Airbags deployed, what do I need to replace

Long story short number 1 Daughter lost it on our icy dirt road and hit a tree. Low speed impact that would've just cost her a new front bumper but it was hard enough to set off both airbags. So now I have to replace both airbags and the windshield along with the front bumper.

My question is can I just replace the airbags, clear the codes and call it a day or is there more to it? I've read that the airbag module must be replaced as well but I'm not sure. It's a 1998 Pontiac Sunfire if that makes any difference.

I don't know the answer to your questions, but I do have some of my own. Is the rest of the car worth the investment? Will the junkyard sell airbags?

My thought: Estimate the cost of the repairs, get a scrap quote, and add them together. If you can buy a better car with that amount of money... scrap the car and upgrade.

i don't think you can buy salvage airbags, and new ones are $$$, might want to let the ins. co handle it.

bag(s), air bag module and likely the driver's side seatbelt. Typically, if the bag blows so does the seat belt pretensioner. Some vehicles require the SRS harness as well.

Two airbags in a Ranger = $1100.

Against the law in New York to buy-sell-posess airbags, have to be installed by a professional. I didn't want to spend the money but think about it, you're sitting there with a screwdriver in each hand trying to install the new one; you hit some metal contact and the thing lughts off.

I don't agree with it, but I understand it.

I don't know if air bag modules or seat belts need to be replaced or not.

But by the time you buy air bags, windshield, and bumper it will cost more than the car is worth. Even if you buy a parts car to save money, you are farther ahead if you replace the car.

Sunfires and Cavaliers are cheap. My opinion is replacing the car.

There are lots of Cavaliers and Sunfires being parted on Kijiji so I'm not worried about finding used airbags and other bits. The car isn't worth repairing if I had to pay someone else to do it but since my labour is free it'll work out cheaper than the insurance deductible. Plus if she reports it to insurance her premiums go up.

Airbags may not be legal to replace, but they're not hard to replace. Disconnect the battery wire, pull the fuse, pull the old one out, install new one. Generally pretty easy, but even in states where it's legal, it can be hard to find the one you want used (most junkyards won't sell them for liability reasons) and you can't ship them easily because they're considered hazardous material.

Wayslow wrote: There are lots of Cavaliers and Sunfires being parted on Kijiji so I'm not worried about finding used airbags and other bits. The car isn't worth repairing if I had to pay someone else to do it but since my labour is free it'll work out cheaper than the insurance deductible. Plus if she reports it to insurance her premiums go up.

Ah, you have solved your main problem them. As cheap as they are, you might be able to snag a whole parts car for low dollars, then maybe keep it around for the inevitable "Dad, I bent it up again" talks that come with teenagers driving. Hell, I was relatively sane as a teenager and had at least four experiences where I did that (and couldn't repair/hide the damage myself).

You MIGHT have to replace the airbag collision sensor as well. IIRC, sometimes they're basically a "fuse" design (not literally) that have to be replace once they're tripped.

Best bet is to contact GM. It's an older car, so I doubt it had a seatbelt pretensioner. Probably OK with the seatbelts as is. But for the airbags and associated sensor, I'd check with them. Some cars you can get away with replacing only a few things, some need a lot more. Clockspring for the driver side, sensor, control module, etc...

Replace both bags and the module. If you can't find a used module that will work, there are companies that you can send them your module and they reset it. I think that costs around $65. I don't think those have seatbelt pretensioners, but it might. If your seat belts still work, you're golden. If they're locked in place you'll need to replace those too.

FYI, the Driver's bag fits '98 and early '99 (with two wire connector) Sunfire and '98 Grand Am, the passenger side fits '98-'99 Sunfire and Cavalier, and the modlue fits '98-'99 cav/sunfire (and is located under the passenger seat).

May have to get the clockspring as well. The igniter usually melts the electrical connector.

Buy a spare car with bags. It will be cheapest and simplest.

Replace with a racing wheel?

Hell, that wheel costs more than a parts Cavalier will.

We can dream, can't we?

Tip: after you disconnect the battery wait a half-hour before you pug in and install the new bags and components. There is a retained-power feature for airbags. More of an issue when working on cars whose bags are intact but to be on safe side, wait it out so you lessen the risk of accidental deployment on reinstall.

I'd go the parts car route... Definitely replace the control module. Had a friend do this and blew out the new bags when connecting the old module.

lol this brings up memories of my sisters old explorer... someone cut out the air bag and duct taped the "horn cover" portion back onto the wheel... it was driver side only so nothing on the passenger side.

the irony was she's one of the hippy psychos about replacing her kids car seat after a minor fender bender yet driving around in an early 90's explorer with wheels that stuck out well past the fenders was perfectly fine to drive her kids around in.

er sorry for the tangent... yes find a used parts car for cheap and pilfer...

Appleseed wrote: Replace with a racing wheel?

If not for this being driven your teen daughter, I would say this, but maybe a grant wheel.

Ended up finding twin of her car, red Sunfire GT coupe, with a cracked K frame for $400. Going to pick it up tonight. I'll likely just swap out the K frame and pilfer her existing car for spare parts.

Thanks for everyone's input.

Why not just buy her another car? J-Bodies get totalled all the time when the airbags deploy. $400+ repair on $1000 appliance.

rotard wrote: Why not just buy her another car? J-Bodies get totalled all the time when the airbags deploy. $400+ repair on $1000 appliance.

That's pretty much the plan. I'll be pulling the K frame off her existing car and swapping it onto this car. Then I'll pull as many spare bits as I can from her bent car and sell off the rest for scrap.

psteav wrote: Airbags may not be legal to replace, but they're not hard to replace. Disconnect the battery wire, pull the fuse, pull the old one out, install new one. Generally pretty easy, but even in states where it's legal, it can be hard to find the one you want used (most junkyards won't sell them for liability reasons) and you can't ship them easily because they're considered hazardous material.

correct me if I've had incorrect info … but I'd been told that you needed to let it sit for a while (half hr of so) after de-powering the bag … something about some capacitors that needed to trickle down … that it was the capacitors that actually fired the air bag

never got around to pulling the bag out of the Impreza, to replace the clock spring … and the car is gone now .. but this info for future situations … thanks ..

edit: looks like conesare2seconds addressed this

P71

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