There is still surplus WWII ammunition that works!

I think the risk of a low energy deployment or no deployment is much greater than an inadvertant deployment, so it makes no sense to disconnect or otherwise disable the airbag system.

The less exposure the car has had to very high temperatures, the less likely the propellant has degraded, and an electrical fault will light the "airbag" indicator on the dash. The system is microprocessor-based and goes through a self-test every time you turn on the ignition.

On average airbag systems probably have much more life that most think, but the OEMs are just covering their tails for that time when someone has an accident and it doesn't deploy and some lawyer sues for millions.

Duke