[richh]

I had a stellar day yesterday:

I had to go the doctor I suspected I had pneumonia (and I do). I was having horrific coughing fits in the car after going to and leaving the DR. Needless to say during one of these coughing fits, I had a pickup on front of me and in front of the pickup was an AT&T truck. We are all on a two lane state road and the AT&T truck decides to stop as he passed another AT&T truck on the other side of the road and try a u-turn. The pickup in front of me stopped quickly and I did all I could to stop and wound up hitting the pickup around 10mph. The interesting part is the is my airbag went off. All of us at the scene were suprised with such little damage the airbag actually went off. It went off in front of my face and I never touched it.

If anyone is interested in what happens when an airbag goes off, well it scares the crap out of you, blocks your vision, shuts the car down immediately, and fills the cabin fills with smoke and a horrific burning smell. Since the car couldn't be restarted I had to push it to the side of the road, as I was sitting in the middle of the lane.

As soon as the airbag went off the car data was immediately send to BMW asist via SOS. I have to say they were quick and talking to me within minutes and offered to call the police, and any emergency services, if needed, BMW roadside, and any of my family members and would conference them in so I could talk to them. I have to say the SOS made things easier.

The bodyshop was also suprised the airbag went off, considering they had another 3 series with considerably more left front end damage and the airbags didn't go off. They speculated that the pickup's trailer hitch hit dead on with the front left support and causing the left sensor to determine the crash was worse then it was. The body shop technican (they work on tons of BMW's) explained that the airbag senser with a ball that moves and with enough force it will hit the contact and set off the air bags. Not sure if this is accurate or not. He then goes on to say that the body damage is about $3K (hood, bumper cover, grill,...), but the airbag fix is $7K. He said when the airbag goes off it burns the positive battery cable wiring needs to be replaced, there is a sensor box in the trunk that needs to be replaced, the seat belts get "burned" and they also need to be replaced.

If anyone else had an airbag go off can you confirm this or the costs? I am going though my insurance, but I am just curious on the airbag replacement cost.

Sorry for the rambling on and the crappy cellphone pictures.

[Arustik1]

Sure you were tailgating?

JK man...listen that sucks. I have no idea on cost. In this case in CT are you found at fault?

I know in MA whoever hit the rear of any other vehicle is found at fault.

[E90330iS]

sucks man.. good luck

[Z22Z]

glad you're ok bro. driving stick with pneumonia ftl. airbags are expensive to fix from what i have heard. it's probably because of all the electrical things that get messed up from the deployment. if your body shop gives you a percentage of the total damage back then the more damage they come up with the better for you.

[richh]

In CT I am at fault for it, so I got a written warning for following to closely. But, I wasn't tailgating him as I made sure I left plenty of room since I was coughing alot. It just so happens that during one of my cough fits he had stopped and I noticed it to late.

I should mention it was snowing that morning and the road was very wet, which did increase my stopping distance. The ABS was doing all it could to get the car stopped.

[vase330]

As far as I know, the tech is right. All those things get messed up. The battery terminal to prevent a fire, and seat belts to tensioner unwinds. Also your car wont start because of the automatic positive terminal destruction. Get better soon.

[oddjob2021]

im glad you're okay too, it could have been much worse, i know i try to sneeze in the car only when no one is in front of me :P its scary when u close ur eyes driving, even for a moment, so your coughing fits must have been really bad. what a terrible day, you gotta work your karma back up man go donate to charity j/k

[uabimmer]

wow bro ... sure good to hear that you werent badly injured

anyways i also had the airbag go off (along with all that suff go off)

here are the costs (this is about a year ago so only estimate)
drivers airbag ~ 750
drivers seltbelt (female end) ~ 150
all rear seatbelts (female ends) ~150
battery cable ~ 180 (i think this is with the fuse thingy)


hope this helps

[jzchen]

I can't say much except for the seat belts. There is something there I believe that is called an emergency locking retractor, or at least that's what it is in old Benzes. (I had a broken belt buckle and decided to change the belt myself in my '85 300D. If they have it back then, I'm pretty sure they still use it now.) It also is some kind of explosive device because there were all sorts of warnings on the box of the replacement. It's supposed to tighten the belts in an accident to help hold you in. I'm glad the airbag didn't hit you though because I heard they can cause some bodily injury, or at least the old ones would.

[richh]

Thanks everyone, I am glad I am ok.

uabimmer thanks for the info, it just seemed like a crazy amount of money they were talking about.

[uabimmer]

yeah ....

oh i almost forgot ... the computer(controls as SRS devices) has to also be reset ... i payed about 150 for that also

[slipperman]

so, nowhere NEAR the 7k that OP got quoted for then..

[richh]

uabimmer, Thanks. I will make sure that gets done.

[EdmBimmer]

uabimmer - Does that include labor?

[raceyBMW]

Sucks about your accident.

I had airbag deployment as well with the speed at the time of the impact ~10mph. I was also very surprised that my airbags went off as well, as I came nowhere near to needing them. They did burn the inside of my arms though where I was holding onto the wheel.

The others have all the items listed just about right for the replacement cost. I had a passenger, and that airbag went off as well, so the whole dash needed to be replaced. Very expensive repairs.

One thing that the shop may not replace by default but you should have them do it is the microfilter. Most likely some of the powder from the airbag deployment got into the HVAC system and into the microfilter, and you will still smell it unless its replaced.

[carrabassett786]

Damn, hope you get better soon at least. I don't know where, but I've had family in CT with deployment and their car is mint now, there are definately some pros down there to get it put back together. gl man.

[Raikkonen]

I was also amazed by the blinding dust and that horrific smell after my driver's airbag deployed. My entire car filled with it, and I could barely steer my car safely to the shoulder because I was literally blinded and suffocating. I know it sounds dramatic, but opening my driver's door to bring in fresh air was the greatest relief I could have ever imagined.....

[sepsis]

best of luck man and glad youre alright. just remember "things" can always be fixed/bought/replaced, money can always be made etc but your health are well-being arent as forgiving. be fortunate you made it to the dr. and didnt alllow that pmn to go uncheckd and that you walked away from an accident in large part unscathed.

[richh]

Thanks again everyone. I appreciate it.

[balance]

WOW 7K
you should take advantage of this time and get some aftermarket body parts

[NoSurrender]

Never thought I'd feel bad for a car

[jkbimmer]

My father-in-law hit a deer at 80 mph and the next thing he knew was the car was filled with smoke and he needed to get out. With only a few scratches on his arms from the bag, he was alright. The hood took alot of the impact and rolled up part way over the windsheild. His car was totaled.
I don't know why they would quote so high. Maybe you can get a couple more estimates and talk to your insurance agent. Also, do a web search on the shop and check with the BBB. Good luck, and I'm glad you are all right.