10-year airbag inspection for 1997 Accord

" " wrote in


> According to the label on the door jam of my 97 Accord, my airbag is
> now 10-years old and should be inspected according to the maintenance
> schedule.
> Does anyone know how necessary this is, or what it should cost for a
> mechanic to do it?
> Thanks
>
>


I have never personally known anybody on the face of this planet who has
ever, deliberately, on purpose, presented his airbag to a professional to
be examined for faults after ten years of lifespan.

Chances are excellent that if you bring this heap to any garage and ask
them to inspect and certify your ten year-old airbag, you will be told just
one (very liability-lawsuit-aware) thing: REPLACE IT!!!

Airbags are horrendously expensive, for very little statistical gain in
safety. Is it really worth it?

--
Tegger

The Unofficial Honda/Acura FAQ
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 >> Stay informed about: 10-year airbag inspection for 1997 Accord 

jim beam wrote in


> wrote:
>> According to the label on the door jam of my 97 Accord, my airbag is
>> now 10-years old and should be inspected according to the maintenance
>> schedule.
>> Does anyone know how necessary this is, or what it should cost for a
>> mechanic to do it?
>> Thanks
>>
> other than looking to see if the enclosure is full of spilled cola
> residues, there's not much inspection to do.



It's deterioration of the containing fabric (the balloon itself) they're
concerned with, plus degradation of the sodium azide explosive.

Neither of these can be detected by the on-board diag procedures.

--
Tegger

The Unofficial Honda/Acura FAQ
www.tegger.com/hondafaq/
 >> Stay informed about: 10-year airbag inspection for 1997 Accord 

Tegger wrote:
> jim beam wrote in
>
>
>> wrote:
>>> According to the label on the door jam of my 97 Accord, my airbag is
>>> now 10-years old and should be inspected according to the maintenance
>>> schedule.
>>> Does anyone know how necessary this is, or what it should cost for a
>>> mechanic to do it?
>>> Thanks
>>>
>> other than looking to see if the enclosure is full of spilled cola
>> residues, there's not much inspection to do.
>
>
>
> It's deterioration of the containing fabric (the balloon itself) they're
> concerned with, plus degradation of the sodium azide explosive.
>
> Neither of these can be detected by the on-board diag procedures.
>
i understand that, but real-deal inspection is not something you can do
with the naked eye. in fact, i doubt you can do it at all without
destruction of the device. replacement is the only "real" option, and
the economics of that, like you said earlier, are prohibitive.

i'd consider the statistical likelihood of there being a problem, weigh
that against the timeline for which the vehicle is expected to be used,
and decide from there. maybe after 15-20 years, it would be worth
replacing, but only if it was anticipated keeping the vehicle for that
long again. if you could get the parts!
 >> Stay informed about: 10-year airbag inspection for 1997 Accord 

jim beam wrote in


> Tegger wrote:
>> jim beam wrote in
>>
>>
>>> wrote:
>>>> According to the label on the door jam of my 97 Accord, my airbag
>>>> is now 10-years old and should be inspected according to the
>>>> maintenance schedule.
>>>> Does anyone know how necessary this is, or what it should cost for
>>>> a mechanic to do it?
>>>> Thanks
>>>>
>>> other than looking to see if the enclosure is full of spilled cola
>>> residues, there's not much inspection to do.
>>
>>
>>
>> It's deterioration of the containing fabric (the balloon itself)
>> they're concerned with, plus degradation of the sodium azide
>> explosive.
>>
>> Neither of these can be detected by the on-board diag procedures.
>>
> i understand that, but real-deal inspection is not something you can
> do with the naked eye. in fact, i doubt you can do it at all without
> destruction of the device. replacement is the only "real" option,



And so I said.

See other messages elsewhere, straggling in at various times from various
groups...

--
Tegger

The Unofficial Honda/Acura FAQ
www.tegger.com/hondafaq/
 >> Stay informed about: 10-year airbag inspection for 1997 Accord 

I have been thinking of disconnecting and disabling the airbag system
on my '92 Accord. At 235,000 miles with the first year device, I never
really became comfortable with the possibility of something exploding in
my face,if and when it decides to go off. ole bob
 >> Stay informed about: 10-year airbag inspection for 1997 Accord 

N.E.Ohio Bob wrote:
> I have been thinking of disconnecting and disabling the airbag
> system on my '92 Accord. At 235,000 miles with the first year device, I
> never really became comfortable with the possibility of something
> exploding in my face,if and when it decides to go off. ole bob

many people are faced with that choice when they have their airbags stolen.
 >> Stay informed about: 10-year airbag inspection for 1997 Accord 

"N.E.Ohio Bob" wrote in


> I have been thinking of disconnecting and disabling the airbag
> system
> on my '92 Accord. At 235,000 miles with the first year device, I never
> really became comfortable with the possibility of something exploding
> in my face,if and when it decides to go off. ole bob



Just unplug the yellow connectors at the SRS ECU.


--
Tegger

The Unofficial Honda/Acura FAQ
www.tegger.com/hondafaq/
 >> Stay informed about: 10-year airbag inspection for 1997 Accord 

"TomP" wrote in message

> The airbag system is 'fool proof' long as the fool doesn't "fool" around
> with it.
> In 20 years, of airbag involvement, I have not seen an airbag "deloy" by
> itself for
> "no" reason.
> --
> Tp,
>

Several years ago I had occasion to search what I recall was the NHTSA
database for complaints regarding some car I was considering buying (used).
In the complaints were three for unwanted air bag deployments; two of them
occurred while turning one particular direction. Hmm. I agree that more
recent airbag systems are stringently designed and that it shouldn't be a
problem in a '97.

The NHTSA website does warn that disabling the SRS is prohibited in the US
and that in many states inoperative SRS will cause the vehicle to fail
safety inspections. http://tinyurl.com/2wtub4 FAQ 6

Mike
 >> Stay informed about: 10-year airbag inspection for 1997 Accord 

Michael Pardee wrote:
> "TomP" wrote in message
>
>> The airbag system is 'fool proof' long as the fool doesn't "fool" around
>> with it.
>> In 20 years, of airbag involvement, I have not seen an airbag "deloy" by
>> itself for
>> "no" reason.
>> --
>> Tp,
>>
>
> Several years ago I had occasion to search what I recall was the NHTSA
> database for complaints regarding some car I was considering buying (used).
> In the complaints were three for unwanted air bag deployments; two of them
> occurred while turning one particular direction. Hmm. I agree that more
> recent airbag systems are stringently designed and that it shouldn't be a
> problem in a '97.
>
> The NHTSA website does warn that disabling the SRS is prohibited in the US
> and that in many states inoperative SRS will cause the vehicle to fail
> safety inspections. http://tinyurl.com/2wtub4 FAQ 6
>
> Mike
>
>
>
no, read it again. it doesn't say it's prohibited, it says is that it's
prohibited for /dealers and repair shops/ to disable, and there there
/may/ be state laws requiring them to be enabled. but other than that
it merely "strongly discourages" disabling, not exactly a rigorous legal
requirement.
 >> Stay informed about: 10-year airbag inspection for 1997 Accord 

On Apr 27, 5:37 pm, " "
wrote:
> According to the label on the door jam of my 97 Accord, my airbag is
> now 10-years old and should be inspected according to the maintenance
> schedule.
> Does anyone know how necessary this is, or what it should cost for a
> mechanic to do it?
> Thanks

Might want to check out gen5alive.com as they have a site dedicated to
94-97 accords
 >> Stay informed about: 10-year airbag inspection for 1997 Accord