how to disable the airbag on a 93 impreza

[jelly man]

I have an elderly mother who still drives. She is very small at 4'8" and somewhat frail. She drives with the seat close to the steering wheel and if she gets in a crash the airbag would most likely do more harm than good - maybe even kill her. I searched the forums for info on how to disable the airbag but couldn't find anything. I still need the airbag in to pass inspection but just disabled. How?

[bheinen74]

if one of the impact sensors is severed or disconnected (ones near the front frame rails under the fenders) it will turn the system to off and you will have a AirBag light on the dash on at all times.

 

The main airbag controller is in the center console, under the radio area, mounted in front of the shifter. You could also defeat the connectors there.

 

wow, this is a gray area. whoever disables it could/will be liable if theres a accident, but like you said, it will do more harm than good. The earliy airbags went of much more violantly, explosively than the new ones, old airbags are going ti hurt someone small, but the new cars now have eased that explosive charge somewhat..

 

I would leave it well enough alone.

[NoahDL88]

As a former airbag and seatbelt engineer I can assure you that your 4 8 grandma was taken into consideration when your airbag was designed, if you really love your grandma leave your car as it is designed, by the experts. If she is going fast enough to get hurt by an airbag deployoing I can assure you she would be injured much more by the steering wheel or the windshield.

[zyewdall]

A '93 impreza has an airbag? I thought they didn't get them till 1995? Or did they get them earlier than the legacies?

 

Z

[wtdash]

A '93 impreza has an airbag? I thought they didn't get them till 1995? Or did they get them earlier than the legacies?

 

Z

 

Hmm...adding to hi-jack a good idea?

 

Mid-1992 Legacy's got driver's-only airbags, as did the Impreza since its inception in '93.

 

Both got Dual Air Bags in 1995.

 

Source: Cars101.com

Edited October 17, 2010 by wtdash

[idosubaru]

probably has a fuse but if that's shared you could disconnect the air bag under the steering wheel.

 

intentionally discharge it then cut the bag off. then you could at least get some laughs from it. LOL

[subaru360]

Unplug the bag, the airbag ecu and take the bulb out of the cluster. That's how I do it for people that ask me to. 93 only had the one airbag. You can also unbolt the explosive charge from the back of the bag and then put the bag back on the wheel.

 

I hate the things, I've blown them off and I sure as hell don't want one going off in my face. Nothing will convince me otherwise.

 

On my 95 Impreza I went one step further. I put in a 93 Impreza dash with no bag and a 90 Legacy steering wheel with no bag. So it looks like it never came with them. This is the same wheel that the Canadian and JDM Imprezas had with no airbag.

[bheinen74]

and another side note, the very first years of airbags have been determined to be way too far explosive for average people-by the NHTSA. At the tme, thats what they thought was best. Later years at NHTSA they determined they NEEDED to make them WAY less explosive of forceful ness, as people were getting killed when they went off and fractured skulls, necks etc.....

The "Today" cars have safe airbags, but it took them a while to figure it out. Thats why cars now have airbags all over, they act as pillows now,pillows for your head, your ears, your knees, your shoulders, and your arms. Pretty soon, we will be driving pillow balls. No recalls, sorry. They expect most cars to be off the road soon with the dangerous ones installed.

 

edumacate us more NHTSA. Why doesnt the NHTSA require airbags, or even seat belts for school buses??????thats a thought to ponder. If they want to save more lives, require ONLY 5 point harness, thats what NASCAR, NHRA, and all the major racing sports require, and that is it. 5 point is way better. And it would make building cars cheaper....and cheaper to buy, and cheaper to insure.

Edited October 17, 2010 by bheinen74

[Allpar Mod]

I can say that I've seen how airbags do save lives first hand more times than I can remember. The potential injuries that they can cause are way less traumatic than if they weren't there. Obviously, they do their best work in conjunction with wearing seat belts. I believe that disabling them would do grandma a disservice.

 

I don't know what the inspection regs are where your grandma lives, but if there is an annual inspection, you better check if disabling the airbags would cause the car to fail or not. I know that they may not be able to tell unless the airbag light is on, but still potentially could be an issue.

[NoahDL88]

Common side effects of airbag deployment (besides the obvious not dieing)

 

rug burn

broken bones

 

Common side effects of not having an airbag (besides the increased chance of dieing)

 

windshield necklace

sudden and violent face and scalp removal

lacerations

steering shaft impalement

 

 

 

 

It's your grandma, do what you want, but what I've seen first hand working on designing airbags and testing them out (Yes, I have a patent) and what I've seen first hand after car accidents, You'd be a fool to tamper with the airbag system. You're worried about her taking an airbag to the face. Would you rather her take a windshield to the face? Having your head go through a windshield in an accident and suddenly have your head go the other way is like a Chinese finger trap, except that its a very quick, and very painful, bloody way to die.

[NoahDL88]

 

edumacate us more NHTSA. Why doesnt the NHTSA require airbags, or even seat belts for school buses??????thats a thought to ponder. If they want to save more lives, require ONLY 5 point harness, thats what NASCAR, NHRA, and all the major racing sports require, and that is it. 5 point is way better. And it would make building cars cheaper....and cheaper to buy, and cheaper to insure.

 

 

On school buses it was determined that the need to get children off the bus quickly in a fire or roll over outweighed the need for seatbelts. The added mass of the bus means that short of an 18 wheeler they don't decelerate nearly as fast as a car would in the same accident so the peak G forces are much less, That combined with padded seat backs make them relatively safe. You'll notice the driver has a belt as he or she doesn't have a seatback in front of them.

 

 

As far as 5 point harnesses, the current 3 point harnesses are an improvement over the 2 point, its a compromise between convenience and safety. Current seatbelts will snug the buckle end about 4-8 inches to get you in a good position for airbag deployment in an impact/rollover. The retractor end uses pyrotechnics to retract any loose webbing back into the retractor assembly, further minimizing motion and getting the occupant into a good position for airbag deployment.

 

You have to pander to the dumbest crowd, one click and you're in, I'd say most people are not smart enough to click, click, click a 5 pt harness, realistically a 4 point might work but it adds an increasing level of complication that the latte sucking, text messaging masses could not comprehend.

[WoodsWagon]

It's your grandma, do what you want, but what I've seen first hand working on designing airbags and testing them out (Yes, I have a patent) and what I've seen first hand after car accidents, You'd be a fool to tamper with the airbag system. You're worried about her taking an airbag to the face. Would you rather her take a windshield to the face? Having your head go through a windshield in an accident and suddenly have your head go the other way is like a Chinese finger trap, except that its a very quick, and very painful, bloody way to die.

Not a concern if your buckled. If your not bucked, then the airbag will be worse for you than no airbag. That's why all the newer multistage srs sytems have seatbelt latch sensors that let the srs system take that into acount and alter the inflation of the bag to compensate. So do occupant weight and position sensors in the seats and seat track position sensors. A 93 impreza has none of those.

 

I will not argue the point that airbags save lives. However, they are a supplemental restraint system, the primary being the seatbelt.

 

1st gen airbag systems are single stage, which means the inflation rate of the airbag is a compromise for the probable impact speeds. Minimum is 15mph, maximum normal would be 120mph (2 60mph cars hitting head on). So for a slow speed accident the airbag inflation rate is too fast and violent. That's why there is multistage airbags. The inflation rate can be tailored to match the impact by chosing which or both charges to fire.

 

How many front tow hooks did subaru saw off in the mid 90's after reports of airbags going off bumping the curb in parking lots? It's not a high tech system they used.

 

Remove the bulb in the cluster and remove the plug from the charge in the wheel.

[bheinen74]

tow hooks were not sawed off, but placed tallr height than road surface, back then

 

 

this if a GREAT topic, same similar to ABS. both are inferior in the first years.....NO RECALLS but my 91-94 ABS needs to be recalled...but no... live and let live, or me, pull the system out. So i can stop at my stopsign on new snow tires. cause the old ABS on new tires sucks and wont stop. back to topic...........subaru need to watch these reports.

Edited October 18, 2010 by bheinen74

[WoodsWagon]

tow hooks were not sawed off, but placed tallr height than road surface, back then

 

No, they were sawed off:

Recall Date: 12/11/1998

 

Summary:

VEHICLE DESCRIPTION: PASSENGER VEHICLES. INADVERTENT AIR BAG DEPLOYMENT CAN OCCUR AFTER UNDERCARRIAGE CONTACT OF THE TOW HOOKS WITH CURBS, DIPS, SPEEDBUMPS, POTHOLES, ETC.

 

Consequence:

UNEXPECTED AIR BAG DEPLOYMENT COULD RESULT IN PERSONAL INJURY.

 

Remedy:

DEALERS WILL REMOVE THE FRONT TOW HOOKS.

 

Potential Units Affected: 95673

 

Notes: Subaru Legacy

[WoodsWagon]

http://www.northursalia.com/techdocs/pdf/misc/tow.pdf

Subaru of America, Inc. has determined that a number of 1994-95 Impreza and 1995-96 Legacy vehicles may experience air bag deployment after sharp undercarriage contact with curbing, dips, speed bumps, potholes, etc. Investigation revealed that in most cases the portion of the undercarriage that made contact was the front tow-hooks, which constitute the point of lowest ground clearance at the front of the vehicle.

 

Subaru of America has notified the potentially affected vehicle owners that they should contact their dealer, who will remove the front tow hooks at no cost to the vehicle owner.

 

Couldn't edit an old post, but ran across this while looking at other techdoc's on NorthU's website and wanted to add it in to this.

[bheinen74]

old thread yes. Are you really serious about the tsb?

But when my knee or foot hurts and I go to a doctor, they don't saw my leg off to fix that hurt.

Subaru should have addressed the buggy computer, unfit sensors, etc, and not saw off the toe hook.

How can you tow a car or haul it on a hauler if the tow hooks are gone?

Subaru needs to spend more time in research and engineering, especially the new stuff they claim to make.

 

 

 

This is ridiculous. And the pdf at no point advises them to apply rust proof paint after they hack off the hook. WOW i am shocked, they could care less of a fix that will cause rust with bare metal.

 

 

All I ask is that the Subaru engineers do a better job in the new models than has been occurring.

brent

Edited January 24, 2011 by bheinen74

[987687]

Minimum is 15mph, maximum normal would be 120mph (2 60mph cars hitting head on).

 

I don't want to start an argument here, so much as correct a common misconception. Two objects colliding at a given equal speed, say 60 mph do not have double the force. A car hitting a wall going 60, and a car hitting another car going 60 will have the same force exerted on them.

 

Now, a car hitting another car will actually sustain less damage because cars are designed to squish to absorb impact. Sturdy walls don't move.

 

I'd rather have a head-on collision going 60 into someone coming toward me at the same speed, than hit a stationary wall going 60.

[nipper]

Common side effects of airbag deployment (besides the obvious not dieing)

 

rug burn

broken bones

 

Common side effects of not having an airbag (besides the increased chance of dieing)

 

windshield necklace

sudden and violent face and scalp removal

lacerations

steering shaft impalement

 

 

 

 

It's your grandma, do what you want, but what I've seen first hand working on designing airbags and testing them out (Yes, I have a patent) and what I've seen first hand after car accidents, You'd be a fool to tamper with the airbag system. You're worried about her taking an airbag to the face. Would you rather her take a windshield to the face? Having your head go through a windshield in an accident and suddenly have your head go the other way is like a Chinese finger trap, except that its a very quick, and very painful, bloody way to die.

 

 

You forgot that entire death thing.

 

I would just unplug the airbag and remove the light. If you want to cover your but a sticker warning the airbag is diasbled otherwise i would do that.

The NHTSA rule is to sit as back as possible to operate the car, but we know with Seniors that is not always possible. As long as she wears a seatbelt that should be good enough for her size.

[ShawnW]

old thread yes. Are you really serious about the tsb?

But when my knee or foot hurts and I go to a doctor, they don't saw my leg off to fix that hurt.

Subaru should have addressed the buggy computer, unfit sensors, etc, and not saw off the toe hook.

How can you tow a car or haul it on a hauler if the tow hooks are gone?

Subaru needs to spend more time in research and engineering, especially the new stuff they claim to make.

 

 

 

This is ridiculous. And the pdf at no point advises them to apply rust proof paint after they hack off the hook. WOW i am shocked, they could care less of a fix that will cause rust with bare metal.

 

 

All I ask is that the Subaru engineers do a better job in the new models than has been occurring.

brent

 

Are you really going to argue this?

 

1. If you need to tow a car, the tow hooks are not adequate for anything other than securing the car to a trailer or flatbed truck and even then I have never seen a tow truck driver actually use them, they use larger components like the trailing and leading arms, control arms, etc to strap the car down.

 

2. The logic you are suggesting implies that Subaru hasn't thought this out. You are pretty far from being a Japanese engineer or an employee of Subaru of America.

When they find a fault in a vehicle they have to come up with a solution that every dealer in the country is capable of fixing, in a timely manner, while you are in the waiting room. A fix that is simple, effective, cost effective, and not going to require them to put every car they built from year A to year b back thru government, insurance, etc crash safety testing.

Most of the tow hooks I saw prior to the surgery were scraped very badly and rusting not from corrosion, but from people grinding them against the ground and objects. In other words, there was bare, open metal here in the first place and slicing it off isn't making the car rust any faster or slower than before.

 

3. You mentioned they need to spend more time in R+D. Do you know what R+D costs? How much are you willing to pay for a Legacy, or even worse SVX that was already VERY expensive when new?

 

4. Have you seen the in house bulletin for the tow hook slicing, and the follow ups to it in tech tips and other dealer only directions? It was advised that vehicles in the rust belt get a light coating of undercoating or flat black spray paint. Most of the ones I saw didn't ever get it but I wasn't working at a dealer in the rust belt. You are making an assumption that every car didn't get this treatment which is likely not true.

[nipper]

On school buses it was determined that the need to get children off the bus quickly in a fire or roll over outweighed the need for seatbelts. The added mass of the bus means that short of an 18 wheeler they don't decelerate nearly as fast as a car would in the same accident so the peak G forces are much less, That combined with padded seat backs make them relatively safe. You'll notice the driver has a belt as he or she doesn't have a seatback in front of them.

 

 

As far as 5 point harnesses, the current 3 point harnesses are an improvement over the 2 point, its a compromise between convenience and safety. Current seatbelts will snug the buckle end about 4-8 inches to get you in a good position for airbag deployment in an impact/rollover. The retractor end uses pyrotechnics to retract any loose webbing back into the retractor assembly, further minimizing motion and getting the occupant into a good position for airbag deployment.

 

You have to pander to the dumbest crowd, one click and you're in, I'd say most people are not smart enough to click, click, click a 5 pt harness, realistically a 4 point might work but it adds an increasing level of complication that the latte sucking, text messaging masses could not comprehend.

 

 

http://www.wikilaw3k.org/forum/Cars-Transportation-Safety/Why-aren-39-t-school-buses-equipped-with-air-bags-or-at-the-very-least-seat-belts-347346.htm

[EastCoastEJ22T]

No, they were sawed off:

Recall Date: 12/11/1998

 

Summary:

VEHICLE DESCRIPTION: PASSENGER VEHICLES. INADVERTENT AIR BAG DEPLOYMENT CAN OCCUR AFTER UNDERCARRIAGE CONTACT OF THE TOW HOOKS WITH CURBS, DIPS, SPEEDBUMPS, POTHOLES, ETC.

 

Consequence:

UNEXPECTED AIR BAG DEPLOYMENT COULD RESULT IN PERSONAL INJURY.

 

Remedy:

DEALERS WILL REMOVE THE FRONT TOW HOOKS.

 

Potential Units Affected: 95673

 

Notes: Subaru Legacy

 

 

I was looking under my legacy the other day wondering why someone chopped off both tow hooks ..... and now I know.

[WoodsWagon]

Are you really going to argue this?

 

1. If you need to tow a car, the tow hooks are not adequate for anything other than securing the car to a trailer or flatbed truck and even then I have never seen a tow truck driver actually use them, they use larger components like the trailing and leading arms, control arms, etc to strap the car down.

 

Those tow hooks are surprisingly sturdy, I've used them extensively for pulling out other cars and trucks. You can get a run on them with a chain pulling a truck twice as heavy as the subaru and buried in muck, and they don't flinch. They're well anchored in the body structure. Same goes for the rear ones, I've given them hell, broken multiple tow straps off them, and never had an issue.

 

The tow drivers around here use them, they're a lot more sturdy than hooking to a sheetmetal control arm. There's not a lot of other good spots to put a hook on the front of a subaru.

 

The rust on the cut off tow hooks is a non-issue. My dad's car had them cut, no paint, and the the ends of the stumps are rusty, but it hasn't spread up to the body. That car is rusting out everywhere in the back, even the gas tank has rusted through. Northeast living for you.

[ShawnW]

I have seen a lot of the older model ones ripped off but agree not the newer ones. I think the tow truck guys don't use them mostly because they have small diameter holes to thread chains and cables thru.

[bheinen74]

Kinda a related note didn't think a new thread is needed, but I have come across many newer accident Subarus in which the air bag has not deployed.

-example one.- My brothers 99 Outback deer hit, it smashed the radiator back into the timing cover enough to jump time and bend the AC tensioner, but no airbags deployed

-example two-my Dads 98 Forester, front hit no arbags deployed.

-Lots of various other builders that i have seen hit in front hard and no airbags gone off

-nhtsa search Subaru list of complaints there are issues of this as well.

 

Subaru must have addressed the tow hook bump issue and made them nearly impossible to explode at some production date.

[NoahDL88]

Airbags deploy based on 2 of 3 sensors getting the necessary G forces to activate the "trigger" A deer is no way big enough or can cause enough force to need the airbag.

 

The front hit on the forester, it just may have missed the threshold for triggering the bags, or it may have been on an oblique angle that kept them from firing. Deployment can also be effected by the wheel speed of the vehicle, depending on manufacturer.