how to remove airbags - 99 honda civic

[euromodder]

Originally Posted by johnlvs2run

The honda civic I got recently has airbags, which freak me out as they're a time bomb waiting to happen.

Why would they be a time bomb waiting to happen
There are millions of hem out on the roads.
Freak accidents with them are very rare.

The passenger side windshield has a long crack across the front, and no chip, so it could have been caused by the airbag popping up.

Could have been a lot of other things too.
Faulty fitting being one of them.
A deploying airbag doesn't crack the windshield by default either.
If the airbag has ever popped out, you'd notice it on the ripped up dash.

You'd think that whoever repaired the airbag and the dash, would also have gone and replaced the windshield, which tends to be the cheapest of the three.

I am quite uncomfortable about them, but my major concern is if the airbags popped out with a friend in the car, and caused death or tramautic injury.

Crashing without them, is far more likely to cause serious grief than the extremely rare accidental deployment of an airbag.

Don't fool yourself into thinking you have full control over what happens on the road.
If you ever wondered what drove down the number of traffic deaths, rest assured it wasn't people's driving skills.


But as they say, you can't stop a fool from acting like one.
Some say it's foolish to even try and stop them from being foolish.

[euromodder]

Originally Posted by johnlvs2run

European airbags are designed to be used with seat belts.

That's because Europeans in general, comply more with the safety belt rule.
Not because it's the rule, but because most of us on this side of the Pond feel it makes sense.

If a car manufacturer can be reasonably sure the vast majority of his clients will use their seatbelts, they can also reduce the airbag size - and with their reduced size, their collateral damage is also reduced.

[j12piprius]

Two fellows came and replaced the windshield today. They said the big crack was caused by a chip, where the crack went slightly in two different directions, and an airbag would have smashed out the window. They don't like them at all either, said they're dangerous and a hassle to remove, but can be disabled relatively easily. I sure hope so as I'm not going to drive the car till they're out or disabled.

Also removing them will remove weight and free up more space.

[euromodder]

Originally Posted by johnlvs2run

Corrected your post.
Check the internet. It's available to everyone.

Yeah.
The internet is the single greatest source of misinformation and deliberate disinformation.

It's also a great source of good information though.
The problem is in the filtering.


Even with the Euro airbags, there is some collateral damage when they deploy during a crash. There's no denying that, it happens.
Fingers and arms can break, tendons can get ripped and you can get burns on the wrists. Glasses get pushed against your face.
With the US versions being larger, requiring a larger charge to deploy to the larger size in the same time span, these effects will be a bit worse.

It still beats smashing your skull or your body into the steering wheel though.


Using a wee bit of common sense, airbag injuries (in a crash !) can be greatly reduced.

Hold the rim / bevel of the steering wheel, and where provided, hold it so that your thumbs fall into the indents for them.
Don't hold on to the spokes of the steering wheel.
Don't hold the wheel in such a way that your fingers are on the inside of the rim, but keep 'm on the outside or "on top" of the rim.

Keep arms away between the airbag and your face / body.
I've been told UK driving schools teach mandatory pull-push steering technique because that method greatly avoids getting your arms in the wrong place.
Using pull-push, airbag deployment will push your arms away to the sides.
That's opposed to hand-over-hand steering that puts your arms right in front of the airbag, and will break them / smash them into your face when the airbag deploys at that very moment.

Don't smoke in the car, especially, don't smoke a pipe while driving.
Don't chew on pens etc either


Airbags, like seatbelts, have been proven time and again to greatly reduce crash injuries.
It'd be far easier on car manufacturers when they didn't have to bother with them. But they'd quite literally lose customers when they deleted them.

In Belgium, a car fails the mandatory, periodic technical test when airbags are removed or not re-installed after having been used.

[roflwaffle]

Originally Posted by johnlvs2run

Corrected your post.
Check the internet. It's available to everyone.
It's foolish to not use it, and just believe false propaganda, don't you think?

Common, really?

For the love of pete... If you think 200+ deaths over ~20 years is common go get me a couple million dollar lotto tickets. Those are way more common than getting KO'd by an airbag.

[roflwaffle]

Where is the evidence that fatality rates are higher with airbags when seatbelts are worn? Here's an NHTSA study indicating that airbags have saved ~9000 lives from 1987 to 2001. The study about airbag fatalities was also performed by the NHTSA. The basic idea is that they save thousands of lives and take hundreds. Newer airbags exhibit the same trend and take fewer lives (tens) through design improvements.

Anyway, where are my common million dollar lottery tickets punk?

[Arragonis]

Last time I checked drving is dangerous. A lot of clever people around the world have used their big brains to try and make it safer - the guy at Volvo who made seat belts, the guy who made air bags, the guy who created crumple zones. Manufacturers have invested millions (billions ?) of £/$/Euro making this stuff work and fitting it effectively to most new cars.

But never mind someone knows better

Could I suggest if you are that concerned with safety it may be worth the following :

1. Remove all airbags - because they might go off.
2. Remove all seatbelts - that river / canal is always round the corner.
3. Remove all trim - its flamable and the fumes are poisonous
4. Remove all glass, even though it shatters it can still cut.
5. Fit a roll cage - race cars are safer.
6. Remove roll cage - you may bang your head.
7. Dress like Bibendum

8. Remove tyres - they deflate some times. Fit solid tyres make of metal ? Or maybe tracks ?
:
:
99. Remove any flamable liquids - you can push.
100. Just don't bother driving.
101. In fact stay in a darkened room.
102. A Room underground.
103. Lead lined perhaps, after all how far away is Japan ?
:
:

[RobertSmalls]

The lead-lined room is a step in the right direction, but you'll need to line it with stainless or glass to protect you from the lead.

Which reminds me, you know what's more fun than arguing on the internet? Minecraft. I've got an underground tree farm, plus a small wheat farm whose only source of light is incandescent magma. You're unlikely to die in a minecart crash, but you may be eaten by zombies and giant spiders.

[brucey]

God, I hate creepers. They pretty much are just there to wreck your pretty little home.

[Clev]

Originally Posted by roflwaffle

Where is the evidence that fatality rates are higher with airbags when seatbelts are worn? Here's an NHTSA study indicating that airbags have saved ~9000 lives from 1987 to 2001. The study about airbag fatalities was also performed by the NHTSA. The basic idea is that they save thousands of lives and take hundreds. Newer airbags exhibit the same trend and take fewer lives (tens) through design improvements.

Anyway, where are my common million dollar lottery tickets punk?

I wouldn't bother arguing. Darwin has his way of sorting these things out. I will mention my co-worker who hit the steering wheel and smashed out a bunch of teeth when somebody pulled in front of her Volvo.

Tens of thousands of dollars of dental work later, she bought a car with airbags.