Airbag deployed while 4WDing

[Dataready]

If you look at the depth of the marks, you can guess what was the force of the impact. I think the deployment of the air bag was instant to the point where it did mask the sound and the severity of the impact itself. And yes the airbag will deploy in similar cases just like side impact or roll over and landing on the bottom of the car with force (back in normal driving position)... My two cents.

[weirluo]

Originally Posted by JustinR

The only problem with using the tire is that it's going to crash down on the rocker panels instead of hitting the crossmember. That will cause more damage.

I can't believe the air bags would deploy by hitting the crossmember. Was the impact great enough to toss the passenger around?

Imagine if you were cruising down the highway at 70mph and a brick was kicked up into the crossmember. Are the air bags going to deploy and make you wreck?

can't see big rock on the slope, anyway, possibly because of the photo shooting angle.

press hard on BMW, it should have never happened. I will ask the dealer about it next time in. they can't just think of sucking in our money.

[StanF18]

Don't know why you would stress yourself out with the dealer...If they are that dead-set against covering this on warranty, then that's what insurance is for! Not sure how your auto insurance works over in Oz. I'm assuming you have different deductible levels, just like in the US? If this had happened to me, I would be out only $200 (my current collision deductible). Insurance would pay the rest.

[JCL]

Originally Posted by StanF18

Don't know why you would stress yourself out with the dealer...If they are that dead-set against covering this on warranty, then that's what insurance is for! Not sure how your auto insurance works over in Oz. I'm assuming you have different deductible levels, just like in the US? If this had happened to me, I would be out only $200 (my current collision deductible). Insurance would pay the rest.

There is evidence of impact to the undercarriage. According to the dealer, there is a black box record of the impact showing that the airbags deployed intentionally, ie they didn't go off accidentally. You can argue with the dealer about the price, but not about the responsibility for the airbag deployment, IMO.

Take the hit on your insurance, and we should all realize that the X5 is not an offroad vehicle, and that this is a potential outcome of mild off-roading. Low speed airbag deployment injuries are not uncommon, and are certainly not limited to BMW.

Just my $0.02.

Oh, and Marko, thanks for the picture. Personally, I don't think that is close to 25 degrees, perhaps half that. Not an unreasonable slope at very low speeds. The only trouble with HDC is that it doesn't include RDC.

[Bimmer4125]

Even though BMW probably considers it proprietary, you should ask for the Airbag Sensor/Event Recorder download in graphical and text form. The data should indicate the particular threshold that was exceeded to have a deployment event. You may have had an unusual lateral movement or something short and sharp that initiated the deployment sequence even though it seemed nothing radical occurred in the vehicle itself. Airbags very very rarely "go off" by themselves, in fact I've never seen a pre-event deployment.

Whatever the case, the trigger event should be in the event recorder flash memory and available through a download program - which I'm sure BMW doesn't share! Good luck.

[sleepless]

Originally Posted by Dataready

If you look at the depth of the marks, you can guess what was the force of the impact. I think the deployment of the air bag was instant to the point where it did mask the sound and the severity of the impact itself. And yes the airbag will deploy in similar cases just like side impact or roll over and landing on the bottom of the car with force (back in normal driving position)... My two cents.

.... the impact looks more like a boulder then a small rock.....

[JustinR]

Most insurance companies won't cover accidents/damage occurring from "off road" driving.

[sleepless]

Originally Posted by JustinR

Most insurance companies won't cover accidents/damage occurring from "off road" driving.

You hit the nail on the Head

[Tominizer]

Who said he was off-roading.............. I thought it was soemthing that fell off a truck on some back road..........

[JustinR]

The dealer already knows the truth though. I don't think it's a very good idea to try and defraud the insurance company when other parties involved know the truth.

Originally Posted by Tominizer

Who said he was off-roading.............. I thought it was soemthing that fell off a truck on some back road..........