ForsakenRalliA

Okay, I have a few questions about the Ralliart, first, where are the front side air bags located? Are they in the doors or the seats? Because I'm not sure, and I will explain to you why I need to know in just a minute...

I was driving on a highway, west towards Anadarko, OK, coming home from work. As I neared a bend, I turned my cruise control off and applied my brakes to slow down, I heard a screeching sound, but was not sure where it was coming from, at first I thought it was the car on the other side. After I realized the screeching was coming from my car, all I remember is spinning out of control and flipping my vehicle 2 and a half to 3 times, landing on the west bound highway, slightly inside the fast lane. My car landed on its roof, after I regained my awareness, the first thing I could remember doing was ripping my seatbelt off, and kicking my door out to get out as fast as I could. I tried flagging down 10 people, but no one would stop, so I started walking a mile towards Verden, Oklahoma, after about 10-15 minutes, a police officer had been told about the accident from one of the persons I tried to flag down, and he found me walking down the highway. I called for an ambulance because there was blood on my hand, but it was just a cut. My body was a little achy, but I think my adrenaline was pumping so fast, I didn't feel anything in the key areas that are hurting, now two days later. Wednesday afternoon I went to the Doctor to be checked out, I'm not sure what he exactly said, something about my spine is out of place, probably due to my muscles. Thursday morning, I really felt the pain, and now today, Friday morning of 12/24/2004, it doesn't feel like it is getting any better. None of my airbags came out. I have driver's airbag, a passenger airbag and a driver & passenger front side airbag, which are suppose to come out in a rollover, according to the NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Has anyone heard about air bags being faulty on some Ralliarts? I know I have them, because I got the full package. As far as my car goes, it's totalled.

mrbkkt1

iTrader: (6)

i didn't lknow lancers had side airbags! , also if it does, usually they come out during a side impact collision, not during a rollover.

mrbkkt1

iTrader: (6)

Front Seat-Mounted Side-Impact Air Bags†:
i guess i was wrong, it says on the mitsu site that they are seat mounted. It would seem so cause the evo's don't have them.

i also don't think that this would've helped much in a rolover anyway.
Sorry to hear about your car though, and am glad you are o.k.

Evilution VIII

air bags arent going to go off generally in a roll over accident.

ForsakenRalliA

I'm just going by what the NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) states about side air bags. Mrbkkt1, is that picture a picture of the air bags? If so, picture it on the drivers side, cause that's where my shoulder sits. Also, I would think the side airbags would go off on a rollover. Figure I was at about 60-65 when I spun out, so subtract 10-15 mph at time of rollover, thats about 50 MPH into a rollover, and finally stopping about 30-40 feet from where it started shows that it was flipping at a high rate of speed.

ForsakenRalliA

With possibly quite more than 3 rollovers. Also, when the tow truck flipped the car back on four wheels, he had to drag it on the side. I dunno, guess I need to talk to a lawyer.

wrecked

My only geuss would be that during the roll over, you did not impact the sensor point on the car. I do not know where the side air bag sensor is, but I believe the steering wheel and passenger front bags sensor is in the front bumper area. Is it possible that they are all running off the same sensor? That doesnt seem right though.

otter

iTrader: (14)

My understanding is that the only kind of airbag that should open in a rollover is a side curtain airbag, which is not an option on Lancers. The Lancer option is for a side impact airbag, which would go off if you were sideswiped. None of your airbags went off because you did not have the proper kind of impact, and they would've done more harm than good.

Considering what you went through, you're in pretty good shape, which I'm glad to see. Looks like the car did its job, excluding whatever went wrong in the first place. If you or your insurance company figures out what caused the accident, please let us know.

ForsakenRalliA

I'm trying to find out where the sensors are. I know my drivers side door got the worst of it, it was smashed in and jammed. When I went to look at it the next day at a garage, I couldn't get it open, so my friends did. Cause I couldn't, my shoulder is killing me right now, and these prescriptions the doc gave me don't seem to be working. I'll get back to you all when I find out more about the air bags. You're right, it doesn't seem right to have sensors for side airbags in the front, if that was the case, there would be no sense in putting them there, hehe. BUT, my hood is smashed a bit, my axel is bent, my passenger front tire is warped out big time, my front bumper is crushed, my trunk is sitting in my back seat, my poor sub-woofer casing was smashed, but the sub woofer itself is okay. My exhaust is ripped apart, passenger side behind the driver, the roof is crushed, my back window is blown out.

ciclon1

Sorry to hear about your CAR , Glad too know that you can tell the story, Do you know what happen yet? what cause the accident? maybe know you be able to get in in use EVO? the air bag will not deply in a rollover .
Good luck, ANY PICTURES?

otter

iTrader: (14)

One more thing I thought of, too, is airbag deployment also depends on what speed the car is moving when a specific sensor is tripped. If your side or front bumper was smashed after the wheels left the ground, your speed reading would've been pretty low, thus no airbag deployment.

ForsakenRalliA

Well, that's ridiculous to have something that deploys on how fast you were going. The sensor should be set off by pressure and not speed + pressure, say if you get hit from the side but you're parked, mmmk.

Go to page 11 on this pdf doc. http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/pdf/nrd...ABG_PubCit.pdf

BLKRalliArt04

iTrader: (18)

I wouldnt make too big of a stink about the airbags, just as long as you are alive and dont have any permanent life threatening injuries. But man thats ***ed up that nobody came to help you. It pisses me off how ***in inconsiderate some people are, especially if your sittin there with your car turned over on its roof. Just be fortunate you're alive.

ForsakenRalliA

I am thankful I am alive, but I found out after I crashed it, my ex girlfriend took me off of her insurance.

clckwrkorang777

DAAAAMN dude that sucks, sorry for your loss.

You gotta keep up w/ your insurance dude, a friend of mine had a similar scenario, only the insurance company "forgot" to inform him that his insurance expired two weeks before.

Sorry dude.

Daniel