Is your Airbag warning light on?

The airbag is an intricate part of your vehicle’s safety systems. It can have a direct impact (pardon the pun) on whether you or your passengers survive a collision event.

So how exactly does an airbag work? During a crash event, the vehicle’s crash sensor(s) provide crucial information to the airbag electronic controller unit (ECU), including collision type, angle and severity of impact. Using this information, the airbag electronic controller unit’s crash algorithm determines if the crash event meets the criteria for deployment and triggers various firing circuits to deploy one or more airbag modules within the vehicle. Working as a supplemental restraint system to the vehicle’s seat-belt systems, airbag module deployments are triggered through a pyrotechnic process that is designed to be used once. Newer side- impact airbag modules consist of compressed air cylinders that are triggered in the event of a side impact.

So why does my airbag light come on? Well, Your airbag light may be on due to various reasons, most of the time because of an airbag fault. This could be related to the airbag module itself or any of the airbag components.

What is an Airbag Module? An Airbag module is a computer found in all vehicles equipped with an airbag system and acts as a controller. All impact sensors, seat belts, airbags and even the clock spring is linked to it. During an accident, the airbag module writes crash data and stores it in the memory chip. In addition, the airbags may deploy along with the seat belts and tensioners.

Regardless of the type of fault your airbag has, it is imperative for the safety of the occupants of your vehicle to have the airbag fixed. And even if the airbag light is not on, it is considered wise to do an airbag inspection if you have an aging car.

If your vehicle is out of warrantee and service plans, having an airbag fixed by a dealer can be a costly affair. Also, since an airbag is such a specialized item, taking it to a specialist in the field makes sense. Airbag Team is a specialist supplier of new and pre-installed automotive Airbags and related components for all makes and models of vehicles. With successful businesses in PE and East London, customers make substantial savings on the purchase price of new parts from dealerships.

The good news is Airbag Team has now also opened a branch in George. Maybe now is the time to have your airbag inspected or fixed. Your life may depend on it!