Belt Auction

How to test air bags and seat belts for reliable performance?

Seat belts and air bags are big lifesaving factors on the road. Are yours in working order? Buying a new or used car, how do you know the explosive device that trips the air bags will inflate in a smack up? You check your tires, your oil or gas fill, why not seat belts and air bags?

Public Comments

1. You can do that by just turning the key on. If you do not get a code then it is in working order.
2. The company tests the airbags and seatbelts when it produces the car. Check the company safety ratings before you buy the car. And inspect the position of the air bags.
3. Airbags and household fire extinguishers are not only designed to work once. If you test them, then they will not work when they are needed.
4. Put on your seatbelt and at moderate speed drive head on into a cement wall, telephone poll, barrier, tree, etc., something you know isn't going to move. Try not brace yourself to much, just try and lay limp like a dead body, upon impact your airbag should deploy preventing you from putting your face through the windshield. If it doesn't come out you probably want to get it checked out.
5. i purchased a 10 year old car and never checked the bags thinking that they are always going to be good. when i had an accident i noticed that the bags are were yellow and had some kind of dust. that meant to me that they were deteriorating. the accident did total my vehicle but using my seatbelt kept me safe. the bags looked like old thin potato sacks and had that yellow tint to them like an old news paper starts to turn yellow. i was told that they are only good for about 5 years then they should be checked . they are expensive and i hope you never need them but ....... that is that.
6. When you turn on the ignition, all dash lights should come on for approximately 3 seconds and then start going out. This is a system light test and then each system does it's own diagnostic tests and then shuts the light out. If the light stays on, there is a problem and might not work. With ABS and Airbag, if the light is on, the system is shut down and requires further diagnostics. If the light never came on, the light might be defective or someone has tampered with the system and should be checked out immediately as you don't know if it works or not. As for manually testing the airbag system, you better not try as you could detonate the airbags. Not only is this expensive, it is very dangerous, and could do some serious harm or kill you.