Hit a pothole and airbags deployed! Help!
01-07-2010, 07:30 PM
#31
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If I understand how airbag sensors are supposed to work they detect the collision but then a backup set of sensors is supposed to detect the rapid deceleration which happens after hitting an object. Driving along and hitting a pothole like this would cause a rather large jolt but no rapid deceleration that would actually trigger the bags. The airbags should not have deployed. The fact that he is getting stonewalled by corporate is reason enough to say "get a lawyer". Also because the rim cracked most of the force was exerted into the rim and not into the car itself. There are no air bag sensors in the rims. Also I believe the sensors (don't know if a G37 does though) can record information at the moment they fired. So they can look at the data and see what the car was actually doing. They will be able to tell if a crash happened or if they fired because of a malfunction.
I'm not a mechanical engineer but I believe this is how it all is supposed to work.
I'm not a mechanical engineer but I believe this is how it all is supposed to work.
Maybe a tech can comment on how the system really is works.
01-07-2010, 10:25 PM
#33
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I know how you feel.
I knew a guy who had a 350Z with the same issue. Even had it on tape.
Pothole Incident
Turns out that damn pothole found a cell phone and called consumer affairs first and denied the whole thing.
Pothole Incident
Turns out that damn pothole found a cell phone and called consumer affairs first and denied the whole thing.
01-08-2010, 09:52 AM
#35
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The fact that the passenger airbag went off with no one in the seat is enough to indicate there was a major malfunction of the system. Of course Infiniti may be doubting whether the seat was empty but the airbag module should have data recorded at the time of the deployment to confirm. Many cars have "black box" recorders - I know my 2000 Chevy had one. The data should be in your favor.
01-08-2010, 04:17 PM
#37
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Thanks for all the help and good advice everyone. I spoke with the air bag specialiast at Infiniti consumer affairs today. She said the engineering dept will let me know on monday if they will repair my car or not. Hopefully they give me good news and restore my faith in Infiniti and their customer service. What frustrates me most about the situation was the way Infiniti Corporate has handled my claim. I did not purchase a $50 bike from walmart with a broken chain. I purchased a new $45,000 G37. Even though I truly feel the airbags deployed as a malfunction, I would have been a much happier customer if consumer affairs or my dealer gave me a loaner car during my wait. The waiting games and run arounds Infiniti has played with me over the last month is a serious slap in the face. Anyways when I hear from them on monday I will make sure to post an update first thing.
01-08-2010, 05:39 PM
#38
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If there's no damage to the body then the airbags have no reason to deploy... regardless of sensor data logs
Whatever data the inifiniti investigator retrieved was for their own benefit and that was courteous enough for you to do that rather than an independant technician
Huge fault of infiniti not to take care of you immediately. You should get a new car at the minimum given that your life and anyone who might have been in the car was endagered needlessly.
Whatever data the inifiniti investigator retrieved was for their own benefit and that was courteous enough for you to do that rather than an independant technician
Huge fault of infiniti not to take care of you immediately. You should get a new car at the minimum given that your life and anyone who might have been in the car was endagered needlessly.
01-11-2010, 12:17 PM
#39
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Infiniti corporate called me and told me that they will not be fixing my car. They said the sensors in the undercarriage detected the impact and thats why the airbags went off. They also said the passanger side airbag will deploy if the impact is hard enough. No more infiniti's for me after this car.
01-11-2010, 02:55 PM
#42
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This really sucks
I wonder how the insurance is going to work through this. Will they in turn be sueing or forming a settlement with Infiniti.
These kind of scare stories can be very damaging to a manufacturer's reputation and therefore Infiniti will try their best not to take blame. If your insurance even covers you and waives the $750, Infiniti could still pay your insurance and still come out clean and you'll be okay too.
Back-door lobbies work in strange ways... So depending on how you want to excercise your rights you can get your own lawyer and pursue Infiniti directly and prove them wrong and get what you deserve
Look into air-bag federal regulations to determine whether it's acceptable to have all air-bags deploy on potholes on national highways without any damage to a vehicle...
I wonder how the insurance is going to work through this. Will they in turn be sueing or forming a settlement with Infiniti.
These kind of scare stories can be very damaging to a manufacturer's reputation and therefore Infiniti will try their best not to take blame. If your insurance even covers you and waives the $750, Infiniti could still pay your insurance and still come out clean and you'll be okay too.
Back-door lobbies work in strange ways... So depending on how you want to excercise your rights you can get your own lawyer and pursue Infiniti directly and prove them wrong and get what you deserve
Look into air-bag federal regulations to determine whether it's acceptable to have all air-bags deploy on potholes on national highways without any damage to a vehicle...
01-11-2010, 05:20 PM
#43
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I would not have let Infiniti touch the car without a lawyer getting their investigator to look at it first. Unfortunately now your screwed because Corporate got first looks at it.
Doesn't matter how hard the impact is, if no one is sitting it the passenger seat the airbag is not supposed to be armed. If it isn't even turned on then how in the world could it activate? I wouldn't back down. Like I said earlier get a lawyer and stop posting about it on the internet until it is resolved.
Doesn't matter how hard the impact is, if no one is sitting it the passenger seat the airbag is not supposed to be armed. If it isn't even turned on then how in the world could it activate? I wouldn't back down. Like I said earlier get a lawyer and stop posting about it on the internet until it is resolved.
01-11-2010, 05:27 PM
#44
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Doesn't matter how hard the impact is, if no one is sitting it the passenger seat the airbag is not supposed to be armed. If it isn't even turned on then how in the world could it activate? I wouldn't back down. Like I said earlier get a lawyer and stop posting about it on the internet until it is resolved.
Last edited by gooddeal; 01-11-2010 at 06:51 PM.
01-11-2010, 06:43 PM
#45
There IS another way around this...
you might wanna call the City Hall and talk to the roads/engineering department...tell them due to poor maintenance of their roads (take pictures if i were you), you had damaged your vehicle and the airbags deployed causing thousands of dollars of damage. There's a 50/50 chance for this one...but worth a try...see what they say....keep pursuing them, because theres a very high chance they won't get back to you in a prompt manner. Tell them you want them to pay for the damages to your vehicle.
you might wanna call the City Hall and talk to the roads/engineering department...tell them due to poor maintenance of their roads (take pictures if i were you), you had damaged your vehicle and the airbags deployed causing thousands of dollars of damage. There's a 50/50 chance for this one...but worth a try...see what they say....keep pursuing them, because theres a very high chance they won't get back to you in a prompt manner. Tell them you want them to pay for the damages to your vehicle.