Honda Car Forum

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

"techman41973@yahoo.com" <techman41973@yahoo.com> wrote in
news:1177720631.966976.319280@y80g2000hsf.googlegr oups.com:

> 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
www.tegger.com/hondafaq/

techman41973@yahoo.com 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. the electronic self-test
the vehicle performs each time you start the car is about all the
inspection it needs. other than that, you can replace everything, and
i'll bet that's what a dealer will recommend. in other words, i'd leave
it alone.

jim beam <spamvortex@bad.example.net> wrote in
newsICdnd8ApLXIOa_bnZ2dnUVZ_trinZ2d@speakeasy.ne t:

> techman41973@yahoo.com 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/

Tegger wrote:
> jim beam <spamvortex@bad.example.net> wrote in
> newsICdnd8ApLXIOa_bnZ2dnUVZ_trinZ2d@speakeasy.ne t:
>
>> techman41973@yahoo.com 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!

jim beam <spamvortex@bad.example.net> wrote in
news:cfCdncMcL8xKNa_bnZ2dnUVZ_r2onZ2d@speakeasy.ne t:

> Tegger wrote:
>> jim beam <spamvortex@bad.example.net> wrote in
>> newsICdnd8ApLXIOa_bnZ2dnUVZ_trinZ2d@speakeasy.ne t:
>>
>>> techman41973@yahoo.com 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/

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

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.

"N.E.Ohio Bob" <rgstroud@neo.rr.com> wrote in
news:46333692$0$24440$4c368faf@roadrunner.com:

> 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/

"TomP" wrote

> Tegger wrote:
> > Just unplug the yellow connectors at the SRS ECU.

> Do not "just unplug the yellow connector at the SRS/CU."
> Here's the Truth about the 10 year inspection.

So, basically you can either...

1 - Unplug and short the connector.
or
2a - See if that ArmorAll crap you've been using has cracked the vinyl cover.
2b - Turn to "on", wait&watch for 6 seconds, instead of going straight to "start".

Seems simple enough.