OMG, how scary that must have been. I'm glad you were on top of your game and got out of the way before your accident became even worse.

Regarding the faulty airbag, you should ask your insurance carrier how to proceed. If they aren't the ones to follow up on the issue, they can at least direct you on what steps you should take to get compensation.

Hope you feel better soon.

 

OMG, how scary that must have been. I'm glad you were on top of your game and got out of the way before your accident became even worse.

Regarding the faulty airbag, you should ask your insurance carrier how to proceed. If they aren't the ones to follow up on the issue, they can at least direct you on what steps you should take to get compensation.

Hope you feel better soon.

If you hit the barrier at anything over 20 mph you would not have been able to drive away. You probably actually contacted the barrier at less than 10 mph which is below the threshold that the airbag is supposed to go off. I think the average threshold for setting off a modern airbag is around 12 mph.

 

Had the airbag gone off you would have been at the very least, delayed from putting the car in reverse to get off the highway before the next truck came barreling down....which if one did and then it hit you, you would likely be in worse off shape. Hmmm, and you want to talk to a lawyer?

 

I probably picked up speed when I started hydroplaning so I must have hit the wall at 50+ mph. I don't know if I should talk to a lawyer about this..

If you hit the wall at over 50, you'd have much more damage than loose headlights. Maybe it was a glancing blow, like skidding sideways as part of your 360 rotation. If all you had is minor whiplash, that might be better than being smacked by an airbag (which can break a nose, thumbs, wrists.).

If you're considering legal action against Hyundai, I advise you not to post any further to a public forum. It sounds to me like you don't have a case, but... I'm sure any lawyer who might represent you could construe things slightly more to your advantage. Public comments could rob him/her of that advantage.

 

If you're considering legal action against Hyundai, I advise you not to post any further to a public forum. It sounds to me like you don't have a case, but... I'm sure any lawyer who might represent you could construe things slightly more to your advantage. Public comments could rob him/her of that advantage.

I don't mean to discriminate on myself by posting this thread, I just want to let other RB Accent owners know about my situation. I may or may not consider further action. I will take it up with my insurance company, if there is an issue regarding safety I would rather inform everyone on here.

 

You did the right thing by moving your car, otherwise your airbags would have deployed.

Airbags deploy much differently than older cars, even a generation ago.

What matters is that you're safe and that it didn't escalate into something worse.

 

Pillows can not work because there was no force of blow on the sensor. Even at front not always pillows work

 

If minor whiplash is all you have, the car did its job.

It prevented a serious injury. Be thankful.

 

This is a car crashing at 80km/h (50mph):

I don't think you'd be driving away from that.


Even at 40km/h it seems like it'd be more than just headlights falling off:

 

This is a car crashing at 80km/h (50mph):
ADAC: Crash test at 80 km/h - YouTube

I don't think you'd be driving away from that.

I find that very offensive that you would consider putting a video like this in my thread to prove me wrong because I WAS in a head on collision a few years ago and I barely survived that one! I don't really know what my car looks like because I didn't see it at all when the ambulance took me away, and just because I moved my car 10 feet off the highway doesn't mean its drivable.. All I'm stating is that my front end was damaged to an extent that the air bags didn't deploy when they should've. Just because I didn't suffer severe damage to me or my car doesn't mean I didn't hit the wall slower, I doubt that my car would go from 55 mph to 10 mph in a few seconds when I couldn't break at all.

 

Panzer09, Woodstocks video is actually somewhat helpful and adds to what you say you) were trying to do. Warn owners. You don't have a clue as to what speed you hit but assert it should have been high enough to cause the air bags to deploy but they didn't. His video shows what front collision damage at 40 and 80km causes.

Recently I read about why air bags don't always go off. My first reaction before reading that article, I too would be concerned about them not going off. All the electronics and sensors determine if they should or should not deploy. I never thought thru that in some situations it is actually better for them NOT to go off.

I would counter your assertion that they should have, with the question, based on your stated injuries, that you suffered minor whiplash. What exactly would they have reduced? Probably not the whiplash. Airbags are kind of a last resort to minimize what could be fatal injuries. Seems the car did its job without air bag deployment.

A couple questions based on you statements.

You said "I don't really know what my car looks like because I didn't see it at all when the ambulance took me away,"

Then you said "All I'm stating is that my front end was damaged to an extent that the air bags didn't deploy when they should've."

If you don't know what your car looks like then you equally have no idea of the extent of front end damage and therefore can't logically say it was damaged to an extent that the air bags should've deployed.

 

This is honestly something an internet forum can't help you with. Nobody knows the extent of your wreck including you apparently. Bottom line you need to work with your insurance company first and go from there. If you have a complaint file it thru the proper channels like the NHTSA. Quite frankly talking about it here then getting defensive won't help anything.

 

glad to hear your ok but if you hit that at 50 mph you would not be walking away, your bumper and most your front end would be gone not just loose headlights.

 

So you start this thread with facts. Then the facts change and/or facts are added while you get defensive about a subject (how would we know you got in a head-on previously?).

Don't say that the headlights are loose and the bumper is still on the car in your OP and then change your story to "I don't really know what my car looks like because I didn't see it at all when the ambulance took me away..." You now look like a liar and nothing you say can be even seemed truthful for the rest of this thread. This is the internet, all you have are your own words to back you up.

If you are EVEN considering talking to a lawyer, you already screwed up by posting here. Because you already have contradictory statements here and that isn't even under oath and your statements here are now "on the record" as they say and can and will be used against you.

I'm with someguy, best to move on with your current situation without saying much more, if anything at all, here about this subject to save yourself if you do pursue legal action.

 

Not to beat the horse further but I've got to agree with the others. Modern cars are designed to crumple and absorb damage keeping the passenger compartment safe. A 50+ mph head-on collision would have destroyed your car not done what you've described as minor damage.

 

Honestly, it's a strange thread you've started. I'm not sure I understand your question.

Do you expect someone here to tell you with certainty if your airbag should have gone off? If you only had minor whiplash in a car that experienced a head-on 50mph collision, without an airbag deploying, then something isn't quite right.

 

Panzer, you can get it investigated all you want, but I can guarantee it's a waste of time and money.

 

To deffend Panzer, his facts hold true. The car he is referring to that he did not see is one that he got into an accident with a while ago, I remember his story on the forum earlier this year. He knows what damage that was done to his current Accent because he walked away.

Many facts, two different accidents.

 

Posters can only read what is posted to form opinions or provide advice. If his statement, "I don't really know what my car looks like because I didn't see it at all when the ambulance took me away," refers to a previous accident then 'looks like' was not the correct terminology to convey it. It gives one the impression he is referring to the current vehicle/present tense.

If he has such minor damage on this vehicle then the accent performed wonderfully compared to the different vehicle woodstock posted crashing at 40kph.

 

You may well have hit the barrier at 50+ and hit it front first, but the fact that you were spinning reduces the impact to the point where the computer tells the airbags not to deploy. I don't need to make you relive this accident, but I've seen many a video on youtube that show people that have had similar situations (some without water as the culprit, but the spinning and hitting the barrier) and the airbags didn't deploy.

It's also safer for them not to as if they did, then if you got hit again (which may be inevitable if one is in traffic), there'd be nothing to save you from the secondary/tertiary hit that may come (luckily for you it didn't).

 

To keep beating a dead horse,

Can we get some pics of the accent?

On a side note you should probably be thankful it didnt go off,

Airbags are in effect a last resort as stated above,
In order to inflate in that short of a time frame and to attemp to help you, they are
literally blown open with rocket rocket fuel, i kid you not.

So if it was going to go off in your crash as stated above you would probably be walking away with nice burns

Some googled sites to referance to back up my claims
Why Are Airbags Dangerous? | eHow.com
Why First Report of Injury Should Be First on Your List - ExpertInsuranceReviews.com

On a side note they are extremly fun to light off in parking lots and see how how they fly!

 

SRS is not speed related.. it is all about impact "G" forces generated during sudden deccell that close an impact sensor and center sensor bolted to cabin floor inside the SRSCM that both need to close for a squib to fire.

Go back and turn the key to the on position,, do a "6" count with the chime, the "SRS" light will go out after the 6'th chime.... does it stay off, or come back on.... if it come back on, likely a squib has been used, either at shoulder belt or buckle, or both.. see if shoulder belt jammed ... see if buckle sits lower than other side in relation to seat cushion for height..

 

IIHS-HLDI: Crash Testing*&*Highway Safety

Our cars pass the crash tests done by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.
Will our cars airbags deploy under every circumstance under the sun? No!

 

Does the car have those exploding seat belts? They are explosively accelerated to tighten up in an accident. Only good for a one shot deal though.

 

Yes.. They have what are called pre-tensioners attached to the top and bottom of the driver's and the front passenger's seat belts. They are activated in a crash and reel the belts in tight.

There's quite a bit to know about them. The operation and some warnings are described on page 3-21 of the owner's manual:

"Pre-tensioners are designed to
operate only one time. After activation,
pre-tensioner seat belts
must be replaced. All seat belts,
of any type, should always be
replaced after they have been
worn during a collision."

 

To my extent everything that I've stated about my accident is true. In regards to az2008's statement, the fact that I hit the wall at around 50 mph with a front on collision doesn't mean that my car had the momentum towards the wall. With the rotation of my car still heading in the direction I was traveling, I merely swiped my front end at which my car was sliding sideways. The markings on the wall and on my bumper showed that the impact moved my front end from left to right, absorbing all the energy slowing my car to a dead stop. That energy did make my rear end come off the ground that vaguely showed up on the pavement. The damage to the bumper wasn't significant enough to force the frame back into the sensors apparently.

I'm sorry that my initial statement wasn't so precise to what happened that night, I was still in shock of the moment. I merely wanted to ask the question and inform other owners to the fact that my air bag was not triggered by the crash. I may have had a defective air bag, or my car did not take the amount of damage necessary to set off the sensors.

In regarding Woodstocks post, I only found it distasteful that you tried to prove what an accident at high speeds can do to a car. In respect to my statement, it really upset me because I've endured the horrific scene that I saw in the video. If I have given more direct information to exactly how my car crashed it would've been clearer to understand that it wasn't a head on, forward momentum impact.

I have yet to gain access to my car to examine it further, I can see it from 20 feet but the garage isn't open during the times that I pass by the area (The location is roughly 50 miles from my house). I don't really know what to expect from the survey of my vehicle but I will keep everyone informed of the results. I mean no disrespect to anyone's opinion on the situation, I've given my opinion on what should've happen and tried to described everything to the best of my understanding.

 

my post is only to show what a head-on, or "direct front bumper collision", at 50mph would look like.

Like you said, the fact that your car was spinning at would take a lot of force off the front end of the vehicle, to the point that "only" the headlights came off and not enough force to trigger the airbags. Also the spinning action would help slow down a vehicle.

Also to reiterate what others have said, airbags are the last resort. you wouldn't want them to go off unless absolutely necessary as they mess up your face pretty bad.

 

I'm with them though I crashed my RB about 3 weeks ago at 35 mph and no airbag deploy for me either idk what is going.on but I found out the abs on the RB are real trash when wet..

 

Reading some of these posts it seems that expectation isn't the same as reality as far as when air bags should vs do deploy.

"When Do Air Bags Deploy?

Air bags are typically designed to deploy in frontal and near-frontal collisions, which are comparable to hitting a solid barrier at approximately 8 to 14 miles per hour (mph). Roughly speaking, a 14 mph barrier collision is equivalent to striking a parked car of similar size across the full front of each vehicle at about 28 mph. This is because the parked car absorbs some of the energy of the crash, and is pushed by the striking vehicle. Unlike crash tests into barriers, real-world crashes typically occur at angles, and the crash forces usually are not evenly distributed across the front of the vehicle. Consequently, the relative speed between a striking and struck vehicle required to deploy the air bag in a real-world crash can be much higher than an equivalent barrier crash.


Because air bag sensors measure deceleration, vehicle speed and damage are not good indicators of whether or not an air bag should have deployed. Occasionally, air bags can deploy due to the vehicle undercarriage violently striking a low object protruding above the roadway surface. Despite the lack of visible front-end damage, high deceleration forces may occur in this type of crash, resulting in the deployment of the air bag.


Most air bags are designed to automatically deploy in the event of a vehicle fire when temperatures reach 300 to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. This safety feature helps to ensure that such temperatures do not cause an explosion of the inflator unit within the air bag module.

Front air bags are not designed to deploy in side impact, rear impact or rollover crashes. Since air bags deploy only once and deflate quickly after the initial impact, they will
not be beneficial during a subsequent collision. Safety belts help reduce the risk of injury in many types of crashes. They help to properly position occupants to maximize the air bagÕs benefits and they help restrain occupants during the initial and any following
collisions. So, it is extremely important that safety belts always be worn, even in air bag-equipped vehicles."

What You Need to Know About Air Bags, DOT HS 809 575

 

Panzer, I don't see why you shouldn't be able to have access to your car. Go to the office with proof and examine the damages.