Do I need to replace my airbags

[Nigelgta]

Hi, I’m running a 2005 facelift C5 Exclusive. Fifteen years old and still going strong. The service book and Haynes manual says that after 15 years the airbags should be replaced. Not sure how costly that could be but there are quite a few! Just wondering if that’s an absolute I.e. they must be replaced or whether it’s okay not to. I have no airbag warning lights and never have. Any advice? Cheers

[Hell Razor5543]

Hi, and to the forum. I personally cannot answer your question, but I do understand the thinking; explosives (as with other chemicals) degrade over time, and so may not go off with the correct amount of force.

[GiveMeABreak]

Hi, I’m running a 2005 facelift C5 Exclusive. Fifteen years old and still going strong. The service book and Haynes manual says that after 15 years the airbags should be replaced. Not sure how costly that could be but there are quite a few! Just wondering if that’s an absolute I.e. they must be replaced or whether it’s okay not to. I have no airbag warning lights and never have. Any advice? Cheers

Although that is the official guidance - I don't know of anyone who has undertaken that task or who is likely to. Considering the expense, at today's prices, that would be £2499.40 inc. VAT for all the airbags alone. This assumes you would be fitting them yourself of course

[moizeau]

If the little light doesn't shout keep quiet.

[Hell Razor5543]

I think it is a bit like the "Best Before" dates on foodstuffs. Tinned foods, for example, seem to last forever if the tin remains intact, unopened and clear of rust, but the producers still put a "Best Before" date to cover themselves. The explosives in the airbags will work at a known efficiency for 10 years or so, but after that they may degrade to the point where they do not work as expected.

[GiveMeABreak]

To be honest, anyone who has ever been attacked by a frontal airbag - it's not very pleasant. I was deafened for a good few hours and it took the skin off my nose and forehead, so not the nicest experience to have going off in the face.

[Hell Razor5543]

When my Mum had her accident the airbag nearly broke her nose. If there was an airbag on the passenger side it did not go off (I know, as I was in the passenger seat). While we can all agree that having an airbag smack you in the face is unpleasant it is a LOT better than the alternative.

[Gibbo2286]

I wonder how many owners have actually read the handbook and know about the air bag stuff.

I had a customer who had owned his car from new and at four years on didn't know how to adjust the heater.

[Nigelgta]

And my wife had her last car for 17 years and couldn’t sort out the heater
Thanks for the replies. I’ve not even looked at the cost of replacement but if it’s around £2.5K just for parts then that’s almost certainly more than the car is worth.

[xantia_v6]

Hi, I’m running a 2005 facelift C5 Exclusive. Fifteen years old and still going strong. The service book and Haynes manual says that after 15 years the airbags should be replaced. Not sure how costly that could be but there are quite a few! Just wondering if that’s an absolute I.e. they must be replaced or whether it’s okay not to. I have no airbag warning lights and never have. Any advice? Cheers

See https://www.theaa.com/cars/news/ask-edmund/air-bag-life which says that the concept of airbag lifetime has been abandoned. It would be good to find a more authoritative source.

[GiveMeABreak]

That's a good find Mike - I often wondered about the 10 year, then the change to 15 year all of a sudden! So I suspect that they may well of abandoned the recommendation on later cars if this is the case.

[Pug_XUD_KeenAmateur]

And my wife had her last car for 17 years and couldn’t sort out the heater

Seeing this, I shall be more patient with SWMBO in future. I've run two examples of the same Make & model car since 2008 and she's still not figured out the Heater controls...

...but she always adjusts the rear view mirror when she drives it, even if only for maneouvring it on/off the Drive. Hmm