So I skimmed through Facebook this morning and saw an article from this forums Facebook page. I talked about a man driving a 2006 ranger, then hitting a cow, then getting killed by airbag shrapnel from a recalled airbag. Not a good thing..


I own a 1999, am I at risk?

 

The best thing to do is visit the NHTSA website from time to time and check to see what vehicles are affected, what was true a few months ago may not be the case now. They have the latest information.

 

I agree with Tedster9. The info I've heard is that vehicles from humid areas of the country are most affected. Vehicles from dryer areas haven't been recalled, yet. My 2004 in So. Cal. still hasn't been recalled.

 

Ford Officially Recalls Rangers Over Faulty Takata Airbags

Ford Officially Recalls Rangers Over Faulty Takata Airbags - Ford-Trucks.com

 

Too bad nobody has ever invented some sort of user selectable ON or OFF device, maybe located on the dashboard, that could render the air bag inert if desired. I know, that's crazy talk but, it's a thought.

 

So far the recall is for some models from 2004 to 2006

 

Well in this case "some" means "all" Ford Rangers, from 2004-2006, have been watching this debacle continually expand over time, wondering when my truck will be affected. Maybe there are just too many vehicles affected to hit them all up at the same time. Pleasant thought huh?

You have a ****ing bomb pointed at your face (or your wife or kids); it's required by law, and it can't be turned off, even though it's defective and stands a good chance of slicing your neck open.

Got it.

 

Since I've been on a never ending airbag journey lately, I happened to see that you can get an aftermarket shut off for airbags like you see in pickups but for driver's side and for other non-pickup cars. According to the website, there is nothing 'illegal' about turning off an airbag as long as there is a visible light indicating that the airbag is turned off.

In the past 15 years my sister-in-law has been in three accidents that have deployed airbags in the car she was driving (a Pontiac, a GMC, and a Toyota). These have been relatively minor accidents in stop and go or other heavy traffic but with enough force to set off the SRS. All three times the deploying airbags have broken her arm. All three times her broken arm has been the only injury among all effected drivers/passengers. Definitely a bomb pointed at you. She's only 5ft 1" with short arms but heavy (and in my opinion freakishly accident prone even if she was not at fault in any of the collisions). She's the poster child for someone that needs a switch to disable the driver side airbag.

Same website that sold those switches and also sold a 'bypass' of sorts that disabled the airbag but reported correctly to the SRS. That sounds a lot shadier to me.

I have a suspicion there are probably lots of state variation in what's allowed even if what I read about it not being federally 'illegal' is true.