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This is a complaint received by the NHTSA for a 2002 civic, probably not from someone on this site or we would have heard about it already

I EXITED THE FREEWAY BEHIND ANOTHER CAR. WE WENT OVER A SMALL HILL. THE CAR IN FRONT OF ME MOVED SUDDENLY, SWERVING TO THE RIGHT LANE. AT THAT TIME, IT REVEALED TO ME THAT THE TRAFFIC WAS STOPPED. I ALSO BRAKED AND SWERVED RIGHT BUT WAS NOT ABLE TO STOP IN TIME DUE TO THE SUDDEN EMERGENCY. I HIT THE CAR IN FRONT OF ME GOING ABOUT 40MPH. I DO NOT THINK THAT MY SEATBELT LOCKED. MY AIRBAG DID NOT DEPLOY BUT MY PASSENGER SIDE AIRBAG DID. I HIT THE STEERING WHEEL VERY HARD! I HAD TO BE TRANSPORTED TO THE HOSPITAL. I HAVE SEVERE CHEST CONTUSIONS AND NECK AND BACK SPRAIN/STRAIN. MY INSURANCE CO BELIEVES MY CAR MAY BE A TOTAL LOSS BUT MY AIRBAG DID NOT GO OFF??? AND BECAUSE IT DID NOT GO OFF, I WAS INJURED. HONDA WAS CONTACTED THE NEXT DAY. NINE DAYS LATER, THEY SENT AN ADJUSTER OUT TO INSPECT MY CAR (BUT NOT AN ENGINEER). I HAVE BEEN TOLD THERE IS NO REASON TO SEND AN ENGINEER OUT THE ADJUSTER SEEMED TO BE MORE CONCERNED WITH INVESTIGATING ME THAN WHY THE AIRBAG DID NOT DEPLOY. I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW WHY IT IS THAT I DO NOT HAVE A FRONT END TO MY CAR ON THE DRIVERS SIDE AND MY AIRBAG DID NOT GO OFF, BUT THERE IS NO DAMAGE TO THE FRONT PASSENGER SIDE AND THAT AIRBAG WENT OFF!!! THE ADJUSTER THAT HONDA HIRED TO INVESTIGATE THE CLAIM IS DALE S THUMANN, CPCU FOR CSB GROUP. HE SAID THAT IF I DO NOT GIVE HIM MY HEIGHT, WEIGHT, AND SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER THAT HONDA WILL JUST DENY MY CLAIM FOR LACK OF COOPERATION. I AM NOT WHAT SHOULD BE INVESTIGATED THE CAR IS! HE WAS NOT WILLING TO EVEN TAKE THE STEERING WHEEL COVER OFF TO SEE IF THERE WAS EVEN AN AIRBAG IN THE DRIVER SIDE! HE SAID HE WAS SURE THAT WAS AN AIRBAG IN THERE ... "THEY MIGHT MISS ONE EVERY ONCE IN A WHILE. THEY MAKE MISTAKES. " (BUT HE STILL DID NOT FEEL IT WAS NECESSARY TO HAVE HIM OR ANYONE ELSE CHECK TO SEE IF ONE WAS THERE OR NOT). PLEASE HELP ME GET TO THE BOTTOM OF THIS! I HAVE SUFFERED A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF PAIN AND AGGREVATION FOR THIS 3 WK OLD CAR.*AK

 
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heres another one off the site for the same problem:

MY 2002 HONDA CIVIC EX HIT ANOTHER VEHICLE SQUARELY IN THE REAR END WHILE TRAVELING APPROXIMATELY 15 M.P.H.. NEITHER OF THE FRONT AIRBAGS DEPLOYED! I HAD OWNED THIS VEHICLE FOR APPROXIMATLEY 7 WEEKS. THE COLLISION REPAIR CENTER COULD FIND NOTHING WRONG WITH MY AIR BAGS. THE TOW TRUCK OPERATOR AND THE COLLISION REPAIR CENTER TOLD ME THAT THERE WAS SOME SORT OF ALERT OUT FOR 2001 & 2002 HONDA CIVICS WHERE THE AIR BAGS DIDN'T DEPLOY AFTER A FRONT END COLLISION. I HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO FIND A WEB SITE TO CONTACT HONDA WITH THIS PROBLEM. MY AUTO IS BEING REPAIRED BY G & M BODY SHOP, 2207 EAST 6TH, STILLWATER, OK 74074. THEIR PONE NUMBER IS 405-377-0430. ESTIMATED COMPLETION DATE OF REPAIRS IS FEBRUARY 10TH.*AK

 
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Not something that I want to hear as civic owner who just bought a civic because I totalled my last(Dmoestic) car and the airbags never deployed. I would seriously look into the accident you described and possibly look into a lawyer for own personal safety and security Although you may not have been injured you could have a serious case with Honda. It might be more of a hassle than you want to get into but if you have a Lawyer that you can explain the situation to you may have somehting to work(by Lawyer i mean someone who is close enough to you to not ream to answer a few questions)
Good luck.

 
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it wasnt my accident, i have no idea who it was, someone sent those complaints to the NHTSA and they were listed on the NHTSA web site

 
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SUE SUE SUE!!!! I havent heard of any air bag recalls. If that was me, I would be suing Honda of America for lots and lots of money. Medical bills, pain and suffering, everything. and than I would buy an RSX with the left over money

 
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That sucks, tho i know my seatbelts lock up, i'd rather not have airbags at all... i had an accident in my old nissan altima, where they did deploy, it was about 1" away from my face (i keep my seat back for a reason), and made the car wreek of burnt talc (and cost $2000 to replace them), but they didn't help me any, i'd just sooner have the option to turn them off...

-ds

 
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i noticed that the air back didn't go off. the week after i got my 2k1 last spring some guy ran a red light at 45 mph and hit me on the front right corner doing 9 grand in damage and still the air bags didn't go off.

i just wonder what was up with that

 
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The irony of this of that so many people have complained about not having airbags in cars, and how airbags are unsafe, blah blah blah. I think this story definitely shows how important and beneficial airbags are.

MyOtherRideIsBritney

Box Office Smash!

 
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<< heres another one off the site for the same problem:

MY 2002 HONDA CIVIC EX HIT ANOTHER VEHICLE SQUARELY IN THE REAR END WHILE TRAVELING APPROXIMATELY 15 M.P.H.. >>



WTF? The airbags won't deploy from going 15MPH!

This person doesn't even know how the airbags work! They work ONLY when the car senses that the wheels stop spinning from a fast speed (an INTENSE SUDDEN decrease in speed)... you have to be going at least 40-50MPH for this to occur. The side airbags deploy from being struck from the door panels to the fender of the car.

This complaint is bullsh't. They couldn't find nothing wrong because THERE WAS NOTHING WRONG IN THE FIRST PLACE!

 
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READ THE SRS MANUAL THAT CAME WITH THE CAR!

 
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SoNiCcIvIc is right. in the old days SRS used to deploy when ever something got crumpled. More injury was done to someone this way. Now the sensor look for a certain type of accident. If you get t-boned or clipped in the front corner nothing will happen. Same if you got rear ended or rear ended someone if they were going 55 and you hit them going 60. So nothing is wrong. Just be more cautious. You may not be a bad driver but someone else is!

 
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The fact that your airbags didn't deploy is absolutely frightening. What's going on with HONDA lately? Why has the build quality dropped so much? They tout this car as the "safest " on the road because of it's Quadruple 5 star crash test rating? this is utterly unacceptable. You pay extra for safety to only find out in the ned that it isn't safe???? I hear a lawsuit.

 
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SUE SUE SUE!!!! I havent heard of any air bag recalls. If that was me, I would be suing Honda of America for lots and lots of money. Medical bills, pain and suffering, everything. and than I would buy an RSX with the left over money

After the pain and suffering and bills, why would u want to buy an Honda/Acura again for the rest of your life. I'd be too tramatized to even drive a car again

 
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You tell me this then...

Why was the Civic rated as one of the most safests cars today? If it would've been in any other car, I bet that person wouldn't even get to see the light of the days they can still live. Just because you're in a car accident doesn't mean the safety features on there are designed to prevent you from being hurt in ANY kind of accident... that's why it's called an accident! You're gonna get hurt either way, and if the safety features didn't happen on this type of crash, then you better thank someone that they worked the way they did and did NOT work because they CAN HARM YOU if used improperly.

If your airbag deploys as you hit something at 15 mph, guess what? The airbag will kill you. It comes out so fast it's like hitting a solid rock and your body won't fly hard enough into the steering wheel to even let your body give in to the bag... you'll just fly back right into your seat as if a boulder struck you. Would you want that? I don't think so. A seatbelt should've been enough for that.

Why buy an RSX when it's design is the same as the Civic's and is still made by Honda? Well, at the speed you can go in it, you better be speeding if you want those airbags to work. [IMG]i/expressions/face-icon-small-tongue.gif[/IMG] Otherwise...

You haven't heard any airbag recalls cuz our cars haven't killed anyone from them not deploying. But seriously, keep in mind that an accident still means you're gonna get hurt, but hey, if you lived, and you know how the sh't works in your car... don't blame Honda. If you don't know how they work, blame Honda... bring the noise where I can hear it, and I'll try to make you understand. If you can't understand... someone else will eventually.

 
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<< HE SAID THAT IF I DO NOT GIVE HIM MY HEIGHT, WEIGHT, AND SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER THAT HONDA WILL JUST DENY MY CLAIM FOR LACK OF COOPERATION. I AM NOT WHAT SHOULD BE INVESTIGATED THE CAR IS! HE WAS NOT WILLING TO EVEN TAKE THE STEERING WHEEL COVER OFF TO SEE IF THERE WAS EVEN AN AIRBAG IN THE DRIVER SIDE! HE SAID HE WAS SURE THAT WAS AN AIRBAG IN THERE ... "THEY MIGHT MISS ONE EVERY ONCE IN A WHILE. THEY MAKE MISTAKES. " (BUT HE STILL DID NOT FEEL IT WAS NECESSARY TO HAVE HIM OR ANYONE ELSE CHECK TO SEE IF ONE WAS THERE OR NOT). PLEASE HELP ME GET TO THE BOTTOM OF THIS! I HAVE SUFFERED A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF PAIN AND AGGREVATION FOR THIS 3 WK OLD CAR.*AK >>



Ok, she was stupid for not cooperating with Honda. And she was stupid for not reading the SRS manual. Honda would need that type of info to see whether the airbag sensors IN THE SEATS were working. Well, guess what? Since she didn't know about that from now readying the manual, she didn't cooperate - and just blamed the car as a defect, then her situation becomes defunct.

Oh, believe me... there's an airbag in that steering wheel! Why did her passenger-side airbag open up? Hell if I know, but if she cooperated with Honda, perhaps she could've at least found out that it was or wasn't working right. But I do know that the sensors for the passenger-side seems to be more sensetive than the driver's... that's what I THINK. I can't confirm that.

Someone tell her to read the SRS manual!

EDIT: AND IF YOU DARE SLAM ON THE BRAKES and you know you can't stop in time, YOU ARE GONNA MAKE THE ACCIDENT EVEN WORSE. Remember, she was going 40MPH... if she hit the brakes, the car would still have been going too slow for the airbags to deploy... or if she was going faster and slowed to 40 at the impact... still too slow. Slamming on the brakes made it worse as she loss control of her car, and she was evidently going too fast off an exit... but what can I say? Accidents happen. [IMG]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/IMG]

 
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AND IF YOU DARE SLAM ON THE BRAKES and you know you can't stop in time, YOU ARE GONNA MAKE THE ACCIDENT EVEN WORSE. Remember, she was going 40MPH... if she hit the brakes, the car would still have been going too slow for the airbags to deploy... or if she was going faster and slowed to 40 at the impact... still too slow. Slamming on the brakes made it worse as she loss control of her car, and she was evidently going too fast off an exit... but what can I say? Accidents happen.

I don't get it, you mentioned that airbags could kill you on slow speeds but now you say that there's a chance it won't deploy on slow speeds?? If she was braking, the speed would've been slow enough to avoid her any injuries by just wearing a seat belt.

 
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<< I don't get it, you mentioned that airbags could kill you on slow speeds but now you say that there's a chance it won't deploy on slow speeds?? If she was braking, the speed would've been slow enough to avoid her any injuries by just wearing a seat belt. >>



Airbags CAN kill you at slow speeds and that's why they DON'T deploy. She did hit her brakes like she said but evidently the car did NOT SLOW DOWN ENOUGH for her in time to go slow enough that she'd avoid injuries. Just because you hit the brakes, doesn't mean the car will slow down immediately. She had to have hit them too late to prevent a serious accident and well... there you go.

 
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<< I EXITED THE FREEWAY BEHIND ANOTHER CAR. WE WENT OVER A SMALL HILL. THE CAR IN FRONT OF ME MOVED SUDDENLY, SWERVING TO THE RIGHT LANE. AT THAT TIME, IT REVEALED TO ME THAT THE TRAFFIC WAS STOPPED. I ALSO BRAKED AND SWERVED RIGHT BUT WAS NOT ABLE TO STOP IN TIME DUE TO THE SUDDEN EMERGENCY. I HIT THE CAR IN FRONT OF ME GOING ABOUT 40MPH. >>



Ok, check this out... she was going obviously the same speed as the vehicle in front of her. After going over the hill, she was still going the same speed (I'm gonna guess 45-50mph) and then saw the vehicle make a hard right. By the time she realized this, she couldn't react as fast as the vehicle in front of her did (she had to react from that vehicle anyways). She couldn't have been more than 30-40 feet away from the stopped traffic when she realized she needed to stop. So she hits the brakes at 25-30 feet away from traffic, going 45-50mph, and she hits the traffic at around 40mph... perhaps if she didn't hit the brakes the airbags would've deployed but it still wasn't fast enough for the sensors to sense anything.

 
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here's my question then, why is it that the NHTSA crash tests are done at 40 mph and in these cases the airbags DO deploy.

honda civic 2001 crash test

Also not the Air Bag compliants on this car already

airbag complaints

 
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<< here's my question then, why is it that the NHTSA crash tests are done at 40 mph and in these cases the airbags DO deploy.

honda civic 2001 crash test

Also not the Air Bag compliants on this car already

airbag complaints >>




Answer: How likely is it for someone to run into a brick wall? The sensors activated because after the impact, the car does not move... there's that sudden decrease of speed. With this lady's accident... hitting the vehicle in front of her was NOT like hitting a brick wall... you could say, it was like hitting a brick wall on wheels. Her car obviously didn't slow down enough because she moved the car forward that was in front of her.


EDIT: Second link doesn't work.

 
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Ok everyone is talking about airbags not deploying at certain speeds well this is how the damn things work. You have two sensors in your front end coincidentally they are both under your lights. They are behind the bumper and obviously under the bumper cover. So for the airbag to deploy you have to crush the little black boxes (sensors). Speed has nothing to do with the airbag deploying. It is a matter of how you hit something and if the impact from that crushes the sensor box. They are very low in your bumper and with my car since it is lowered i would have to rear end another lowered car or a wall to hit those sensors. The reason they use a wall in the airbag tests is because then they are sure the sensor will be crushed. They don't have to worry about not hitting things at the right angle the wall is the same position at every angle and will hit evenly. I know of people that flip their cars like 3 or 4 times and the airbags don't deploy because they don't hit anything where the sensors are. So as far as the airbags are concerned most of the time you are better off not having the things deploy or at least thats my 2 cents.

 
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Speed has a lot to do with airbag deployment. If you hit a telephone pole smack dab in the center of the car, but it doesn't crush the sensors, the air bags will still deploy. The sensor doesn't have to be crushed to go off. It is a sensor that detects the rapid deceleration of the vehicle and those in it. There are more then just the 2 sensors described above, depending on whether or not you have side airbags. W/O side airbags there a 3 sensors. 2 in the bumper and one in the lower dash(SRS Unit). W/ side air bags you also have them in the sill by both seats. The sensors react to how much G-force is put upon them. At or around 7G's they will send a signal to deploy the air bags. So speed is a major factor of the deployment.

 
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<< Speed has a lot to do with airbag deployment. If you hit a telephone pole smack dab in the center of the car, but it doesn't crush the sensors, the air bags will still deploy. The sensor doesn't have to be crushed to go off. It is a sensor that detects the rapid deceleration of the vehicle and those in it. There are more then just the 2 sensors described above, depending on whether or not you have side airbags. W/O side airbags there a 3 sensors. 2 in the bumper and one in the lower dash(SRS Unit). W/ side air bags you also have them in the sill by both seats. The sensors react to how much G-force is put upon them. At or around 7G's they will send a signal to deploy the air bags. So speed is a major factor of the deployment. >>


I couldn't have said it better myself. [IMG]i/expressions/beer_yum.gif[/IMG]

 
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I agree. Actually, the speed or G force it takes to deploy your air bags is a 40 mph "barrier" impact. That is like hitting a brick wall. As you see on TV for car commercials, that big metal block slaming into a stopped car to see how much damage would be caused in a real accident.

Physics plays a big part in an accident. If your going 40 mph and hit a stopped "car" .. that car you hit will travel at 20 mph and you will have a 20 mph "barrier" impact.

As for the sensors. There are "always" at least 3. The one in the dash is like a metal ball bearing and a 40 lb. magnet. It takes a 40 mph "barrier" impact to dislodge that ball and if "any" other sensor is damaged, the air bags go off. It also triggers the seat belts to lock. There is also a "ratchet" devise in the seat belts to hold you in place.

It matters "how" you hit something. At what angle. How hard you hit the structure of the car.

Last but not least. air bags are not soft like in the commercials. They hurt like hitting the canvas of a boxing ring and will give you a nasty skin burn.

Piece out.

 
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<< Last but not least. air bags are not soft like in the commercials. They hurt like hitting the canvas of a boxing ring and will give you a nasty skin burn. >>



Like I said, you DON'T want your airbag to deploy... at 15mph, it can probably kill you. And yeah, I forgot to mention that it will burn your chest/neck area badly from the air used to make that airbag shoot out so hard.

If it was just about the sensors then I'd be dead by now. I hit a deer going 75MPH and the car probably slowed down like at 4-5MPH? (If even that much.) I wasn't even thrown foward at all and if the airbags deployed just because of the sensors (going that fast?) the airbag would have (scared the sh't outta me) pushed my arms off the steering wheel, probably throwing my left arm into the window... breaking my hand, wrist, and arm... maybe even the window... if my right arm would've been on the wheel, it would've flung at my bitchy passenger's face... I'd lose control of my car from the airbag coming out the steering wheel, and perhaps make an even worse crash into a side barrier or perhaps another car? Face it, these air bags work... I mean... I can be wrong! I'm just waiting for the proper proof.

 
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I agree with SonicCivic and the others. I was in a real bad wreck in my del sol that involved heading into a grove of trees at 65mph, though I had a good deal of internal injuries from my chest and stomach getting jostled around when the seatbelt locked, I AM GLAD MY AIRBAGS DID NOT GO OFF. First off, I did not need them. Airbags are not designed to reduce minor injuries, they are designed to prevent major ones. A sprained back is not a major injury, think of airbags as being there to save your life, not to protect you from some bruises and stuff. I spent three days in the hospital unable to eat solid food, but I can honestly say that airbags would have done more harm than good (chemical burns etc.). And yes the car was totalled. Peace.

 
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Most importantly Intruder... you live.

 
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I had a wreck almost to months ago. It was pretty much a head on collission. My car was thrown about 25 ft and the airbags didn't deploy. The total repair bill was almost $10,000. Had the airbags gone off it would have totaled my car, which I wish it had. The vehicle I hit was an early to mid 80's Chevy truck, he was doing at least 60 and i was doing about 25 at the point of impact. With that much damage, my car won't ever drive the same.

 
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My seatbelt "locks" quite frequently when I am taking corners, braking hard.

A airbag is designed to help survivability in catastophic front/side impacts.

First Gen Airbags could go off pre-maturely ie You hit a fence as you run off the road, the airbag pops, then while the airbag is now deflating you then slam into the tree on the other side of the fence.
Now I find that scary.

 
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On my first 02 Civic Coupe I was in a head on collision and my air bags did deploy thank god. But what realy freaked me out was the insurance claim person that saw my car was amazed that the airbags worked. I almost dropped dead as I am looking at what used to be my baby totaled with both axels ripped off. The insurance guy just laughed and went on to something else. What worried me more is now I am in my 2nd 02 civic coupe and the srs light for side airbags keeps going off. The good old warning that side airbags are not working!!!!