Does anyone know, curious because I got in an accident wednesday and slammed my face into the steering wheel because it didn't go off. It was at around 20mph or so.

 

It's not speed - it's how fast you are stopped by hitting something or having something hit you. It takes a certain number of "G"s to trigger them.

 

Geez man, I really hope you're OK!! That really sucks. How are you and how is your car? Let us know.

Dave is right. It has to do with the rate of deceleration. If you hit a brick wall doing 20, it's going to go off. If you hit something that cushioned the impact, thus decreasing your rate of deceleration, it could have prevented the deployment.

In case you didn't know, the airbag switch is basically a ball-bearing resting against a magnet in a tube. If the impact is forceful enough to pull the bearing off of the magnet, it activates a switch which triggers the airbag.

 

While we're on the subject, where are the side curtain airbag sensors located?

 

Normally its supposed to be 25 miles per hour in a frontal crash. It does depend on the G's to make the sensor go off. I remember from school they used like a ball and magnet and it was a set pressure to move it forward to complete the curcuit. I don't know about the latest. The are usually located near or around the crumple bar. if you look where your bumper is atached you'll see ribs they are designed to fold in as you crash limiting sharp points and take some of the shock.

 

side curtain sensors are typically located on the floor at the B-pillar. in other words, near the rear, bottom corner of the seats.

the service manual has a diagram. can post it if you need it.

sean

 

Sorry to hear about your accident. I am surprised your seat belt didn't stop your face from hitting the steering wheel regardless of the air bag deployment.

 

What speed should the air bags deploy at?

Not to be a smart a$$, but they should deploy at 0.

 

yeah, i had an accident about 2 wks ago and i was goin around 70ish into a turn and then after deceleration prabably around 45 during the turn then my car lost control in the middle of the turn cuz the tires started loosing grip of the ground slowly and i went onto a dirt wall sorta like a ramp but steep and then barreled my car, not a single airbag popped(i have side airbags too) but the crash wasnt too crazy on the Gs so thats why proabably they didnt pop.

I kno im gonna get flamed for this but that turn was a 20mph turn so i guess that was wreckless driving. and i agree that it was a dumb move to make.

 

No, smarta$$, the deployment sequence should just be finished as the car reaches 0! Seriously, I agree, it's not a definite speed, unless you were to hit a perfectly rigid, hard barrier (ouch). But I can tell you for sure that when a 5000# Chevy Tahoe doing 40 mph hits you on the driver's side, the ball bearing will be dislodged. . .

 

How you doing Torkaholic?

A lot of it also has to do with the angle that you are impacting the other object. I had my passenger's bag only deploy on me. Impact was to the front right portion of the car.

 

I'm fine, thanks. The accident I had in that car happened almost two years ago; that's just one of my "file photos." Had that Camry not been equipped with the optional side curtains, I'd probably be dead though. The last thing I saw before impact was the speeding Tahoe's grill maybe 18-24 inches from the driver's side window. I was amazed at a few things. First, at the stunning violence of the impact, and the force with which that curtain slapped my face. Second, that the Camry did so well in the crash. Finally, that I did so well. I will never, ever again buy another car without side bolster and curtain shield bags.