even more complex. This is why it's critical that you thoroughly
understand the liabilities as well as the intricacies involved in therepair of today's airbag systems.Complex TechnologyThe airbag system has become complex
because of its advanced engineering, which includes computer evaluation in
the event of each vehicle impact. The computer must determine whether the
airbags should be deployed by evaluating a series of lightning-fast
calculations that take into account:the speed of the vehicle on impact;the type of impact-head-on, side or
rear hit, etc.;whether the passenger's belt is
buckled;the driver's weight;whether a passenger is on board;the passenger's weight.If a deployed system is not estimated
completely and is not repaired exactly as specified by the OEM, if the
exact number of mandatory replacement parts are not written into the
estimate for installation, if the wiring harness has been spliced when it
should not have been and if the crash sensor control module has not been
reprogrammed correctly, the airbag system you believe you have repaired
may not deploy in the event of another impact. And guess who would be
liable for any injuries or deaths that may occur in the event of that next
crash? You."Many body shops call in our
franchisees to verify their airbag repairs and to reprogram a system for
them after repair," says Doug Hansen, president and chief executive
officer (CEO) of Airbag Service, a national franchise company based in
Mercer Island, Wash. Hansen is a former OEM engineer who has a number of
years of experience in the design and operation of supplemental restraint
system (SRS) components. "All too often, our people find that body
shops have failed to make the right repairs or the most complete repairs.
But our diagnosis usually reveals what they have done wrong."Don't Guess, Don't AssumeBecause no two OEM, factory-installed
airbag systems are alike-and, in fact, some of them vary widely-no
technician should assume that the steps taken to repair a 1998 Buick SRS
last week will lead to a successful repair on a 1998 BMW airbag system
this week, even if the same parts and replacement procedures are followed.Also, do not assume the repair procedures
for an OEM airbag system printed in the carmaker's service manuals is the
same across all models of a given year or even that the procedures apply
to most popular models across the line. They usually do not.For instance, the directions for the
1995-98 Ford Taurus airbag system say the electronic crash sensor control
module, located in the passenger-side kick panel, should be checked. If it
is functioning properly, it may continue in service without being
replaced. In the case of a 1995-98 Mustang, the exact same control module,
located in the same place is used. But the Mustang manual says the module
should be replaced, regardless of its condition and even if it checks out
OK. While this is an extreme example, you may find other cases where the
same procedures do not apply to different vehicles of the same line and
model year.A Lot Can Go WrongThe portions of an airbag repair that can
go wrong run the gamut from missing a damaged connector that needs to be
replaced to failing to connect all of the wires in the system to splicing
a broken wire set-a procedure several carmakers prohibit, Hansen says.An airbag service company can help
collision repairers ensure a complete airbag repair by performing the
following:writing a complete estimate for the
repair;performing the repair if the shop does
not have an experienced tech;verifying the system's operation
following the repairs.John Benbow, an Airbag Service franchisee
in Philadelphia, recounts the assistance he provided in the repair on a
1999 Hyundai Elantra. This car's SRS uses a pyrotechnic arming device that
fires to pre-tension the seatbelt harnesses when the system detects a
collision. Once the tensioned seatbelts are released, they roll back into
the door pillar.I-CAR Provides Airbag Repair Data
OnlineI-CAR provides a plethora of airbag repair
information free of charge on its Web site (www.i-car.com).
The information, which must be downloaded, is listed by model year from
1993 to 2001. To navigate your way to the data, follow these instructions:
1. Go to www.i-car.com.
2. Click on the word “I-CAR” on the left side of the top blue navigation bar.
3. Click on “Advantage” in the top section to reach the online technical newsletter.
4. Click on the letter “e” in the large-type heading “Advantage” that appears on the screen.In this case, the collision repairs were completed and the airbags and all related components were replaced, but the airbag warning light continued to illuminate. Upon sitting in the car, the technician found that the driver's seatbelt would not pull out of the door pillar. It was locked in place."No one had checked the seatbelt system to be sure the belts worked OK before returning the car to its owner," Benbow says. "And no one at the body shop knew this was a one-time-only explosive-activated seatbelt tension system. They assumed everything they had repaired on the airbags would work again. Not so." When Benbow checked the Hyundai service manual, he could not find any reference to this particular style of belt pre-tension mechanism. It took a call to Hyundai in California to find out that the company had not included that information in its manual. But the story doesn't end there."Once I had given the shop the part number information and a listing of what they should ask for, their call to a local Hyundai dealer revealed that there would be a three-week wait for replacement seatbelt arming devices," Benbow says, adding that the body shop's options were limited. "The customer could be informed of the delay on parts and that the car could be driven but that the seatbelts would not be usable until the complete repair was made. In this case, the shop could have had the customer sign a paper agreeing to the understanding that the belts were unusable, so as to avoid any second-crash liability. Or the vehicle owner could have left the car to be completed once the new parts arrived." However, non-functioning seat belts are illegal in most states.Incidentally, several carmakers use this kind of pyrotechnic pre-tension device, and even in rear impacts, this sub-system may fire to protect a vehicle's occupants.OEM Parts Counts VaryBecause there are wide differences between OEM recommendations as to which parts and how many of them must be replaced once an airbag system has deployed, the following list is an estimate of the number of mandatory replacement parts on many popular 2000 model year vehicles:Acura-5;Audi-11;BMW-8;Buick-5;Cadillac-9;Corvette-10;Chrysler-11;Daewoo-3;Dodge/Plymouth-11;Ford-6;Geo-7;Honda-5;Hyundai-6;Infiniti-5;Isuzu-5;Jaguar-5;Jeep-6;Kia-2 (bags only);Land Rover-9;Lexus-7;Lincoln-3;Mazda-3;Mercedes-Benz-no mandatory list
but up to 10 items in a front hit;Mercury-7;Mitsubishi-6;Nissan-6;Oldsmobile-6;Pontiac-6;Porsche-6;Saab-9;Saturn-6;Subaru-6;Toyota-7;VW-7;Volvo-9.If you miss any of these mandatory replacement parts, it's your shop's liability coverage that may take the hit if a lawsuit follows any failure to deploy in the next crash.Looks Aren't EverythingIn the case of a crash where the driver was alone in the car, but both front bags deployed, you may be required to replace not only the airbags and related parts but also the entire instrument panel assembly. This is because even though the bag has deployed for a seat that was not occupied, the force of the deployment may have weakened or fractured the instrument panel support inside the structural assembly. This is a condition a casual inspector will likely never see.If the panel assembly is not replaced and the vehicle is involved in a second crash, the passenger may not be fully protected because the damaged support structure may let go and fail to protect the passenger. The cardinal rule should be: If the OEM says to replace it, replace it, regardless of the part.Because few insurance appraisers are aware of the parts and labor intensity in an airbag system repair, few of them will ever tell you if you have a short estimate. In addition, when a complete estimate is provided for an insurer's approval, there is rarely any question about the itemized detail or the cost. Future liability is a sensitive area for insurers as well as for repairers.Salvage AirbagsOn the matter of the growing volume of salvage airbag sales, Hansen believes a repairer can never perform a satisfactory and safe repair by installing a salvage bag. "This kind of repair is downright dangerous," he says. "There is no substitute for using the genuine OEM article when it comes to airbag replacements."Hansen advises repairers to deny any insurer's attempt to demand salvage bags for a repair. Some of his company's franchisees occasionally receive calls from collision repairers asking them to talk to an appraiser who insists the use of salvage bags are an acceptable economic repair. "Economy should be the least of their worries," Hansen says. "The insurance company should be made to assume all the liability for salvage bag or non-OEM parts use, legally signed off, if they insist. I find none of them are willing to go that far."However, Airbag Testing Technology, based in Troy, Ohio, last fall announced its plans to test, certify and then sell salvage airbag modules. President Peter Byrne told Collision Industry Conference (CIC) attendees in October that the company verified its testing process last summer and plans to begin selling its certified, salvage airbags in one or more Canadian provinces this year. It anticipates an initial market in the three Canadian provinces that have government-run insurance monopolies. The company plans to ease into the non-insurance-paid repair market in the United States within the next few years.The company conducted its tests on 58 Ford Taurus salvage airbag modules and on 10 new Taurus modules, which were used for comparison. All of the modules deployed successfully following the certification process, which involves checking for proper electrical integrity and resistance; checking the mechanical fasteners and cosmetic appearance of the module; ensuring that no foreign matter, such as glass, has entered the cushion cavity; and checking for surface levels of sodium or calcium that would indicate the module had been immersed in water, which renders it unusable.Critical Tools LackingIf you think your shop has all of the necessary tools to perform a complete airbag system repair, you are probably wrong. For instance, do your techs use torque wrenches to ensure that all fasteners are tightened to the correct specification? "For many airbag system replacement components, it is extremely important for the future security of the system that everything be tightened to the exact torque spec called for by the manufacturer," Hansen says, adding that many body shops do not have a properly calibrated torque wrench for this kind of exacting task.Horror StoriesThere are numerous horror stories as a result of incomplete, improper airbag repairs. Some of the tales involve vehicles sold at auction. Some of these vehicles have been repaired to a cosmetically saleable degree, but their airbag systems have not been replaced. In these vehicles, little more than the dash covering is replaced. "What we sometimes find is that a small resistor or timing device has been installed to flash the airbag warning light on the dash and then go out as it normally would in the original assembly-line installation," Hansen says. "What is never revealed to anyone, however, is that these kinds of repaired vehicles simply no longer have functioning airbags in them."Benbow recalls one case where an auction-bought, previously repaired car owned by a Philadelphia judge was found to have no airbags. The judge apparently took this information to the auction seller, returned the vehicle and received a full refund. But no one knows the answer to the key question: What happened to this flawed and unsafe vehicle? Was it repaired correctly? Or was it moved on in a sale to some other unsuspecting individual for use or resale, without having been repaired properly?Unfortunately, these practices can result in deaths. On April 28 in Coquitlam, British Columbia, a female driver was killed when her Toyota was involved in a collision. The police investigation revealed that there was no airbag in the car, even though the steering wheel indicated there should be one. The facility that repaired the vehicle after a previous wreck had installed a piece of foam in the steering wheel, instead of spending the estimated $2,500 it would have taken to properly repair the SRS.Benbow tells the story of a poorly repaired 1998 Toyota Camry, which was bought as a used car when it was one year old. The second owner took the airbag in for service because the airbag light would not go out. "We found this car to have about 30,000 miles on it, and the passenger-side bag unit was not connected," Benbow says. "In fact, the connector on the replacement bag- not a brand-new unit, but possibly salvaged- would not connect into the car's SRS harness. The connectors did not even fit together."In addition, the replacement bag showed signs of having been painted over because the fresh gray paint failed to match the original darker gray of the dash. But painting an airbag unit is expressly forbidden by every OEM. The paint and related solvents could deteriorate the bag covering and cause a hazard if the bag ever deployed.Benbow believes that non-OEM components were probably used in this repair. He also estimates that it could take $3,000 to complete this repair with OEM parts as specified by Toyota.OEM Schedules for R&REven if a system has never been deployed, several carmakers recommend the system be examined after several years to ensure its integrity, and some German carmakers say their entire airbag systems should be completely replaced after a given number of years. It is not likely that many owners of Mercedes, Audis and Volkswagens know this. Because recommendations vary, the system recommendations below should be applied to front protection systems only. Prices shown are estimates, based on 2000 model year data. The recommendations are as follows:Audi-The company recommends that the system be replaced after 14 years. For a 1996 A4, the estimated parts cost is $1,000, plus six hours of labor.BMW-Total airbag system replacement is not recommended at any particular interval. The self-diagnostic system will indicate any SRS problem it detects.Mercedes-Benz-Replacement is recommended every 15 years. The cost for a 1990 300E sedan, which has just a driver-side airbag system, is $1,760 for parts, plus 0.3 hours of labor. Add 0.3 to 0.5 hours if additional electrical diagnostic checks are called for.Porsche-The carmaker recommends SRS diagnostic checks at the fourth year and eighth year after the date of manufacture. After that, the system should be checked every two years.Volkswagen-Replace the system every 14 years. The estimated cost of parts for 1996 Golf and Jetta models is about $860, and the labor time is six hours.Information about SRS replacement frequency is carried on each German vehicle on a decal, usually located on the lower driver-side door jamb. But if a car has been hit on the driver side and is repaired at a shop unfamiliar with these information decals, there may be no indication of this data following a repair. The liable party in such a case could only be determined by a court.Safety Is Your BusinessSome collision repairers now prefer to use the talent and backing of a knowledgeable service provider when it comes to airbag repairs. In addition, this is a sublet service, and these charges can be marked up on the body shop's repair estimate. This can be a no-brainer for the savvy shop owner who understands the liability he or she may be exposed to if a repair is completed improperly.If you doubt this, check with your attorney or your business insurance provider. No one wants to pay out a large sum because a court says you are liable for missing a critical component or procedure on the estimate or in the repair of a deployed airbag system.Multi-Stage Airbag InflatorsA new level of airbag safety inflation can be found on Chrysler and Dodge RS minivans, the 2001 Chrysler Sebring and the 2001 Dodge Stratus. These vehicles are believed to be the first to reduce the severity of inflation by adopting a multi-stage method of airbag firing.The multi-stage inflator delivers appropriate restraint depending on the severity of the impact, Chrysler sources said at a technical presentation this fall. This method is designed to reduce the risk of airbag-induced injuries in low-speed impacts.The system works like this: Sensors determine the severity of the crash. An appropriate signal is sent to the inflator squibs. In a low-severity impact, Squib A is fired. In a medium-severity impact, Squib A fires and is followed 20 milliseconds later by Squib B. In severe crashes, Squibs A and B fire simultaneously.If an airbag in one of these vehicles is deployed, you must replace the multi-stage passenger airbag unit as well as the instrument panel.The airbag door is seamless, and the instrument panel is a non-serviceable unit. Any diagnosed faults also indicate that the passenger side airbag unit must be replaced.DaimlerChrysler also warns that a deployed passenger-side airbag should be handled as if it were a live airbag. While a low-output airbag may have deployed, the second stage of the component may still be live.Although the stored gas may have been exhausted in the bag's deployment, even in a low-output situation, the firing of the second stage squib could produce a startling noise.
1. Go to www.i-car.com.
2. Click on the word “I-CAR” on the left side of the top blue navigation bar.
3. Click on “Advantage” in the top section to reach the online technical newsletter.
4. Click on the letter “e” in the large-type heading “Advantage” that appears on the screen.In this case, the collision repairs were completed and the airbags and all related components were replaced, but the airbag warning light continued to illuminate. Upon sitting in the car, the technician found that the driver's seatbelt would not pull out of the door pillar. It was locked in place."No one had checked the seatbelt system to be sure the belts worked OK before returning the car to its owner," Benbow says. "And no one at the body shop knew this was a one-time-only explosive-activated seatbelt tension system. They assumed everything they had repaired on the airbags would work again. Not so." When Benbow checked the Hyundai service manual, he could not find any reference to this particular style of belt pre-tension mechanism. It took a call to Hyundai in California to find out that the company had not included that information in its manual. But the story doesn't end there."Once I had given the shop the part number information and a listing of what they should ask for, their call to a local Hyundai dealer revealed that there would be a three-week wait for replacement seatbelt arming devices," Benbow says, adding that the body shop's options were limited. "The customer could be informed of the delay on parts and that the car could be driven but that the seatbelts would not be usable until the complete repair was made. In this case, the shop could have had the customer sign a paper agreeing to the understanding that the belts were unusable, so as to avoid any second-crash liability. Or the vehicle owner could have left the car to be completed once the new parts arrived." However, non-functioning seat belts are illegal in most states.Incidentally, several carmakers use this kind of pyrotechnic pre-tension device, and even in rear impacts, this sub-system may fire to protect a vehicle's occupants.OEM Parts Counts VaryBecause there are wide differences between OEM recommendations as to which parts and how many of them must be replaced once an airbag system has deployed, the following list is an estimate of the number of mandatory replacement parts on many popular 2000 model year vehicles:Acura-5;Audi-11;BMW-8;Buick-5;Cadillac-9;Corvette-10;Chrysler-11;Daewoo-3;Dodge/Plymouth-11;Ford-6;Geo-7;Honda-5;Hyundai-6;Infiniti-5;Isuzu-5;Jaguar-5;Jeep-6;Kia-2 (bags only);Land Rover-9;Lexus-7;Lincoln-3;Mazda-3;Mercedes-Benz-no mandatory list
but up to 10 items in a front hit;Mercury-7;Mitsubishi-6;Nissan-6;Oldsmobile-6;Pontiac-6;Porsche-6;Saab-9;Saturn-6;Subaru-6;Toyota-7;VW-7;Volvo-9.If you miss any of these mandatory replacement parts, it's your shop's liability coverage that may take the hit if a lawsuit follows any failure to deploy in the next crash.Looks Aren't EverythingIn the case of a crash where the driver was alone in the car, but both front bags deployed, you may be required to replace not only the airbags and related parts but also the entire instrument panel assembly. This is because even though the bag has deployed for a seat that was not occupied, the force of the deployment may have weakened or fractured the instrument panel support inside the structural assembly. This is a condition a casual inspector will likely never see.If the panel assembly is not replaced and the vehicle is involved in a second crash, the passenger may not be fully protected because the damaged support structure may let go and fail to protect the passenger. The cardinal rule should be: If the OEM says to replace it, replace it, regardless of the part.Because few insurance appraisers are aware of the parts and labor intensity in an airbag system repair, few of them will ever tell you if you have a short estimate. In addition, when a complete estimate is provided for an insurer's approval, there is rarely any question about the itemized detail or the cost. Future liability is a sensitive area for insurers as well as for repairers.Salvage AirbagsOn the matter of the growing volume of salvage airbag sales, Hansen believes a repairer can never perform a satisfactory and safe repair by installing a salvage bag. "This kind of repair is downright dangerous," he says. "There is no substitute for using the genuine OEM article when it comes to airbag replacements."Hansen advises repairers to deny any insurer's attempt to demand salvage bags for a repair. Some of his company's franchisees occasionally receive calls from collision repairers asking them to talk to an appraiser who insists the use of salvage bags are an acceptable economic repair. "Economy should be the least of their worries," Hansen says. "The insurance company should be made to assume all the liability for salvage bag or non-OEM parts use, legally signed off, if they insist. I find none of them are willing to go that far."However, Airbag Testing Technology, based in Troy, Ohio, last fall announced its plans to test, certify and then sell salvage airbag modules. President Peter Byrne told Collision Industry Conference (CIC) attendees in October that the company verified its testing process last summer and plans to begin selling its certified, salvage airbags in one or more Canadian provinces this year. It anticipates an initial market in the three Canadian provinces that have government-run insurance monopolies. The company plans to ease into the non-insurance-paid repair market in the United States within the next few years.The company conducted its tests on 58 Ford Taurus salvage airbag modules and on 10 new Taurus modules, which were used for comparison. All of the modules deployed successfully following the certification process, which involves checking for proper electrical integrity and resistance; checking the mechanical fasteners and cosmetic appearance of the module; ensuring that no foreign matter, such as glass, has entered the cushion cavity; and checking for surface levels of sodium or calcium that would indicate the module had been immersed in water, which renders it unusable.Critical Tools LackingIf you think your shop has all of the necessary tools to perform a complete airbag system repair, you are probably wrong. For instance, do your techs use torque wrenches to ensure that all fasteners are tightened to the correct specification? "For many airbag system replacement components, it is extremely important for the future security of the system that everything be tightened to the exact torque spec called for by the manufacturer," Hansen says, adding that many body shops do not have a properly calibrated torque wrench for this kind of exacting task.Horror StoriesThere are numerous horror stories as a result of incomplete, improper airbag repairs. Some of the tales involve vehicles sold at auction. Some of these vehicles have been repaired to a cosmetically saleable degree, but their airbag systems have not been replaced. In these vehicles, little more than the dash covering is replaced. "What we sometimes find is that a small resistor or timing device has been installed to flash the airbag warning light on the dash and then go out as it normally would in the original assembly-line installation," Hansen says. "What is never revealed to anyone, however, is that these kinds of repaired vehicles simply no longer have functioning airbags in them."Benbow recalls one case where an auction-bought, previously repaired car owned by a Philadelphia judge was found to have no airbags. The judge apparently took this information to the auction seller, returned the vehicle and received a full refund. But no one knows the answer to the key question: What happened to this flawed and unsafe vehicle? Was it repaired correctly? Or was it moved on in a sale to some other unsuspecting individual for use or resale, without having been repaired properly?Unfortunately, these practices can result in deaths. On April 28 in Coquitlam, British Columbia, a female driver was killed when her Toyota was involved in a collision. The police investigation revealed that there was no airbag in the car, even though the steering wheel indicated there should be one. The facility that repaired the vehicle after a previous wreck had installed a piece of foam in the steering wheel, instead of spending the estimated $2,500 it would have taken to properly repair the SRS.Benbow tells the story of a poorly repaired 1998 Toyota Camry, which was bought as a used car when it was one year old. The second owner took the airbag in for service because the airbag light would not go out. "We found this car to have about 30,000 miles on it, and the passenger-side bag unit was not connected," Benbow says. "In fact, the connector on the replacement bag- not a brand-new unit, but possibly salvaged- would not connect into the car's SRS harness. The connectors did not even fit together."In addition, the replacement bag showed signs of having been painted over because the fresh gray paint failed to match the original darker gray of the dash. But painting an airbag unit is expressly forbidden by every OEM. The paint and related solvents could deteriorate the bag covering and cause a hazard if the bag ever deployed.Benbow believes that non-OEM components were probably used in this repair. He also estimates that it could take $3,000 to complete this repair with OEM parts as specified by Toyota.OEM Schedules for R&REven if a system has never been deployed, several carmakers recommend the system be examined after several years to ensure its integrity, and some German carmakers say their entire airbag systems should be completely replaced after a given number of years. It is not likely that many owners of Mercedes, Audis and Volkswagens know this. Because recommendations vary, the system recommendations below should be applied to front protection systems only. Prices shown are estimates, based on 2000 model year data. The recommendations are as follows:Audi-The company recommends that the system be replaced after 14 years. For a 1996 A4, the estimated parts cost is $1,000, plus six hours of labor.BMW-Total airbag system replacement is not recommended at any particular interval. The self-diagnostic system will indicate any SRS problem it detects.Mercedes-Benz-Replacement is recommended every 15 years. The cost for a 1990 300E sedan, which has just a driver-side airbag system, is $1,760 for parts, plus 0.3 hours of labor. Add 0.3 to 0.5 hours if additional electrical diagnostic checks are called for.Porsche-The carmaker recommends SRS diagnostic checks at the fourth year and eighth year after the date of manufacture. After that, the system should be checked every two years.Volkswagen-Replace the system every 14 years. The estimated cost of parts for 1996 Golf and Jetta models is about $860, and the labor time is six hours.Information about SRS replacement frequency is carried on each German vehicle on a decal, usually located on the lower driver-side door jamb. But if a car has been hit on the driver side and is repaired at a shop unfamiliar with these information decals, there may be no indication of this data following a repair. The liable party in such a case could only be determined by a court.Safety Is Your BusinessSome collision repairers now prefer to use the talent and backing of a knowledgeable service provider when it comes to airbag repairs. In addition, this is a sublet service, and these charges can be marked up on the body shop's repair estimate. This can be a no-brainer for the savvy shop owner who understands the liability he or she may be exposed to if a repair is completed improperly.If you doubt this, check with your attorney or your business insurance provider. No one wants to pay out a large sum because a court says you are liable for missing a critical component or procedure on the estimate or in the repair of a deployed airbag system.Multi-Stage Airbag InflatorsA new level of airbag safety inflation can be found on Chrysler and Dodge RS minivans, the 2001 Chrysler Sebring and the 2001 Dodge Stratus. These vehicles are believed to be the first to reduce the severity of inflation by adopting a multi-stage method of airbag firing.The multi-stage inflator delivers appropriate restraint depending on the severity of the impact, Chrysler sources said at a technical presentation this fall. This method is designed to reduce the risk of airbag-induced injuries in low-speed impacts.The system works like this: Sensors determine the severity of the crash. An appropriate signal is sent to the inflator squibs. In a low-severity impact, Squib A is fired. In a medium-severity impact, Squib A fires and is followed 20 milliseconds later by Squib B. In severe crashes, Squibs A and B fire simultaneously.If an airbag in one of these vehicles is deployed, you must replace the multi-stage passenger airbag unit as well as the instrument panel.The airbag door is seamless, and the instrument panel is a non-serviceable unit. Any diagnosed faults also indicate that the passenger side airbag unit must be replaced.DaimlerChrysler also warns that a deployed passenger-side airbag should be handled as if it were a live airbag. While a low-output airbag may have deployed, the second stage of the component may still be live.Although the stored gas may have been exhausted in the bag's deployment, even in a low-output situation, the firing of the second stage squib could produce a startling noise.
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