Air Bag sensors blown up--Literally

[nnicholas]

zer...d=177#My new neighbor decided to set off some commercial grade fireworks last night that sent me scurrying for my .45 and AR-15. It sounded like a gun battle. I called the cops and when they finally arrived the neighbors moved their party inside. This morning I drove my 94 Q to church and as I passed their house I heard and felt an explosion like really loud gunfire and my Air Bag Light began flashing the the seatbelts tensioners did their job. I ran over an unspent device about the size of a large shotgun shell. I called the cops again and they came out and told me to take them to civil court which I plan to do.

Here's my question: Although the air bag lights are flashing and the seatbelts are unmovable, is there a danger of the air bags deploying at will? I know I've got to get this repaired ASAP but I need to disengage the system until I can get it fixed. What do I need to do to disengage the system?

[Q451990]

The pretensioners for your seatbelts deployed. I wouldn't think it will have anything to do with your airbag sensors or airbags. Good luck getting a judge to understand the intricate nature of even a 15 year old restraint system....

You will probably want to get something in writing from your local dealership or maybe T3 if you're close to Atlanta stating that an explosion under the car was the likely cause of the deployment. You don't want the judge to buy the "it was a coincidence on an old car" theory that your neighbors will probably try to use. Then there's the issue of trying to actually collect the judgment... sounds like a hell of a mess.

Heath

[maxnix]

If the tensioners have frozen the belts, isn't that a precondition to the airbags going off?

[Q45tech]

All bets are off after the 10 year legal life of vehicle has expired.The air bags have a 10 year warning to replace printed on them.

Who in their right mind would offer a legal expert opinion in court [for free] on the design of an automobile safety system.Dealers have no engineers especially state certified professional engineers [required in court as witnesses].

[nnicholas]

I'm not so concerned about court proceedings at this time. Just want to know how to disable the system long enough to get it sorted out and get it repaired.

Thanks.

[Infinitiguy19]

Please see BF-60 to BF-67 in the 1994 Q45 FSM: http://Nicoclub.com/FSM/Q45Good luck.

[bullittandy]

Sorry for your trouble but that is a cool f*ckin story.