Air bag sensor

The SRS idiot light on my '93 850 cane on, and the dealer informs me that I
need a new air bag sensor (cost ~CDN$1700). The car has never been in a
accident. What would cause the sensor to fail? Are there other possibilities
that I should explore (shorts etc.) before I shell out that amount of
money?


Ken

 

$1700 (Canadian) still seems like one hell of a lot of money for a sensor. I
would be tempted to find out if there was a fault that could be simply cured.
Did you pull the OBD codes yourself? Do you know what the codes are reading?

Cheers, Peter.

: The SRS idiot light on my '93 850 cane on, and the dealer informs me that I
: need a new air bag sensor (cost ~CDN$1700). The car has never been in a
: accident. What would cause the sensor to fail? Are there other possibilities
: that I should explore (shorts etc.) before I shell out that amount of
: money?
:
:
: Ken
:

 

My suggestion might not be popular with the crowd in here, but, you
could do as I did and unplug the air bag. I had similar problem two
years ago. Dealer quoted me about the same than yours, I said no
thanks.

I can still remember all those years I've driven when air bags, abs
and all the other crap did not exist. Drive safely, it will buy you a
longer life than an air bag.

My 2 cents.

 

Remember that the SRS in the airbag's technical name means Supplimental
Restraint System. Originally the Europeans came out with the SRS, but
when it came to the US (and perhaps Canada), SRS stupidly became the PRS
(Primary Restraint System). The US Department of Transportation says
that the US version of the SRS must restrain an UNBELTED occupant. Thus
the in the US, air bags must be faster acting and stronger, and have
actually caused deaths in otherwise survivable accidents. I think that
the US DOT has wised up a little and there may be different standards
now on when and how fast the air bags must actuate.

My thought is that if your are safely belted into a Volvo, you probably
do not need an air bag, especially in a 93 model, when the fast acting
air bags were the only kind available.

I think it is illegal--at least in the US--for a service tech to
disconnect your airbag, but it is legal for you to do so if you know
how. Don't know about Canada, though.

 

I don't understand... why doesn't the US Department of Transportation just
make wearing of seatbelt mandatory for ALL occupants as long as the car is
travelling forward? That's what we have in Australia since the 70's and
frankly I think it's a bloody good law, I'm all up for it.

I also like the idea of the seatbelt reminder in my 740 activating
continuously as long as the key's in the ignition and the driver belt's not
worn. True, it is a little annoying sometimes, but what is more important,
your patience or your life? I was disappointed that my cousin's S70 didn't
have this feature, the seatbelt reminder goes out on his car after a few
second.
_________________
Will
'90 Volvo 744 GLT
B230F converted to B230FB (531 Head & VX3 Cam)

 

It is, in Washington you can get pulled over and get a $110 ticket for not
wearing it, doesn't mean everyone does it, though honestly if someone wants
to risk their life, I say let them.

The reminder in my 740 goes off after a few seconds, and thankfully so, my
grandpa had an old Thunderbird with the continuous buzzer, every time anyone
wanted to haul a box or something on the seat we had to belt it in to keep
the damn buzzer from going off continuously. I put my seatbelt on out of
habbit whenever I get in the car, sometimes I find myself doing it even to
move the car a few feet, I never understood the purpose of a reminder, I
mean yeah the car has seatbelts, they're supposed to be worn, no need to
"remind" me every time I get in.

The really silly thing are those motorized "passive" seatbelts where you get
in and the motorized shoulder strap zips back, nevermind if your face or
coffee cup happens to be in it's path, my friend ended up with stitches when
his finger somehow ended up in the track as it was coming back in an Escort.
My girlfriend's Saab has these ridiculous contraptions and we're keeping an
eye out in junkyards for an older one from which to salvage the standard
belts.

 

Neutralizing the air bag is easy and described in Haynes. Most if
not all dealers will refuse to do it because of liability.

Btw, I ALWAYS wear my seatbelt, and THEN start the engine. It's a
habit.

And like I said, driving safely will protect you more than an air bag.
Another problem of all those so-called security devices, is that it
too often give the driver a false sense of security and make him/her
take more risks. "Eh, this car has air bags, abs and what else, I
don't have to worry...". Never heard that before???

 

Why ask us what's more important - your solution let's the government
decide for us.

Do I really need a seatbelt reminder buzzer, a sign on my exterior
mirror saying "objects may be closer than they appear", a mandatory air
bag with a little sign that says "this can kill you if it goes off"???
No I don't. US DOT doesn't do what you suggest because many US Citizens
object to being forced to do things ONLY because the government tells
them to.

BB