Airbags work off sensing the amount of deceleration, not necessarily the force of the impact. Since you hit something that gave, there wasn't enough force to trip the primary crash sensor.

 

Please everyone try to understand how the system works. You don't crush until you hit the "sensor". It is an accelerometer that is tuned to deploy the airbag at approximately 15mph at angles up toi 35 degrees. I know, I designed airbags for Ford, Nissan and others for several years. The "smart" systems people try to refer to are now dual stage inflators that will deploy none, one or two inflation devices depending on the weight of the occupant in the seat (passenger side is the most common application). That is why an airbag will go off on the drivers side but not the passenger side if nobody is there. All this changes depending on year of vehicle and I am speaking of the most recent technology.

The system is also self diagnostic which means it knows if it is hooked up. That why the airbag light comes on briefly when you start the vehicle. It is confirming connectivity.

From the looks of your damage I would say it should have definitely gone off. Do you recall seeing the airbag light come on during previous starting cycles with the vehicle. Even though the system diagnosed itself does't mean that something is faulty. The accelerometer could be faulty and not trip when hit.

I would pursue this further with Ford and maybe contact a lawyer for advice on how to go about it.

 

I worked on the deployment systems as a co-op with BMW and i agree with the some of your post. However, i believe the some of your post is slightly incorrect. Bumbers are for impacts at 15 miles an hour. Air bag are for accidents in which the impact is ~30MPH + Meaning hitting a brick wall at faster than 30MPH or two cars doing 15MPH or faster hitting head on. And then it is still dependadnt on the numbers the accelerometer measures. You're fine, no reason to contact ford or a lawyer unless you plan on suing the lady you hit.

 

Everybody's wanting to sue somebody nowadays.

15 mph/35 degrees is a very general operating area for airbag deployment. With those parameters, riding around at parking lot speeds and bumping into another car could theorically deploy an airbag. Rate of deceleration matters more than actual speed travelled. Since his truck struck something that gave and didn't transfer energy directly from itself to the striking truck, the rate of deceleration probably wasn't severe enough to warrant deploying an airbag.

 

Thats pretty much how my truck looked after my accident, and my frame was bent, they had to ship a new one out of Detroit.
Regarding my accident, mine did not deploy, and i don't think it should have, even tho my truck received 12k worth of damage, the initial impact was no big deal in the cab.

 

I don't have time to read through the whole post (heading off to work) but I thought I's post a quick photo. My damage was quite a bit more and none of the airbags deployed. I was concerned, but Ford states nobody was hurt so the truck did it's job. My passengers were... son 4, daughter 7 and brother in-law. Other than some stiff necks... we were all fine.

 

^^^ man these trucks are tough! I guess the air bags are only for (nascar term) "the big one"

 

Man that was one big hit. Glad to hear you were all OK. I'd be on somebody's a$$ about the air bags on that crash. Like others have said, I've also heard that they are supposed to deploy at speeds about 15 MPH.

I'm not looking to sue anybody. I just wondered if my SRS needed checking. I'm actually glad it didn't go off. My face is already ugly enough without having my air bag adding redecorating. I just want a truck back that looks and drives as good as it did before the accident. I'm also wondering how the resale value will be affected by this accident. I'm sure this will come up on a CarFax report which will certainly affect me down the road. That's why I was hoping for it to be totalled even though I'm sure it won't be.

 

The Ford family plan did more damage to my resale value than the accident i had.
I think the bags deploy depending on the initial g-force inertia, like hitting a block wall.

 

Nope on the carfax mart man. The only way it gets to them is if someone (state, insurance co, etc) reports it to them. You usually will only get a hit on carfax if its been a flood title or branded (salvage and rebuilt) title. You should be ok there.

 

You're not going to be able to determine visually if your frame is bent. THey will have to take measurements, preferably on a frame rack. Like others said though, your truck lucks great considering the sequence of events.

 

They won't total that. I have heard of people rolling and Ford basically rebuilding the whole truck @ the dealership. Im betting your frame is bent and they will get it close to specs but if you are a picky person it wont be how you want it. I owed 19,000 on my last truck and the repair bill was 15,050 they did an aweful job repairing it. Air bags stink and spread powder all over besides being hot and powerful.

 

After i had my accident, I told the place that was fixing my truck i did not want a frame that was restraightened,they told me they no longer "restraighten" frames on new cars/trucks, they replace them.

 

My airbag went off in my wreck and it didn't exactly "hurt like ****", that, I believe, is just a myth...or for pansies. I wasn't even wearing my seatbelt, and my gf was, she got the brunt of the impact. I was slapped in the face with it at 45mph at least and you can see the damage in my gallery (click my sig).

Also, on the 2002 F-150's frame (the newer frames were redesigned a bit), the two front bars are about a foot to the right and left of the license plate and in your truck it looks like (the left one in the pic) has broken thru the lower valance, it's pretty easy to tell if your frame is bent. Towards the front of the frame, it's hollow and open on the ends. I hope I've helped.

 

Check this out....

NC Sean

http://www.titantalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=24129