MLCC

2010 Civic Coupe EX
Whilst riding int he back seat, my kid asked if I had splashed coffee in the back there and was pointing to my drivers side C pillar. I said, um, nope...








While I appreciated their sense of humor, I don't appreciate my wrecked headliner

So what say you? Airbag or leak related?? No SRS warning lights lit up on the dash, fwiw.

Dealer says (sight unseen and by my description) that it is a clogged moonroof drain. I can only find drains up front at the A pillars and they flow compressed air just fine.
Recent news of Takata airbag recalls seem awfully coincidental... And the thickness and color of the drippage, unless run through some coffee grounds and sugar, just doesn't seem like rainwater to me.
Or maybe this is some kind of curse?

ezone

An airbag does not contain fluid (but fluid could possibly cause damage to it). The Takata SRS recalls have nothing to do with your car at all.


That looks like something (tree debris?) has gotten wet and leached color into the leaking area, much like tea.
My vote is plugged or detached sunroof drain tube.

I think you can find some of the lower part of the drain tube if you move/remove the rear part of the trunk carpet side panel.

MLCC

Thanks for the feedback ezone. I'll definitely try to find some evidence of drain tube in the trunk area.

Yes I figured that the airbag canister is gas filled, but what I didn't know if sweating and corrosion, or even a slow leakage, might not lead to this stain?

Question though- if said canister were to depressurize slowly as to not deploy the bag, would it trigger a warning on the dash or throw a code??
Or, can I assume the rear SRS functional ( even though unsightly) if no lights or codes?

ezone

An airbag is not pressurized either. (That would make it a balloon?)

It's a pyrotechnic device. It uses an explosive to inflate the bag.

ezone

Reading material


http://auto.howstuffworks.com/car-dr...es/airbag1.htm



http://www.chemistry.wustl.edu/~edudev/LabTutorials/Airbags/airbags.html

MLCC

Thanks again ezone. Good reading! But in all honesty I clocked out after the Maxwell-Boltzman distribution graph LOL
But I do feel a bit less ignorant now