balloonpilot Posted July 15, 2005 Share Posted July 15, 2005 I've got a 2003 Baja that's been taken "off-road" and few times and bounced around a good bit... FUN! My concern is - How much bouncing around will it take to activate the AirBags? Is it possible to install a switch and dissable the airbag system when I want to play off-road? If so, anyone know which wires to use (put a switch on)? Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjo Posted July 15, 2005 Share Posted July 15, 2005 i think this topic came up before, the air bags don't go off unless you smack the sensors, which are burried int he car.. you need to smash in your bumper a good 2-3 inches i think... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UrabusMom Posted July 15, 2005 Share Posted July 15, 2005 It would appear to take quite a bit to set off the airbags, we crunched our 98 outback clear back to breaking part of the fan belt cover (and everything in front of it is destroyed as well) and the airbags didn't go off. We were going about 30 mph at the time. We've been nervous taking parts off that we will set it off! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
felipe01forester Posted July 15, 2005 Share Posted July 15, 2005 I accidentally rear-ended a Chevy pickup at about 2-3 MPH and the airbags didn't blow. You'd have to go into a straight cliff at around 20-25 for the bags to deploy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoahDL88 Posted July 19, 2005 Share Posted July 19, 2005 Car engineers are smart, suby ones are even better, if the air bag goes off, you're gonna be glad it did, just my .04 but don't mess with automotive safety systems, there is not one person on this board that knows enough about airbags to make a judgement call on wether or not its a good idea to disable them. leave them on, you'll be glad you did Oh, and wear your seatbelt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
balloonpilot Posted July 19, 2005 Author Share Posted July 19, 2005 Appreciate the safety note - Really, I do... My concerns are that the bags will go off while playing around off-road when not necessary. But then again, if something bumps the car hard enough to make them go off (even if its off road) its probably going to be a good thing to have them. ... and yes - seatbelts are always used. Once things get too rad, might even consider a helmet ! Thanks again Car engineers are smart, suby ones are even better, if the air bag goes off, you're gonna be glad it did, just my .04 but don't mess with automotive safety systems, there is not one person on this board that knows enough about airbags to make a judgement call on wether or not its a good idea to disable them. leave them on, you'll be glad you did Oh, and wear your seatbelt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tbird Man Posted July 20, 2005 Share Posted July 20, 2005 Yeah, airbags don't tend to go off from bumping around, they usually use a linear sensor meaning it has to be a strightish impact, not just a hard suspension bump. for instance, my sister got hit in my roo hard enough to do $2100 worth of damage to a $2500 car. the airbags didn't deploy beacuse she got hit in the drivers front quarter from the side (stupid person cutting through a parking lot). had it been head on the bags would likely have deployed.also, I hit a rock with the wheel hard enough to punch a hole in the tire and bend the lower control arm and no aribags. IIRC it is also tied to the speed sensor, so they don't deploy below a certin speed. besides, most offroad trucks with airbags don't have trouble. all in all, deffinatly leave it alone, like we were taught in auto tech, if the wire is yellow, the standard color for airbag systems, leave it alone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hondasucks Posted July 20, 2005 Share Posted July 20, 2005 Not if it's a Ford Taurus/Mercury Sable I jumped a ditch in mine in high school, set both air bags off (and it landed FLAT, didnt' hit anything) but yeah air bags are supposed to go off under similar conditions of hitting a solid object at 14MPH or greater, usually requires simultaneous closing of one or two sensors, usually in the front by the bumper somewhere, and an "arming sensor" which is usually under the dash, on the firewall, or in the air bag computer itself. Not sur about older vehicles, but newer stuff all the air bag wiring is in a yellow sheath. If you are concerned about it goign off when off roading, pull the air bag fuse with the car OFF, and before you plug it back in, disconnnect the battery for 30 minutes, and put it back in with the battery disconnected, to avoid accidental inflation. A more permanent solution would be to disconnect the air bag module, and the air bag inflators in the steering wheel and dashboard, but I DO NOT recommend this, as if you get in a wreck, the air bags could save your life, dont' risk it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjo Posted July 20, 2005 Share Posted July 20, 2005 like we were taught in auto tech, if the wire is yellow, the standard color for airbag systems, leave it alone. directional light wires in the rear end are yellow... sorry had to be an rump roast Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rweddy Posted July 20, 2005 Share Posted July 20, 2005 Appreciate the safety note - Really, I do... My concerns are that the bags will go off while playing around off-road when not necessary. But then again, if something bumps the car hard enough to make them go off (even if its off road) its probably going to be a good thing to have them. ... and yes - seatbelts are always used. Once things get too rad, might even consider a helmet ! Thanks again Just my .02. I was involved in a low speed crash, 2-3 mph and both my bags went off. My insurance company has a lawsuit against Subaru at this time because of this issue. You might want to pull the fuse if you are really that worried about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tbird Man Posted July 21, 2005 Share Posted July 21, 2005 I believe the earily model imprezas had the front shipping hoops removed cause they hit on curbs sometimes setting off the 'bags, i'll reseach it. *edit http://www.ravensblade-impreza.com/techdocs/pdf/misc/tow.pdf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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