Airbag Replacement Needed - W126
 

I have an '87 560SEL which of course has a drivers airbag. I have recently noticed a crack developing in the vynal cover over the top of the airbag, basically at one of the indentations molded around the border. Is this something of concern or mearly a cosmetic issue?

Thanks
jlc

I'd say cosmetic, Jeff, go ahead and run it.

Gilly

Just think, with that extra perferation, the air bag will deploy 0.0002 seconds faster than without them.

I guess you could say that it's a risk I'm willing to take ;) .
Probably more risk that he'll be distracted by the little perforation than it affecting the operation of the airbag......

Gilly

Forgive my ignorance, but isn't there a "shelf-life" for airbags?

When new and with no long term testing I believe they "speculated" 10 years was the useful life. As the early bags approached the 10 year mark the expiration date was extended to 15 years. I'm confident and betting they will deploy as designed when they are well past the 20 year mark, probably longer. Remember, these are pretty much sealed and not exposed to the steady UV bombardment (unless they are exposed through oh say and opening in the cover ;) )which would degrade the bag material/ More likely a badly worn set of slip rings will prevent deployment before the bag itself fails.

Thanks for the input guys!

I'm not too worried about it being a distraction now that I feel confident that it isn't a problem.

As for the affects of age, I'm not too concerned there either. I always wear my seatbelt which I believe does 90% or more of the job in protecting you in a crash so even if the bag doesn't deploy, I should still be fine. I've lived through a couple of crashes where airbags weren't a factor (either not there or side impact) so in a W126 tank I should be fine regardless.

Not that I'm looking to run into anything, mind you :eek:

jlc

And if it really bothers you, I bought a bag on ebay for about 20 bucks if I recall.

My Lexus was manufacturered in January of 1990 and on the sunvisor it says that the airbag system should be checked 10 years after date of manufacturer and every 2 years thereafter. The Lexus dealer told me that there was no cause for concern and as long as the "airbag" light does not illuminate while driving- all is fine with the system. I am assuming the same is true for Mercedes.