Beware the side curtain air bag deployment algorithm!

[mySSt]

Originally Posted by 2012-1822

Looking forward to it.


........ All that data aside, I'd be pissed if mine deployed under thise circumstances, worse yet, what happens if you pull a tireoff the ground on a road course coming down a hill in turn, computer fires off airbags, you had control, now you don't and you total your car and injure yourself or others.

Couldn't have said it better!

[Rhyder]

whats really funny....all the wrecks on this site, front, back and sides and I dont see the airbag deploying on any of them, but drift sideways..... :P

[thahemp]

I wouldn't think you would want them going off in most of those cases. A 1.7g slide though? If you contacted something, you'd be very happy with your airbags!

[Rhyder]

Originally Posted by thahemp

I wouldn't think you would want them going off in most of those cases. A 1.7g slide though? If you contacted something, you'd be very happy with your airbags!

I don't want them deploying unless I hit something period, they don't stay inflated, so if im sliding down a hill and they deploy, then they lose steam just before I hit the bottom, it does me no good.....and deploying when I haven't hit something is likely to cause an accident now that ive just been punched in the side or face with one.


and if someone hits me in the side I do want them deploying...what accident that does any serious damage to the car do you not want them deploying? They have a couple that bent the frame and the insurance totaled the car...yet no deployment.....

I have a simple need...Im hit hard enough to bend the metal on my car=deployment (better safe than sorry)

Im not hit at all= no deployment

[mySSt]

Originally Posted by thahemp

I wouldn't think you would want them going off in most of those cases. A 1.7g slide though? If you contacted something, you'd be very happy with your airbags!

Having air bags in an impact is good. There was NO impact here - it was just the computer PREDICTING a rollover. A rollover that didn't happen and was not close to happening ...

[thahemp]

How much time to you have to deploy on a side collision? Your head is a lot closer to the pillar than the steering wheel. Not to mention there is no crumple zone to buy you time. I have a feeling they did it in a predictive fashion because they don't have time to do any good in a sideways collision.

I may have read too much into your wrecks comment. I was thinking of some of the sideswipes going on lately.

[mySSt]

Originally Posted by Rhyder

I don't want them deploying unless I hit something period, they don't stay inflated, so if im sliding down a hill and they deploy, then they lose steam just before I hit the bottom, it does me no good.....and deploying when I haven't hit something is likely to cause an accident now that ive just been punched in the side or face with one.


and if someone hits me in the side I do want them deploying...what accident that does any serious damage to the car do you not want them deploying? They have a couple that bent the frame and the insurance totaled the car...yet no deployment.....

I have a simple need...Im hit hard enough to bend the metal on my car=deployment (better safe than sorry)

Im not hit at all= no deployment

The side curtain bags (the ones above the doors under the headliner) inflate and actually stay inflated for a while to help keep you, arms, etc in the car if it is rolling. They function differently than the other 4 bags which are already deflating by the time you contact them. As I understand it, there is a side sensor on either side of the car (near the floor and just behind where the rear end of the door closes) and also two front end sensors (don't know where these are located). These help determine if the air bags in the outboard side of your front seats, steering wheel, and above the glove box inflate.

Don't know what impact forces it takes to trigger those 4 bags to deploy - and hopefully its only because one of the sensors were impacted. What the episode I described in the first post was the computer making up it's mind to deploy the side curtain bags because it predicted a rollover while there was not any impact. You're right about the side curtains deploying is like being punched in the head and causing you to lose focus at the wrong time!

[Rapid Runner]

Why not just pull the fuse(s) when driving spiritually or acting a fool

[Iroc-z86]

Originally Posted by Rapid Runner

Why not just pull the fuse(s) when driving spiritually or acting a fool

Beat me to it.

[3rdgen3]

Ive got over 26,000 clicks of pure hooliganism. I've gone thru 4x sets of rear tires and never, not even once has my air bags gone off and some of the slides I was in, I was wayyyy more sideways then any car should ever (on purpose) and I was still able to correct it using steering angle and throttle input.

Maybe it goes off once the computer senses brake input, for example someone starts sliding when having fun on some back road and they get a bit carried away and hit the brakes hoping to help them...then the air bags go off.

I'm just saying..im not over exaggerating, I have fun with my car on a daily basis and nothing remotely like this has happened to me...not yet anyway.

[mySSt]

Originally Posted by Rapid Runner

Why not just pull the fuse(s) when driving spiritually or acting a fool

Driving 'spiritually' - I like that phrase!

I don't want to pull a fuse or turn a switch to disable my air bags in case I do hit something. Like the other person said, if I hit something hard enuf to bend metal, I want the air bags to deploy.

Problem here is it wasn't a sensor triggered by an impact which deployed the 2 bags, it was the computer predicting a rollover. Obviously, the computer's prediction was wrong in this case.

[traildevil]

I spun my '13 LS around in the road and nothing happened? is this something that could only happen at a higher speed like 40+? or could it happen even at like a 15mph donut speed? lol why would they set something up like that.... damn air bags lol....the Camaro's back in the day with big blocks in them were animals and they didn't have no damn air bags! I know I know....times have changed! but can someone enlighten me on my question?

[Denis]

Just did a bunch of donuts with mine and no issues. Although it was in the back of my mind the whole time haha

[mySSt]

Originally Posted by traildevil

I spun my '13 LS around in the road and nothing happened? is this something that could only happen at a higher speed like 40+? or could it happen even at like a 15mph donut speed? lol why would they set something up like that.... damn air bags lol....the Camaro's back in the day with big blocks in them were animals and they didn't have no damn air bags! I know I know....times have changed! but can someone enlighten me on my question?

From comparing other incidences with side curtain deployment, yes, speed appears to be part of the algorithm to activate the side curtain bags.