My 1994 E420 has a tag in the door jam that advise that the SRS/Air Bags to be inspected or checked in the year by 12-2008.

Is this really necessary to have done?

How much I should expect to pay for the inspection service?

What is included in the inspection?

That is for Replacement... that is the max life of the bags.

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There is a service bulletin that extends the life from 10 to 15 years, There were replacement labels avaiable. I have not heard that there has been another extension

I was looking in one of my old 1999 crash books and the passenger bag sold for $1900, and the drivers' was $975. I can't imagine that they have gotten any cheaper over the years. I also wonder if any of the control units or sensors need replaced ? For all intents and purposes, the update could very easily "total" the car. I wonder how many people will put off the update and rely on the structural integrity and the seat belts alone ? I probably will.

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I have a '95 E 320 Estate (Wagon) mfg 11/95. The label reads replace by 12/2010

Thanks for the comments but I still would like to know the following:

Is this really necessary to have done?

How much I should expect to pay for the inspection service?

What is included in the inspection?

As was said before,,,, it is not an inspection, it is a REPLACEMENT. Big bucks$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$. Expect to pay more than the car is worth. Is it necessary ? Do you feel lucky ?

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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

Anyone know the part number for the updated replacement labels?

What is included in replacement? Thank you for your help.

Oddly I chased this same question at the dealership earlier this week. They told me via a letter from mercedes benz canada
w124, w126, w129, w140, w201, w202 require airbag REPLACEMENT after 15 years. They state:

"The consequence of not replacing a expired airbag is that its proper functioning CAN NOT be assured in the event a collision might occur"

For w163, w170, w203, w208, w210 w215 w220 airbag durability increases to indefinite.

Pricing for the W140 driver's airbag was on the order of $1000

That is what I was wondering. Do sensors and computers need replacement also ? If so, it's gonna get ugly. Like I said earlier,,, over $3000 alone for the bags on a 124, and that does not include any other parts if needed.

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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

The airbag is what expires, the sensors and the airbag computer do not expire. The airbag computer is responsible for confirming the airbag and the sensors seem sane. It can only check electrical issues. It cannot determine if the chemicals in the airbag explosive unit have decayed sufficiently to prevent 100% ignition and the 100% required chemical reaction. For that you require an expiry date, kinda of like Milk?

Oddly the airbags for my w140 are much cheaper than the w124.

Perhaps this might sound off-topic but I think it's a very relevant question that'd concern me: Are the airbags you're going to replace the original ones with manufactured within the last year? 5 years? If not, what's the point? I mean, you can't say that a NOS airbag won't be "expired". I have seen wrecked cars plenty of times that were over 20 years old where the airbags still deployed normally (go to a junkyard, you'll see yourself). There isn't a magical date where "Oh no, all of a sudden my airbags will NOT function after this date!", it's more that the chances of a successful deployment changes from 99% +/- 1% to a downhill slope, presumably like a reverse exponential scale... The question is whether or not you want to risk being on the scale where the chances of the airbags going off is 75%. That's a low number to trust my life to, I like "100%".

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Well someone can post what the decay rate/curve is? If the airbag is 20 years old, is the function rate 100%, 99%, 75%, 10% anyone know?

If you buy a new airbag you certainly want one that is going to last 15 years, not 10 years. Otherwise hey shouldn't this price be 2/3 of normal?

if you buy a used airbag, same rules apply, likely it has somewhere the date of manufacture on it. Would someone sell you a 20 year old airbag? Oh likely...