A&Q about 350Z
Q:
First the story... the airbag question comes at the end
The bad news: I rang in this New Year with a real bang at 5:40 am on New Year's day. I was on my way to work(double time holiday shift!), conditions were rain and 40°. I was on I-93 South in NH around the Plymouth area, and the local valley air temp was obviously not what I had just driven through at HIGHER elevations. The cold valley air and a brisk wind and cold front had just blown in. I hit a patch of black ice/freezing rain at 65 mph, the back end of my 2000 Subaru started sliding, first right, then left...I almost "saved it" twice before the spin got out of control. The next thing I knew I was hanging on, spinning and sliding through the curve near an on-ramp, and waiting for the impact which came in the form of a head-on dead-center hit into guard rail and a secondary side impact on "the rebound". The police closed the Interstate 20 minutes later for over 2 hours, as I was one of seventeen accidents in a 5 mile stretch.
The good news: I WAS WEARING MY SEAT BELT AND THE AIRBAGS DEPLOYED(thank the guard rail for not hitting anything worse or rolling into the ravine below). After hitting the now mildly damaged rail at reasonably high speed, I unbuckled the belt, opened the door, and removed myself from the vehicle - basically WALKING AWAY FROM WHAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN A FATAL ACCIDENT for an unrestrained driver. As someone who grew up as a child before seatbelts became standard issue, I, at times, still catch myself starting out of the driveway without buckling-up(NH has no adult seat-belt law), even though my children have hammered the concept into my thick skull. This thick head did receive a good bump(mild concussion) and I'm a bit sore from the secondary side impact with the rail, BUT I can now assure you that I will NEVER operate a vehicle again without the seat belt fastened - nor will I consider a vehicle without airbags as a daily driver.
AND Finally - the question: As I will probably be shopping for a new USED vehicle in the near future, how can I make sure the airbags in the vehicle I'm buying are functional. There are stories of repaired vehicles which are sold(even from reputable dealers - hey, they all get them from auctions...) where the airbags have been replaced with used and/or un-certified units or worse "dummy" covers/fillers. Any tips?
Thanks, and BUCKLE-UP! and have a safe New Year!
A:
I'm pretty sure that under law, they have to be working. But then again, people cut corners. I think you have to have a mechanic check to see if something is charged properly (the airbag/or something/sensor etc). I also believe that you should have the best luck with runnig a check on the vin # to see if there was any prior collisions.
Thank goodness your ok man, i was in a couple bad ones, and everytime i was like THANK GOD FOR SEATBELTS. One time, i was going to work really early, and i had stop and go traffic at like 30 mph. The dude in front of me kept on braking like an old lady, as soon as i look over my right shoulder to change lanes...CRUNCH.. I rear ended him at like 30mph. I was ok, so was he.
Another time, out of no where, i lost control on black ice like you. I went head on into a 30MPH sign, and nearly into a store front. Caused 3K property damage...whoopsy.