When airbag does not deploy.. why?

Question

I had an accident and passenger's airbag did not deploy. The seat was empty. Do cars have sensors in the seat in order to control the airbag? It was a 2006 Mustang.

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Answer 1

Fords have a "personal safety system" that is able to determine if there is someone in the seat or not.
No need to deploy an airbag to an empty seat.

Good thing, huh? Airbags are expensive to replace.

Answer 2

okay dont listen to the crap people are feeding you about airbags killing you and crazy stuff like that. Mustangs as I recall have a sensor that can tell wether someone is in the seat and not wearing their seatbelt. with that said, the same circuitry used to tell wether or not someone has their seatbelt on also determines the airbag. Airbags are hooked up to a computer and it senses wether or not to deploy the airbag. generally the sensors on the seats go off with about 40lbs. so the lady talking about being 105ish and it not deploying is either driving an older car, or has no idea what she is talking about. secondly, the airbags in the front and sides are on their own system. that is why you are able to get side impact airbags as an option. they are independent and will not fire if the computer thinks it is not necessary.

Answer 3

A 2006 will have a sensor, the light is usually around the stereo area and it will tell you that the passenger airbag is off...That is a standard feature on most 2006 models, If there was no one in the seat then the airbag was turned off..

Answer 4

On that particular vehicle, there is an actual sensor in the passenger seat itself, to sense whether the seat is occupied or not. This sensor "inputs" the info to the RCM (restraint control module) to enable/disable passenger airbag deploy. There is also a "severity" sensor that determines the amount of force an airbag(s) should be deployed, depending on the input it receives from the VSS (vehicle speed sensor), BOO (brake on/off) swtich, etc. through the high speed CAN network. I know, all this stuff sounds outrageous, doesn't it?

Answer 5

Some cars now have a sensor that detects the weight of the person in each of the front seats, so it can determine whether to inflate the airbag or not, and how fast to inflate it. Not sure about the '06 Mustang specifically, though.

Answer 6

Recent cars have sensors everywhere, they detect if there is someone sitting on the seat or not .

For example if you are sitting without having locked your safety belt the car will warn you and if the sensor can do that, he can also save an airbag if there s no reason to deploy it as the seat is empty.

Answer 7

Some cars do have sensors that control airbags. If no one was in the seat it wouldn't deploy.

Answer 8

Mine always says passenger airbag off. I've read my car's manual it says you should be properly seated and should weigh where the airbag system can detect. I'm only 103lbs. I'm worried if I get into an accident. My airbag wont deploy.

Answer 9

First thing to remeber is that front air bags wont go off if hit from the side, and side wont if hit in front. Now the answer is, there are sensors all over that sense the g-force of the hit. When you are hit if the force is not enough to set it off then it wont. some cars do sense the seatbelts but not all.

Answer 10

When there is a moderate to severe frontal crash that requires the frontal air bag to deploy, a signal is sent to the inflator unit within the air bag module. An igniter starts a rapid chemical reaction generating primarily nitrogen gas (N2) to fill the air bag making it deploy through the module cover. Some air bag technologies use compressed nitrogen or argon gas with a pyrotechnic operated valve ("hybrid gas generator"), while other technologies use various energetic propellants. Propellants containing sodium azide (NaN3) were very common in early inflator designs. However, propellants containing sodium azide were widely phased out during the 1990s in pursuit of more efficient, less expensive and less toxic alternatives.

The azide-containing pyrotechnic gas generators contain a substantial amount of the propellant. The driver-side airbag may contain a canister which is two inches in diameter, 1.5 inches long, and contains about 50 grams of sodium azide. The passenger side container is six inches long and contains 200 grams of sodium azide.[10] The incomplete combustion of the charge due to rapid cooling leads to production of carbon monoxide and nitrogen(II) oxide as reaction byproducts.[11]

The alternative propellants may incorporate eg. a combination of nitroguanidine, phase-stabilized ammonium nitrate or other nonmetallic oxidizer, and a nitrogen-rich fuel different than azide (eg. tetrazoles, triazoles, and their salts). The burn rate modifiers in the mixture may be an alkaline metal nitrate or nitrite, dicyanamide or its salts, sodium borohydride, etc. The coolants and slag formers may be eg. clay, silica, alumina, glass, etc.[12] Other alternatives are eg. nitrocellulose based bipropellants (which have high gas yield but bad storage stability, and their oxygen balance requires secondary oxidation of the reaction products to avoid buildup of carbon monoxide), or high-oxygen nitrogen-free organic compounds with inorganic oxidizers (eg. di or tricarboxylic acids with chlorates or perchlorates and eventually metallic oxides; the nitrogen-free formulation avoids formation of toxic nitrogen oxides).

From the onset of the crash, the entire deployment and inflation process is faster than the blink of an eye. Airbags deploy in 0.05 second. Because a vehicle changes speed so fast in a crash, air bags must inflate rapidly if they are to help reduce the risk of the occupant hitting the vehicle's interior.

Once an air bag deploys, deflation begins immediately as the gas escapes through vents in the fabric. Deployment is frequently accompanied by the release of dust-like particles in the vehicle's interior. Most of this dust consists of cornstarch or talcum powder, which are used to lubricate the air bag during deployment. In older designs, small amounts of sodium hydroxide may initially be present. This chemical can cause minor irritation to the eyes and/or open wounds; however, with exposure to air, it quickly turns into sodium bicarbonate (baking soda). Depending on the type of air bag system, potassium chloride (a table salt substitute) may also be present.

For most people, the only effect the dust may produce is some minor irritation of the throat and eyes. Generally, minor irritations only occur when the occupant remains in the vehicle for many minutes with the windows closed and no ventilation. However, some people with asthma may develop an asthmatic attack from inhaling the dust. With the onset of symptoms, asthmatics should treat themselves as advised by their doctor, then immediately seek medical treatment.

Some airbags in certain car models deploy twice, for two crashes; it first deploys and deflates and may re-inflate.

Air bags must inflate very rapidly to be effective, and therefore come out of the steering wheel hub or instrument panel with considerable force, generally at a speed of about 220 mph. Because of this initial force, contact with a deploying air bag may cause injury. These air bag contact injuries, when they occur, are typically very minor abrasions or burns. The sound of air bag deployment is very loud, in the range of 165 to 175 decibels for 0.1 second. Hearing damage can result in some cases.

More serious injuries are rare; however, serious or even fatal injuries can occur when someone is very close to, or in direct contact with an air bag module when the air bag deploys. Such injuries may be sustained by unconscious drivers who are slumped over the steering wheel, unrestrained or improperly restrained occupants who slide forward in the seat during pre-crash braking, and even properly restrained drivers who sit very close to the steering wheel. Objects must never be attached to an air bag module or placed loose on or near an air bag module, since they can be propelled with great force by a deploying air bag, potentially causing serious injuries.

An unrestrained or improperly restrained occupant can be seriously injured or killed by a deploying air bag. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) recommends drivers sit with at least 10 inches (254 mm) between the center of their breastbone and the center of the steering wheel. Children under 12 should always be properly restrained in a rear seat. A rear-facing infant restraint must never be put in the front seat of a vehicle with a front passenger air bag. A rear-facing infant restraint places an infant's head close to the air bag module, which can cause severe head injuries or death if the air bag deploys. Modern cars include a switch to turn off the airbag system of the passenger seat, in which case a child-supporting seat must be installed.