Read this thread http://site.aol.com/autos/article/5.adp

Wow, after I read this I am now sort of scrared driving my 420 and 560 respectively with airbags. Has anyone had airbags pop out on them for no reason while driving in a benz? My 420 is 18yrs old and my 560 is 14 yrs old. The airbags in those cars are way past the recomended air bag replacement. WOW! Replacing the airbags with new ones and new control units mean big bucks...

Wow, when I was looking for a 84-85 Mercedes S-Class, I was really wanting one with the airbag option. The 85' 380SE I bought does not have the option. After reading that, I am glad that it does not.

My old 90' Lexus LS400 had a sticker on the sunvisor that said the system needed service "10 years" after date of manufacture. This was also the label in my old 93' Toyota Camry LE V6 sedan.

Well if you can't get em replaced, remember to keep your hands at 10 and 2 o'clock on the wheel at all times, and don't wear spikey jewelry!

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1985 380SE Blue/Blue - 230,000 miles
2012 Subaru Forester 5-speed
2005 Toyota Sienna
2004 Chrysler Sebring convertible
1999 Toyota Tacoma

thx for the tip! As my car gets older, although with low mileage and great condition, i am always afraid that something bad might go wrong with it, for ex- the airbags deploying for no reason and without any warning!

There was a guy @ work the other day complaining about airbags. He said that whenever he gets a car with airbags, that he "stabs" the steering wheel hub (airbag) with a knife! I was busy and did not get a chance to tell him that they sell for about $1000 each for most cars.

The air bags in MB's before 2000 are rated for 15 YEARS of service!

THE only MB's that I have seen with abnormal air bag deployment came from BROKEN flex disc & the DRIVESHAFT hitting the tunnel OR broken MOTOR mounts and or their arms that allow the trans to hit the tunnel.

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MERCEDES Benz Master Guild Technician (6 TIMES)
ASE Master Technician
Mercedes Benz Star Technician (2 times)
44 years foreign automotive repair
27 Years M.B. Shop foreman (dealer)
MB technical information Specialist (15 years)
190E 2.3 16V ITS SCCA race car (sold)
1986 190E 2.3 16V 2.5 (sold)
Retired Moderator

Once these airbags start popping on their own, the lawyers will have a field day. I can't remember signing any disclaimer when I bought my Benzes that relieved MB from any liability from a malfunctioning air bag. I'm not a big fan of sueing, but for an airbag to blow while you are going down the road at 70 MPH, and you kill a family of 6 or whatever,,, I'll bet a lot of manufacturers will come up with a fix real quick.

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95 SL500 Smoke Silver, Parchment 64K
07 E350 4matic Station Wagon White 34K
02 E320 4Matic Silver/grey 80K
05 F150 Silver 44K

That's interesting. My '85 380SE was originally a Kentucky car, and I wasn't aware the steering wheel airbag and seatbelt restraint system was optional (mine has the full SRS system).
However, the procedure to deactivate the airbag isn't at all complicated. Junkyard guys do this all the time. If anyone is concerned, just remove it.
I do agree that this will be a worsening problem for future old car owners though, MB or otherwise. IMO, just another example of the downside of regulatory efforts to save us from ourselves.

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1986 560SL
2002 Toyota Camry
1993 Lexus

I have heard that Volvo has an on-going study on air bag life. They recently determined that the air bags used for their test were still functional and safe after 20 years. The test is conducted at regular time intervals and supposedly there have not been any failures since the start of the test. Of course this does not test the sensors, wiring, or other electronics. As was mentioned earlier in this thread, I believe Mercedes has certified their older ones safe for up to 15 years. It will be interesting to see if they increase the certification. A new replacement for my 1990 300E is almost $3,000!

You've hit on it.

Yes, you can count on our legal system to entice manufacturers to do the right thing--something we should all be thankful for.

Merc has at least once extended the airbag life and you could get replacment stickers saying so. It's not like they're ignoring anything.

Expect a campaign from manufacturers when this problem does get serious. Now, I'm not worried.

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Kent Christensen
Albuquerque
'07 GL320CDI, '10 CL550. '01 Porsche Boxster
Two BMW motorcycles

From what I know about these, the systems involved are really well thought out in terms of failure modes and are designed to fail "unfirable", and turn the SRS light on. I'd say that the chances of it not going off when you need it are a lot higher than having it go off unexpectedly.

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86 560SL
With homebrew first gear start!
85 380SL
Daily Driver Project

http://juliepalooza.8m.com/sl/mercedes.htm

I have faith in the system that MB designed, and frankly have more pressing things to worry about.

I have never heard of a MB's air bags just blowing for no reason.

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1999 SL500
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200

if your afraid of it popping on you while driving get a small cheap pillow some duct tape and go happy.. duct tape the pillow on the center of the stearing wheel so incase it dose pop it stays inside the steering wheel and not in your face.. but dont get in any accidents the pillow wont save you

Just stabbing through the airbag - whilst making sure it won't inflate - is not going to stop the detonation, which if it did fail and go off while tootling down the highway is sure enough of a bang to scaare the crap out of you and probably have an accident anyway!!!

That said, I think these systems are pretty reliable - doesn't stop urban myths.

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1988 W126 420 SE

beware of fundamentalists!

Note

"Well if you can't get em replaced, remember to keep your hands at 10 and 2 o'clock on the wheel at all times, and don't wear spikey jewelry"

The rules are different now- 10 and 2 o'clock is pre-air bags. Now, if you were in drivers education class- it's 9 and 3 or 8 and 4 o'clock.

I've contemplated this one for a while- my car is an 1986 which puts the airbag past it's 20 year life. How "fresh" would a new airbag be?

Michael

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Michael McGuire
83 300d
01 vw A4 TDI
66 Chevy Corsa
68 GMC V6 w/oD
86 300E