Read on to know tips on how to check if your car's airbag is of high quality.

Everyone wants a snazzy ride that’s attractive, dependable and something that other people fawn over. When choosing to buy a 4-wheeled vehicle, we often let the car salesman do the talking. And then we just throw some questions into the conversation every once in a while. Of course, most of these questions would be about the payment terms since potential car buyers are already seeing the vehicle up close. A potential car owner would be most likely concerned about how he would be able to pay for the vehicle he intends to buy rather than how the car would look if he let a bull ride in it. Before buying a car, what are the things that one needs to ask before totally making the purchase? 

How often would you hear a potential buyer or at least an inquirer ask about the dependability rate of the car’s airbag? Not very often, right.  Airbags are one of the most crucial and important parts of a car’s safety specifications. Along with the seatbelt, they provide a larger chance of survival for the driver and passengers in case of accidents that can suddenly happen.

The most lethal accident where airbags could save a person’s or a bunch of people’s lives is mostly collision. These could be collision against another vehicle and other related incidents including brake failure or any other accident where a massive impact against the car may occur.

Safety is a crucial consideration when choosing a car and airbags are one of the safety measures your car can have

I. The Air Bag Structure

Before we completely go through making a quality check on every vehicle’s airbag we could possibly find, let’s first asses it’s structure so we can further understand how it works. Once we do, we’ll also be able to fully understand the science of this extremely important addition to our beloved 4-wheel vehicles.

1. The airbag is positioned in the center of the steering wheel

This is where we’ll find it if one is sitting in the driver’s seat. In the middle of the steering wheel there lies a hollow space and inside that is where the inflator is encased. And on top of the part known as the inflator is the container which holds the airbag neatly. There the airbag is tucked away until the vehicle’s system finds it necessary to inflate it.

The airbag is in the steering wheel to protect the driver from any major injury

2. The airbag contains ammonium nitrate

This causes a great chemical reaction inside the airbag once the car is triggered by impact. While the inflator seems like a small scrap of metal one would use for an ugly paperweight, this is actually the most important part that makes the whole airbag system come together.

3. The Propellant

Inside the inflator is another important piece that would render the whole sense of airbags if it wasn’t going to function properly. This part is called the propellant.

The propellant lies between the filter assembly and initiator. It is actually composed of a mixture of two chemical compounds namely: sodium azide and oxidizer. Examinations show that the two profound chemicals are blended together intelligently by the system and is sent to the structure’s storage area right after. In other words, the propellant is the element that holds access to the air bag’s inflation when an accident occurs.

II. Checking Air Bag Quality

There are several ways to check a car’s airbag system and we will be tackling each of them. Hopefully, one of these ways would be useful for a curious vehicle owner out there who just wants to provide a safe ride to his passengers and family members.

1. Know your car’s Vehicle Identification Number

Just by knowing the Vehicle Identification Number of your vehicle can give you access to knowing if its airbags of are dependable. The VIN can be found on the legal papers concerning your car and sometimes on the vehicle itself. After acquiring the required numbers proceed to your car manufacturer’s website or the government mandated site applicable to vehicle safety and inspection and enter it unto the corresponding page. Any updates, news or recalls that may concern your car should be posted here.

Provide your VIN to a safety and inspection site and their staff will let you know the quality of your airbag

2. “Simulate” the pressure of a collision

The next trick is meant for those who have a considerable amount of heart and courage for them to do it. Instead of having to go through the trouble of checking the car manufacturer’s website, one can make a thorough check by having a particularly large or heavy object cause mass pressure against the front bumper.

The most preferably part of the car to hit is the area around the grille. It would also help if it was hit in the middle part of the bumper. If done properly, the results should expose the front airbags. Both of the airbags at the dashboard area and steering wheel should also go off after simulating the pressure of a collision.

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If you have the time then you can imitate the pressure of a collision and test your car's airbags quality

3. Check for the airbag icon

If the car is a contemporary model, there should also be an icon at the gauge that symbolizes an airbag. If the light is off then that pretty much means that there is nothing wrong with the airbags and it should function properly.

The airbag icon is an image resembling a driver or passenger and a circle symbolizing the airbag

4. Test by driving at high speed and come to a sudden stop (NOT RECOMMENDED)

There’s also a car part called the ACU, this is actually an essential part that measures the speed, the brake and initially all the sensors active in the vehicle. If the measured outputs and recording exceeds the safety levels, the detonator installed in the airbag system is immediately triggered.

There’s a crash sensor that gives off a spark to the inflator to reach the mixture of chemicals called propellant. Once the spark reaches the propellant, an amount of nitrogen gas is produced therefore causes the bag to inflate at a lightning speed of 300km/h. One can also simulate the effects of a collision by gaining speed and then coming to a full stop but this is not a very safe way of testing the airbag quality. So, it’s not recommended at all.

Steer clear of car trouble by testing the quality of your airbags. Instead of protecting yourself, you might place yourself in more danger. Find other safety measure tips on all the other articles of Philcarnews.com!