Side Airbag deployment with No accident

[ninjamaster5000]

My side curtain airbags deployed although none of my tires left the ground. I never hit anything, and there's no damage to the car other than the wrinkled headliner from the side air bags. I think when I turned left than right quickly, the sensors in the car were too sensitive and thought I was going to rollover.

I took it to the dealer, and they said it's not covered under warranty since the sensors functioned as they were supposed to, in GM's eyes. They said it was about 1,7K for parts, and 3K total. Then they told me it was 3.3K total, so I suspect if I really get them to fix it, it will be around 4K total.

The worst part is not the money, it's that the car is designed to be unsafe since GM was overzealous with designing the car airbag sensors' sensitivity. For example, I was driving down I-95 and saw a car in front of me swerve hard to avoid some debris in the road (looked like a metal roof rack). Their tires were smoking, and they crossed multiple lanes. But the driver managed to avoid an accident, and pulled over in the shoulder.

What would happen to a Camaro driver in that situation? The car would swerve and then the airbags deploy, and the engine cuts off. Then the car gets smashed by a truck going 70 mph.

This seems like a legitimate safety issue and good reason for recall instead of that key fob recall.

Given that I don't want to spend 3K-4K to fix this and risk those airbags going off again, is there a way to just replace seatbelts even though they work together with airbags?

[Jobrien]

seems weird . I've been on 2 wheels and the airbags never came out ?! i would press the issue with gm if you didn't hit anything

[Pluto]

Were you at the track?

[ninjamaster5000]

I searched other threads, and it has happened to other camaros on this forum. Although I haven't seen any other v6 camaros do this.

[ninjamaster5000]

Originally Posted by Pluto

Were you at the track?

yeah. Autocross. It happened on the third lap of my first run. But I kept going and came in .06 seconds behind an SS.
It was my first autocross, but I don't feel like doing it again after this, at least not with my car.

[GVA 45TH 2SS]

Its common if the yaw/pitch sensor sees a certain amount of lean. It usually only happens when people are doing figure 8s, not at the track.

[ratfinkharley]

As to your question about disabling the side airbag, no reputable mechanic would do it nor should it be done. They are there for a reason.

And since you were able to finish, in your hypothetical highway situation the car's engine would not cut out.

[Jobrien]

Make gm pay for it . Should not go off unless in a rollover or accident

[ratfinkharley]

Why should GM pay for the deployment during an autocross? His insurance won't cover damage due to racing either.

[ninjamaster5000]

Originally Posted by ratfinkharley

As to your question about disabling the side airbag, no reputable mechanic would do it nor should it be done. They are there for a reason.

And since you were able to finish, in your hypothetical highway situation the car's engine would not cut out.

I kept going that day, not during that specific lap. When the airbags deployed, the engine cut off, emergency lights came on, and the car called Onstar.

Even if we say the engine doesn't cut off, air bags can still startle you and they block your side view.

[Jobrien]

Originally Posted by ratfinkharley

Why should GM pay for the deployment during an autocross? His insurance won't cover damage due to racing either.

Why are the air bags deploying because hes making shape turns ? Because the rear end sliding out ? The air bags should not deploy unless he hit something or was in a roll over . End of story thats just bad engineering . Make them pay for it . Get a lawyer it will probley be cheaper than the air bags

[DaFisch]

This happened to me too.. I have a video

[Sheriff Justice]

That sucks OP. The accelerometers work by detecting dynamic movement. Even if you do not crash, they can still deploy (curtain). In the end, the repair cost is your responsibility.

[ratfinkharley]

Originally Posted by Jobrien

Get a lawyer it will probley be cheaper than the air bags

Lawyers fees for suing GM are less than $4K?

This is not a case of bad engineering. Funny how you want him to lawyer up, when that is the root of most of our over protective laws and restrictions.