Will Insurance Total My Car if Airbags Deploy in an Accident?

When you are in an accident, your airbags will automatically deploy as a safety precaution. But have you ever wondered this question: will insurance total my car if airbags deploy? In this article, we will discuss whether the insurance will total the car or not in case an accident happens.

What Causes Car to Get Totaled?

There are some misconceptions that a car is considered totaled if the repair cost is greater than the vehicle’s value. This is not true. Technically, your car will get totaled if the repair fee reaches more than 70% of the vehicle’s value. 

For example, if your vehicle’s value is $10,000 and the total of your repair cost is $7,000, the insurance company will consider your car totaled. When talking about repair fees, everything needs to be counted. Not only the materials but also the labor fees.

When Do Airbags Deploy?

According to the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991, all vehicles must be provided with airbags for the driver and passenger seats. In addition to that, plenty of vehicles nowadays are equipped with side airbags. 

These airbags have sensors that will make them automatically deploy if the crash is deemed as dangerous. At most times, the airbags usually deploy at 8-18 MPH, depending on the placement of the airbags and the situation overall. However, the sensors are not available on old vehicles, so check your car model to make sure.

Will Insurance Total My Car if Airbags Deploy in an Accident?

The answer is no. Whether the insurance will total your car or not is depend on the condition of your car. Airbags deployed do not necessarily mean that your car’s repair fees will be 70% of your car’s value.

However, airbags usually deploy in a severe accident. Your car is probably damaged a lot. The best thing to do is try to predict how much the cost to repair the car is and combine it with the fee for airbag replacement. That way, you can predict whether your car will be totaled or not.

So, in the question will insurance total my car if airbags deploy? The answer is depending on the situation of the car and how much is the cost for its repair fees. 

Should I Replace My Airbags After a Crash?

Airbags can only be deployed once after installment. Thus, if your airbags deployed during an accident or a crash, you should immediately replace them with a new one. If your car is not totaled, ask your insurance company to replace the airbags with a new one. However, if your car is totaled then consider changing it yourself.

Having airbags on your car is a good way to protect yourself from any injuries in case of accidents. The airbags will protect your body and head from a crash. It is said that having airbags decrease the risk of an injury by 30%. Furthermore, some states also have rules about installing airbags in their vehicles. 

How Much Money is Needed to Repair Airbags?

Prices for airbags repair range from $1,000-$5,000 depending on various things such as the type of vehicle you drive, which airbags are deployed, the labor fees, and many more. 

Usually, the price for one airbag cost around $500 – $750. So, if all of your airbags are deployed at the same time, it might cost you a lot but not so much that your car might get totaled. But if your car ends up getting totaled, discuss it with your attorney to choose the best solution.

The Process of Repairing Airbags

Some of you might not be familiar with the process of repairing airbags step by step. This is a guideline on how to repair airbags.

1. Reset the Warning Light

In the car, there is a warning light that will light up to indicate the airbags sensor has been triggered. Sometimes, even if there is no accident, this light could light up suddenly. You need to reset this and make sure everything’s right again because this error will cause your airbags not to deploy at emergency times.

 2. Reset the Airbags

Some of the older car models’ airbags can be reused. This means, once the airbags are deployed, you can reset them so you can use them again. How to do it? Just put back the airbags inside the module and do step one, resetting the warning light. Your airbags will be like new again.

Nevertheless, resetting airbags is only available for older car models. Most newer car models do not have this option and the airbags can only be used once. Thus, we will go to the third process.

3. Replace the Airbags

Airbags can only be used once in the newer cars model. Therefore, if your airbags are damaged, you need to replace them with a new one. Take out the airbags from the module and change them with new airbags. After that, reset the sensor of the airbags, so it will be able to deploy once triggered.

What Happens If Airbags Didn’t Deploy?

Airbags are not always deployed in accidents, but only the severe ones. It is because airbags need a trigger to activate. So, if your airbags do not deploy during an accident, the crash is probably just a minor one.

However, you should take into consideration that your airbags might be defective. In this case, you need to hurry and contact your lawyer and discuss the problem. Why? Because you can sue the manufacturer for a defective product. It is extremely dangerous to have defective airbags as they are unable to protect you from injury.

Do not forget to contact your insurance company and tell them not to total your car yet because you want to investigate the defective airbags. You need to do this fastly since the ownership of the car will be changed to the insurance company once they total the car.

So, Will Insurance Total My Car if Airbags Deploy?

The answer depends on the cost and situation. The insurance company will total your car if the repair fees exceed 70% of your car’s value. So, if the fee for airbag replacement does not cross that budget, it is safe to say that your car will not get totaled by the insurance company.