Air Bags Not going Off

I have a 2012 Tacoma Acces cab. A young kid ran a stop sign and my truck is on its way to the body shop. I "T" bone him the nose of my truck is destroyed. My air bags did not go off. This is a problem has anyone else have or heard of this happening. All info would be helpfull.
Butch

 

It takes a bit to deploy an air bag. I shot through a guardrail on interstate and rolled several times in my 08 and only deployed the driver side air bag. I was also in another wreck and ended up tagging another car and a rock wall about 55. It ripped the front drivers side axle out completely and destroyed the motor and no air bags deployed then whatsoever.

 

If you were alone, the passenger side airbag should not have gone off. The airbags, in general, are set off by an inertia sensor. Perhaps your accident did not cause you to slow in a short enough period of time?

You should not be allowed to drive.

 

The 08 tacoma one was a tire blowing out (retread) the other one I got hit into another lane then a car then I went into a wall. Wasn't my fault.

 

Pretty sure that if nobody is in the passenger seat, that airbag will not blow. I had a front end collision with a tree in my '10 a few months ago and only the driver bag went off. The impact was ~35 mph.

 

On impact his car turned 180 degrees around and I stoped in the middle of the intersection. I am sure I was doing at least 20 MPH

 

But his car might have been light enough to where it didn't slow your truck quickly enough upon impact. When you say the front end of your truck was destroyed, keep in mind most of the front end is plastic bits and superficial. After you break all the plastic crap, then you get back to the frame of the truck and that's the damage you should be concerned about.

 

These trucks are pretty robust, I doubt there was any more damage than cosmetics, at least you are okay.

 

Were you wearing your seatbelt?

 

I am ok and was wearing a seat belt thank god. I am hoping that the damage is cosmetic. I do feel that the air bag should have deployed

 

If you walked away perfectly fine and are not injured in any way, why would you have wanted the air bags to deploy? Have you ever been slapped in the face by an air bag? It hurts like hell!

 

Sounds like you live up to your name..

 

Haha thanks I guess

 

OK here is how to figure it out:

do you have visible bruises from the accident and
from the seatbelt and shoulder strap ?

a) yes ?
airbags should have deployed, have system checked

b) no ?
don't be a puss, was not enough of an accident to matter

 

I've run many wrecks where an airbag didn't deploy. I hate it when we pull up on scene and have to cut someone out of a car that the airbags didn't deploy. It seems there is no rhyme or reason as to why some do and some don't. It takes the right set of circumstances for them to go off and yours seemingly didn't meet that criteria.

It is extremely dangerous when one doesn't deploy for you and the Firefighters on scene.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ir14uz55-vs​

I have been teaching auto extrication for the Fire Department for the last 10 years or so. The VERY first thing we do when we arrive on scene is disconnect the battery. The only problem with this is some vehicles are equipped with capacitors which can hold a charge for another 10 mins or so. Where you cut also plays a huge impact on airbag deployment. Those that have taken the cover off of their "A" pillar noticed the airbag sitting right there. That is why when we cut a "A" pillar we always cut it 2" from the cowling. It is almost a science and each model year they change something up. Now Ford even offers air bags in their seat belts

 

I did not want to be hit with an air bag but I still would like to know that they will deploy if needed. How do you know that your air bag really work?

 

The only way to know is to have the computer pulled and the logs analyzed by someone who knows what they are doing.

I can tell you that most cars these days only deploy the airbags in severe circumstances. This is for two reasons: One is reduce the risk of injury from the airbags themselves and to reduce the repair cost. The second - and this is important - is to keep the airbags for use in the event of a secondary collision.

Based on your description, I would bet that they airbags didn't deploy because the collision profile wasn't severe enough to warrant it. But as I say, only someone who can read the logs and evaluate the system can tell you if that was the case or if there was a malfunction.

 

From the NHTSA,

Because air bag sensors measure deceleration, vehicle speed and damage are not good indicators of whether or not an air bag should have deployed. Occasionally, air bags can deploy due to the vehicleÕs undercarriage violently striking a low object protruding above the roadway surface. Despite the lack of visible front-end damage, high deceleration forces may occur in this type of crash, resulting in the deployment of the air bag.

 

Be glad that your air bag did not go off. First off it would cost thousands more to fix. Second I don't know how the Toyotas are but a lot of vehicles airbags are packed in a white powder to protect them from dry rot. When they go off it scatters the white powder throughout the vehicle. Almost impossible to completely clean from the interior. Most vehicles with airbag deployment get totaled.

 

I had a recent experience with Toyota air bags. Hit a cow that ran into the highway at about 65mph. Mine deployed perfectly and was like hitting a big marshmallow when I was whipped forward. In your case, 20 mph might not have been enough force to deploy it, as it has to break through layers of fiberglass and plastic before it reaches those sensors. And as someone else said, it costs thousands more per airbag to replace after they've been deployed, not to mention replacing your steering wheel and dash where they explode through.