OK, so I did a dumb on Friday night/Saturday morning and tried out the 4-wheel drive in a field and managed to find the only large ditch on the whole property. I went down into it hard enough to drop the front end into the opposite side of it and set off the airbags....both of them......

The truck is fine and so were we, but now I have these nice white bags flopping out and need to get them repacked. Anyone know how much I'm potentially looking at and any way to minimize the cost of replacing them?
I heard as much as $1k each and am REALLY hoping that its not the case that its that expensive. Also heard I could possibly salvage a set and it'd be much cheaper that way. Whats the scoop on this and what help can everyone give me short of donations to the 'Reset my Airbags' fund...

 

I would call a dealership or a repair shop to get you a quote, then you know how much, but I don't think it will be cheap like you said. I know what my old lady will be saying to me if I was in your shoes "If you play, you will pay", I hate it when she is right sometimes, . I tend to hear that a lot too. Good luck getting it fixed.

 

Not sure on the cost, but becareful many newer vehicles have a dual-stage sensor that can fire the airbags off again. I'm not sure, but in my opinion I would doubt that a Supercrew 03 and below would have that, but many new vehicles do. You don't wanna get popped by a bag that has already been deployed. It would hurt a lot worse.

 

Since when do they re-pack air bags?

 

They don't, I think they replace all of the components.

 

You'll need a front crash sensor (also known as the "primary crash severity sensor), the RCM, both airbags, and probably the clockspring. Inspect the mounting point for the front crash sensor, it must be straight and true, otherwise you'll have problems later on down the road.

As far as the cost of the components, figure anywhere from $500-1000/each for the bags themselves, maybe $150-200ish for the RCM, and $50-100 for the front crash sensor, ballpark figures only. I'm all for trying to save money, but SRS components ain't someplace to cut corners on.

 

how hard did you hit the hill did it not take out the bumper? how fast where you going when you hit? if not you may want to talk to the dlr and they may cover it sine the bag went off at low speeds they should not go off in a wreck under like 15 mph...the bags need to be replaced not repacked they can not be reused...the cost is about 1000 to 1500they just plug in and you will need to find the one that set off the bags and replace it....

 

Sorry, I guess I misspoke. I meant replaced when I said repack, they replace the whole module if I remember correctly. Called the dealership and was quoted at almost $700 per side Anyone have a connection at a dealership??

As far as the speed, I wasnt going over 15mph I'm almost certain. It was a relatively flat field with some tall grasses and weeds and stuff, and of course one 2ft deep drainage ditch It just dropped into it so suddenly that when the lower bumper hit it, the shock set off the sensor. Took a good look at the truck today and all that it did was bend the lower bumper area that holds the foglights, might need a new one. Gonna crawl under it tomorrow and see what can be done on that.

Do you know where I can find the exact info on when the bags are supposed to deploy? If I was under speed do I have a chance at the dealership replacing them on their dime?? It IS still under warranty also and the $100 deductable sounds alot better than the potential $2000 with labor for replacing everything.

 

i was reading in my sister's new carolla's manual a while back and it says a sudden drop could potentially set them off. So i doubt you can get the dealer to pay for em, but its always worth a try.
Good luck.
-Patrick

 

Yes, the speed of the impact plays a role, but rate of deceleration is more important. Hit something that gives (like, another car from the broadside) and energy is dissipated between your truck and the car you hit. Hit something solid, like the ditch, there's no transfer for the energy. This is the most severe impact you can have (ask Dale Sr.) and will almost for certain guarantee airbag deployment, since reasoning is the vehicle's stopped, but your body is still moving.

 

Well, it was a rather abrupt stop but I've hit worse than that several times on trails or in mudholes. I understand the reasoning behind the deployment, but they really shouldnt have gone off for this situation IMO. But thats just MY opinion, what do you think a service department would say? I mean if the bags go off everytime I would hit a rut big enough to cause a quick halt, thats kind of extreme, not to mention expensive.
Well, I know what they're going to SAY, but do I have a leg to stand on with them here?
I'll take some pics of the truck later and post them so everyone can see about the bumper and the lack of reason to blow the bags.

 

I think the service department is gonna say you're on your own, won't know 'till you try.

 

it is worth a try to talk to the dlr and see if they will fix it... i would start off by asking them how fast you have to go fo them to go off or look in the owner book and see it should tell you in it....look at a junk yard they should have the bags and you could buy just the driver side now and then add the p side later do you have the cut off in the dash for it

 

1 You are best off going to the junkyard or Ebay for the Airbags.

2 Dual-Stage air bags dont mean they can go off again once deployed. Its just means they inflate at a lower speed depending on the incident.

Just my 2$

Yeah thats right 2 Dollars

 

$2 huh?

Well, its pretty obvious that these suckers dont go off again. I'm not stupid, just dumb

I managed to find both airbags and the crash data computer for about $700 total, which is great since Ford wanted that much for ONE of the airbags...

Now I need to know what to do about the seatbelts. They dont seem to want to retract anymore. Can they be reset or do I have to replace THOSE too??

And to recap the final tally of parts should be:

-Driver's airbag
-Pass. airbag
-Crash data computer
-Seatbelt retractors (?)
-Crash sensor (whichever one was set off)

Is that right?? I dont want to miss anything, would rather get it all at the same time.
Where can I get that sensor and what is the proper name for it? Are they standard or do I need a specific type of one?