Prius airbag safety

[terrykarp]

I'm new to this forum but had read it prior to buying my 2006 Prius. I loved my car but it was totaled the nite before Thanksgiving when it was hit by a Mercedes in the driver's front side panel. I really want to buy another one with the insurance money (once we settle), but am concerned that the airbags didn't deploy during the accident. I called the technical service dept. of Toyota and filed a report- they were extremely helpful and said the car was probably hit in an area where there were no sensors....they don't want the airbags to deploy needlessly as they can cause injury themselves. That makes a lot of sense to me but I keep hearing other stories about airbags not deploying in the Prius. My dad said there was a major collision in Florida where the airbags didn't deploy and there is currently a law suit about this. My friend knows someone where the Prius flipped twice and the airbags didn't deploy. I can't seem to find any independent information about this and hope some one on this board can help. I REALLY loved the car and want to get another one, but also want to keep my family safe. Thanks for any help you can give.

[daniel]

Question: Was anybody hurt in your accident? If the answer is no, then the airbags performed correctly in not deploying. Airbags are themselves dangerous. Overall they save lives. But it is desirable to have them not deploy in the kinds of crashes where it is thought they would not help. Thus, if nobody was hurt in your accident, then the airbags would have been malfunctioning had they deployed.

Of course, the system can make errors. Perhaps the Florida case was such an error. Or perhaps it was the kind of accident where statistically injury would not have occurred, but by a fluke there was an injury. Unless it is clear that the accident was of a type where airbags should have deployed, then they may have functioned as designed.

Americans are sue-happy. We sue over anything. That is sad. If the airbag in the Florida case really was defective, perhaps a lawsuit is justified. But if it was a fluke accident where the air bag would have been more likely to cause injury than to prevent it, then a lawsuit is not justified.

Any part can malfunction in any car. But the Prius has been extensively crash-tested. It is one of the safest cars on the road. And Toyota cars are unsurpassed for reliability. The chances of any malfunction are less in a Toyota or a Honda than in virtually any other make of car. The airbag is NOT something that should discourage you from buying one.

P.S. Your inability to find any independent information about the incidents you mention might be because they never happened. Sadly, there are people who will make up stories.

[galaxee]

http://priuschat.com/index.php?showtopic=27263