458 Drivers side airbag just went off, pothole, help | FerrariChat

458 Drivers side airbag just went off, pothole, help

Discussion in '458 Italia/488/F8' started by 458italiaferrari, Mar 31, 2014.

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  1. 458italiaferrari

    Mar 31, 2014
    4
    Hello...
    Just went over a mild pothole on way home from dinner....could not avoid.....knew it would be a bump, however drivers airbag suddenly went off and scared the crap out of my wife and I..got home and car is fine from what I can see, no scrapes underneath, tire is fine, etc....However, I am now left with an airbag hanging out...
    So what should I do, want to make sure I handle this correctly.
    Need some advice:
    Is this covered under warranty, as I don't believe it should have gone off from going over a pothole.

    Should I go through my dealership, or through insurance or get fixed privately?
    Basically want to get it fixed, and get it fixed right, but not have the value of my 2011 458 go WAY down because of what may be a defect....has anyone else heard of this?
    Thanks so much
     
  2. maomaoferrari

    maomaoferrari Karting

    Jan 23, 2004
    146
    Sounds like a defect to me, ocver sensitive sensors? I would go to dealer first, have them inspect the car and determine the cause.


    Sent from my SM-N9002 using Tapatalk 2
     
  3. marky1

    marky1 Formula 3
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    Nov 1, 2004
    1,119
    Full Name:
    Mark
    I would imagine it's an insurance claim. I have known airbags to go off in this kind of situation before, in fact it happened to my dad once when he hit a speed bump at night and didn't see it - same thing happened, passenger one went off but not drivers. I guess it's possible the air bag deployment is linked to seat belt tension and the grip on the steering wheel of the driver means it takes more for the drivers air bag to go off? Someone with a lot more knowledge than me can tell you though, I am just guessing.
     
  4. luvair

    luvair Formula 3
    Owner Rossa Subscribed

    Jun 4, 2005
    1,495
    Fortunately your wife is uninjured with the airbag deployment.

    I would take pictures so you have history of what occurred. I would contact the dealership, perhaps a Ferrari body shop they use, or you know of, to determine how it was handled with other cars. For example, Lexus had a recall for false airbag deployments. I personally would not worry about devaluing the car if properly documented.
     
  5. bretm

    bretm F1 Rookie

    Feb 1, 2001
    4,577
    Northern NJ
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    Bret
    If I'm reading correctly, the driver's side airbag went off so no chance to harm his wife. But, there was a very large chance the driver could lose control in a situation like that.

    I would start by calling your dealer and explaining the situation. If they gave me resistance about fixing it on their dime, I would call Ferrari North America. It's inexcusable to have an airbag deploy in an impact that wasn't even large enough to damage the tire/wheel.
     
  6. Jedi

    Jedi Moderator
    Moderator Lifetime Rossa Owner

    Mar 18, 2008
    31,528
    Seattle Area
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    Dave
    Absolutely agree 100% - and is that sort of event recorded in the car computers?
    If so, and one day when it's sold, the potential buyer would have the impression the
    car had been wrecked at some point.

    Scary stuff.... wow.

    Jedi
     
  7. tazandjan

    tazandjan Three Time F1 World Champ
    Lifetime Rossa Owner

    Jul 19, 2008
    37,984
    Clarksville, Tennessee
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    Terry H Phillips
    Would definitely insist on having the warranty cover an airbag going off for no good reason. Ferrari will probably want the parts to see what went wrong. If your dealer gives you a hard time, contact FNA directly. If they cannot find any damage, it is definitely a malfunction.
     
  8. TheMayor

    TheMayor Nine Time F1 World Champ
    Rossa Subscribed

    Feb 11, 2008
    98,533
    Vegas baby
    I guess my issue is, why would FNA say its "defective" without some kind of "proof".

    What do you call "no good reason"? He hit a pothole, they don't know how hard or at what speed, and the airbag went off thinking it was supposed too and protect a life.

    If it errors on the downside it's a lot better than not going off on the upside.

    If it just exploded on it's own, I can see it. But something was hit and the airbag did what it's supposed to do -- try to protect the passengers.

    Seems like it's pretty difficult to get them to agree it was defective.
     
  9. SAFE4NOW

    SAFE4NOW F1 Veteran
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    Aug 25, 2004
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    You beat me to it.

    Until the Dealership pulls codes , the rest is speculation.

    The SRS computer stored the information , vehicle speed, steering angle, brake pedal pressure, etc... and I am betting when the car is on a lift and the wheels are spun by hand, you will find ( see ) at least one bent wheel.

    I am glad you were able to keep your wits and control the car , as an airbag deployment is no small experience!

    Keep us in the loop, interested in hearing the outcome!

    S
     
  10. Nuvolari

    Nuvolari F1 Veteran
    Owner Silver Subscribed

    Sep 3, 2002
    6,370
    Toronto / SoCal
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    Rob C.
    Something seems off here. I am assuming your wife was in the car seated in the only other seat. For this reason why did her airbag not deploy? It does not make sense for only one airbag to go off. Excuse me if I misunderstood the original post but this does seem like a malfunction.
     
  11. Caeruleus11

    Caeruleus11 F1 World Champ
    Rossa Subscribed

    Jun 11, 2013
    10,858
    I believe airbags these days are "smart" and they have control software that would have either one or both or more go off and when more than one goes off they ever so slightly stagger them so the sound pressure wave doesn't blow out your ear drums....

    The firs thing I'd do is have the dealer investigate what happened here and make a decision after I've got that info.
     
  12. 458italiaferrari

    Mar 31, 2014
    4
    Hi Everyone...
    Thanks for all your feedback and help thus far. to be clear, I was in the drivers seat and my wife in the passenger seat...the drivers door airbag went off and that was the only one. My seatbelt also tightened and hers did not. To make it more complicated, the airbag is below the window sill, and when the "cover" of the airbag opens, it rips right through the leather....so that all needs to be replaced as well, not as simple as just lifting up the panel and putting a new one in there....
    The car is at the dealership now and are going to put it on the lift and check things out. They seemed just as baffled as I was and said they have never seen it before. I will keep everyone posted...If anyone has any more suggestions on which angle to go, let me know..thanks
     
  13. SAFE4NOW

    SAFE4NOW F1 Veteran
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    Aug 25, 2004
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    Any update, curious to their findings..

    S
     
  14. TomTom77

    TomTom77 Formula Junior

    Mar 21, 2013
    294
    Dubai, UAE
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    Tom
    Based on your description, I'd assume that your dealer does replace it everything and take care of the bill. If not, check what your owner's manual states about the deployment of the SRS airbags. Most likely, it'll say that these are activated in case of an accident or roll-over event. Judging your car isn't scratched, you could claim that the car didn't perform as per the manual and hence was defective.

    I had a similar event with all airbags on my 1-year old LR Discovery (while dune bashing, though) going off a couple of years back and got everything fixed / replaced at no cost to me.
     
  15. Mbn

    Mbn Formula Junior

    Apr 18, 2004
    482
    Glad you both walked safe.

    My cousin had the same exact situation he called me to check his car out since the Ferrari service manager is my close friend.

    Not sure about the 458 year model I guess it was 2012/2013 model (will check).

    Anyway after inspection it turns out one bent front wheel.

    I checked back with him and he did hit a curb.!!

    Not sure what happened after since I traveled.

    But it was the curb that triggered the airbag.

    Mbn
     
  16. Caeruleus11

    Caeruleus11 F1 World Champ
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    Jun 11, 2013
    10,858
    I would be extra careful with the documentation because like you said before you don't want to see "car in accident" on the car history.
     
  17. Evan.Fiorentino

    Evan.Fiorentino F1 Rookie

    Aug 23, 2005
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    Evan
    She may not have been heavy enough to activate the pressure sensor in the passenger seat. It is very plausible that the car thought that the seat was unoccupied.
     
  18. djantlive

    djantlive Formula 3

    Jun 30, 2005
    1,015
    #18 djantlive, Apr 9, 2014
    Last edited: Apr 9, 2014
    airbag was deployed incorrectly. it is not supposed to deploy when hitting a pot hole or even a curb.

    Dealer will addressed under warranty and replace any door panel, bag, bag module, bag sensors. Airbag system may be covered beyond the bumper to bumper warranty, just like emission system. check ur warranty books if you are beyond the bumper to bumper warranty.

    this is going to be an expensive repair. probably over $10k so don't file an insurance claim which results in carfax record and premium raise.
     
  19. jm2

    jm2 F1 World Champ
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    Aug 19, 2002
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    The first sentence is correct. Potholes & curbs should not cause airbag deployment. Period.
     
  20. geo0006

    geo0006 Rookie
    BANNED

    Mar 13, 2014
    40
    Wow there must've been scary.
     
  21. 458italiaferrari

    Mar 31, 2014
    4
    Hi Everyone...thanks for the thoughts....the dealership still has the car and is checking with Ferrari North America to see what they think...still no updates, but all of you have provided good language to use when they get back to me....If the car has a bent rim, totally understand that's on me, but airbag deployment I think should be on them, period.....No scratch, no flat tire, nothing. Will keep everyone posted...and thank you
     
  22. SAFE4NOW

    SAFE4NOW F1 Veteran
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    Aug 25, 2004
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    You forgot your smiley face, to show sarcasm.... I hope. < wink >

    An airbag is designed to deploy due to impact, not just frontal impacts. You hit a pot hole at speed or run over a curb, the car doesn't know the difference between an accident that i about to happen and your driving style ( to hit curbs or pot holes at speed )

    Like the OP stated, Ferrari is gathering information, bent wheel, SRS Control Unit data, etc.. it will tell the when/why of the deployment, no questions.

    Also, I wouldn't take FNA's choice to take care of a portion of the repair as an indication of failure, rather a goodwill gesture for a good client. ( Assuming that happens )

    S

    Just my .02 worth... no coupons please. :)
     
  23. dustman

    dustman F1 Veteran
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    Jun 12, 2007
    8,930
    Except for the 28 sensors and sophisticated electronics that are designed to do just that...detect accidents and not deploy with a wheel hit.
     
  24. jm2

    jm2 F1 World Champ
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    Aug 19, 2002
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    It's possible I don't have the latest regulations,and my knowledge base may indeed be somewhat dated by several years
    however,in all my years designing vehicles and working closely with the engineering community,I was always told that airbag deployment did NOT happen unless there was a specific impact with the front fascia triggered by all the sensors located therein
    an event such as a pothole should never make an airbag deploy unless the sensors in the fascia came into contact with something
    side impacts are another matter,but again,unless there was contact with the sensors in the front fascia, it was my understanding that the airbag should/would not deploy
    I will ask my engineering peeps to clarify that for me,but that's always how I understood it.....I could be mistaken.....wouldn't be the 1st or last time :)
     
  25. jcosta79

    jcosta79 Formula 3

    Nov 15, 2011
    1,368
    Dallas, TX
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    LaJonathan
    No woman would ever diet again if they found this out.
     

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