jugla 0 Report post Posted April 21, 2010 So the Wife gets into her Bm turns the ignition key and BANG the rear airbags deply,she just about went thru the sunroof in fright. The car starts ok although now the dash read out looks like hieroglphs, My question is how expensive is it to replace the airbags ie: is it worth making a claim on the Warranty we took out and who in the Wellington area would you recommend to install them and check out the rest of electrics as I would imagine there would have to be a reason why they blew in the first place. i would appreciate any and all advice. cheers. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Apex 693 Report post Posted April 21, 2010 Assuming it was in the 528i E39? Mine did a few things but that takes the cake, your poor wife! Claim under warrantee mate and have the car thoroughly looked at as that is seriously dangerous, I would almost say write the car off as parts. PS: Up the Irons. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
*Glenn* 854 Report post Posted April 21, 2010 Air bags arent covered by most policies. There has to be something seriously wrong for that to happen....contact the dealer Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
M3_Power 636 Report post Posted April 21, 2010 I'd say that would be a write off to be honest ... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
*Glenn* 854 Report post Posted April 21, 2010 I'd say that would be a write off to be honest ... I would agree.. new SRS control unit, air bags, sensors etc etc Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
pureboiracer 0 Report post Posted April 21, 2010 (edited) something is badly wrong there. under normal circumstances the deployment of an airbag requires 2 switches to activate. one in the front or side of car depending on the airbag, this is an impact switch, as well as the impact switch a deacceleration switch (usually a pezio crystal) inside the airbag module has to trigger, this only triggers at a negative gforce which is only achieved in decent crashes. so for the airbags to have deployed like that there must be a short circuit somewhere putting power to the airbags.... this is very dangerous and although it would not write off the car it will be expensive to fix so definatly get it checked under warranty. and in response to the above i doubt it would be a write off, mabey a couple of k to fix but not a right off. there will be a fault in the wiring loom somewhere is suspect so it will be new module, new airbags and complete checkover of the loom. i doubt there is anything wrong with the impact sensors Edited April 21, 2010 by e30li Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
*Glenn* 854 Report post Posted April 21, 2010 (edited) The dealer or person doing the job might have to make that call. Really depends where the activation fault lies If its an old 528I you could easily spend more fixing it than what the car is worth. What year and model is the car exactly ?? Edited April 21, 2010 by *Glenn* Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jugla 0 Report post Posted April 21, 2010 The dealer or person doing the job might have to make that call. Really depends where the activation fault lies If its an old 528I you could easily spend more fixing it than what the car is worth. What year and model is the car exactly ?? It is a 2000 528i, Am I missing something here , are the electrics of these cars that fragile that you would write off a vehicle that is worth anywhere from 12 to 16K , or is it that the cost of the parts themselves are too ridiculous. this is starting to sound like a very nasty nightmare about to happen and would put me off owning another vehicle that is so reliant on electrical components . I can appreciate that tracking down electrical faults are harder than a mechanical problem but isnt that the reason for having their own diagnostic capabilities? At this stage I have not taken it to somewhere to have it looked at,as I think I had a 'Sixth' sense that it could be expensive and wished to explore the warranty I think is thru ' Protecta' insurance NZ . I will endeavor to keep the forum advised of what transpires. Thanks for the feedback so far as dire as it sounds!!! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Apex 693 Report post Posted April 21, 2010 I sold my faulty E39 528i last year for $4,000 because the attention it needed to be 95% superseded what a E39 528i is honestly worth, the fellow I sold it to is still trying to get second hand parts for it that are simply not available. To have an airbag explode un expectedly is quite major mate, all parts need/should be replaced with new ones because as far as I know they are individual to the computer that controls them. Would insurance cover this?? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
*Glenn* 854 Report post Posted April 21, 2010 (edited) As I said before...most warranty companies don't cover air bags. Some insurance companies don't either so I'm told. It would depend on the policy the OP has. Edited April 21, 2010 by *Glenn* Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JaseNZ 53 Report post Posted April 21, 2010 Wow thats pretty amazing for it just to go off like that. I am glad to hear it was not the drivers one where the wife was sitting or a kiddie in the back when it went off, Sort of thing that if it happened would make you change your undies pretty rapidly. Sorry to hear your woe's hope you managed to get it sorted. I would be hitting yup your warranty company or insurance, Maybe they could work together and halve the price if need be. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
M3_Power 636 Report post Posted April 21, 2010 If only this happened in America ... Just thinking, if the vehicle has never been in an accident before and you can show that it has been maintained properly, might even be worth while contacting BMW AG about it? Given the sort of scrutiny that car companies get now days since Toyota saga .... That is if your Insurance won't cover it. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
pureboiracer 0 Report post Posted April 21, 2010 to extend on what i said before, as said above weather it is a write off or not would be the call of the repairer and insurance, from my experience replacing airbag systems has been no more that a few thousand. the modules range from $300 to $800 depending on vehicle. and airbags a couple of huny each, quite a time consuming job to do as you will have to test every part of the system and circuits to identify any faults and see what needs replacing. then you will have to programme the airbag module to the vehicle. and test all of the circuit again to ensure there are no more faults. Unfortunatley for you mate is that just about every car is almost completely reliant on electronics and has been for the last 10 years. I think you just got unlucky as this is not something that happens every day. manifactures do everything they can to prevent false deployment and failier of airbag systems due to the possible damage or harm that could be caused. although it is not uncommon for a wiring loom to be rubbing somewhere, mabey under the seat and cause some wires to short together and i guess it is possible that mabey 1 out of 1000 times you may just short the wrong wires and bang. to me a short seems like the most logical cause but i cant really say without seeing and testing the car. but regardless of that you would replace the blown airbags aswell as the module anyway. just for safety sake. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Wom 0 Report post Posted April 21, 2010 So the Wife gets into her Bm turns the ignition key and BANG the rear airbags deply,she just about went thru the sunroof in fright. The car starts ok although now the dash read out looks like hieroglphs, My question is how expensive is it to replace the airbags ie: is it worth making a claim on the Warranty we took out and who in the Wellington area would you recommend to install them and check out the rest of electrics as I would imagine there would have to be a reason why they blew in the first place. i would appreciate any and all advice. cheers. damn yo that's crazy as! can't help other than to suggest either Jono the forum sponsor (JK Southern Euro) or Page European to check out your car but yea I'd be calling my insurance company first Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
