Have been wondering how well the side air bags and head curtains protect occupants in side impact collisions. Anybody have any experience or knowledge of such?

 

I was in a car accident (which wasnt my fault) last Monday, the impact was to the rear passenger door, the passenger side door, and the rear fender were also damaged. 2,000 Worth of Damage as an estimate, and no the Air Bags didnt deploy. But I'll tell ya this, its a damn solid car cause I barely felt anything.

 

a little info about the side bags...



Curtain/Side Air Bag System
Since they're built into the front seats - not the door panels - Maxima's side-impact supplemental air bags move with you when you adjust the seat to help protect your head and chest areas in certain side impacts. And above you, roof-mounted curtain side-impact supplemental air bags help protect front and rear passengers from injuries.

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Glad you are ok TheGAMEGUNIT05, actually feel a lil better since you said the car felt solid upon impact. Thanks for sharing that.

 

My family and a friend were involved in an accident Feb 18 and was literally run off the Interstate @ 65mph. We were in the left lane and was struck from the right side; first impact was to the Rt. nose, contacting the rt. frt. strut, and bouncing past the Rt. front door, striking the rear door and rear fender/Qtr. panel. The impact forced us into the median(at a 45 degree angle) and slightly airborne across 3 lanes of steady oncoming 65mph traffic. The Max finally came to rest in the grass to the Rt. of the EASTBOUND lanes of the Interstate. After climbing out, I noticed that both the side curtain and seat airbags were deployed. Needless to say, that this scared my 4 yr. old daughter to death in her car seat in the rt. rear seat. The passenger in the front seat suffered burns to the face from the deployment charge.My wife (the driver) suffered a strained back and maybe some shoulder injuries from our friend in the front seat. Our injuries were minor considering what COULD have happened...God is GOOD!! But the estimates on the Max were pushing $9000.00 but that engine still purrs like the day it was built and the integrity of the chassis is solid as granite! I would'nt have want to have been in any other vehicle..(especially with my wife at the wheel) ...it was well composed at speed, and she fully was in control. I can't get her out of her '03 Pathfinder now!!

 

Wow... at $9k they didn't total it? I'm surprised... the insurance people will kill a car for less, especially when the airbags deploy.

Cool story (obviously after the fact, I'm sure you were scared pantsless )... don't worry though, that will buff right out...

Oh, and if it does get totalled and you get to buy it back, I'm sure there's a line forming for the HIDs already. I got dibs on the info screen and most of the center console if you're parting it out.

 

there also always is http://www.iihs.org
maxima front http://www.iihs.org/vehicle_ratings/ce/html/0407.htm
maxima side no test yet

 

It would have been definately easier to conceal the seat "stains" with the beige cloth...unfortuately I've got the Frost interior!! I was almost certain that it would be totaled....I guess that a testament to the resale value of Nissan's flagship! I WILL inquire about a check for the "Loss of Value" though! This is something that the insurance companies don't want us to know about, but are REQUIRED to pay when asked. Sorry about the HID's....my '04 SE does'nt have 'em; but if I did, we could talk!

 

As Austin Powers said... "First, I plan to soil myself. Then I'll regroup and come up with another plan..."

Err... I don't wanna get this too derailed already, but that's what I was talking about. KBB puts a used '04 with reasonable mileage in the low 20s... I figured unless you just drove it off the lot, getting into a $9k mess with it warrants an automatic total. * shrug *

No worries... I already got HIDs, just saying the line starts forming when people start parting out the cars. But I do want that info screen and dash kit if it ends up going that way...

 

Burns to the face? That doesn't sound too good. Nissan should be informed of this and--depending upon severity of burns--the passenger should perhaps consider a suit against Nissan.

 

I was sitting in the passengers seat. I remember hitting my head on them and I didn't get hurt. My mom was sitting in the back but her arm was on the window and we hit a tree and rolled over. Had to use the Jaws of life to cut her out. They are ****ing safe. I feel that if we were in the 4th gen, results would have been different.

 

There will be no grounds for a suit for burns to the face.

Depending on where a person's head might be, or which direction it may be turned, a deploying airbag often causes some cosmetic damage, usually to the face. The force of a deploying airbag is very strong, and the impact can be surprisingly sharp.

But the purpose of the airbag system is to trade major injury or death for cosmetic scrapes and/or frictional burns.

I can deal with that.

Maxfactor04 - Tell your wife that had she been in the Pathfinder (or virtually any SUV), the vehicle would probably have rolled and disassembled itself right there on the interstate.

The propensity of SUVs to roll, even in minor collisions, often resulting in deaths, has become a major concern of government agencies studying traffic deaths. Folks feel safe in SUVs, but don't understand the danger of driving a vehicle with a very high center of gravity.

I am so thankful your Maxima was not struck by a vehicle doing 70 mph in the eastbound lane. Had your accident been in the Atlanta area, it would have been a fifteen vehicle pileup with the interstate then closed for six to ten hours for body removal, accident analysis and roadway clearing.

 

AMEN!!!

 

The burns are two fold...due to the initial impact and the chemicals used to inflate the bags almost instantly which creates a lot of heat which causes minor burns.