Do you ever wonder what to do after the airbags of your car deploy? Sometimes your car may not even start with the airbags deployed. Don’t you worry about that, as here we will tell you what to do after your car’s airbags deploy and guide you on starting your car?
So, let’s get going then.
What to do after airbags deploy?
If the airbags of your car have deployed, then it’s probably because you met an accident. Now, the first thing to do is check yourself for any injuries. Once that’s out of the way, you can move onto your car.
As soon as the airbags deploy, your car engine should turn off on its own. That’s just a safety feature that cars these days have. However, if your car engine doesn’t turn off, you have to turn it off immediately.
Keeping the engine on in such conditions can be very lethal. This can cause a fire hazard to happen, which eventually leads to the explosion of your car. And you don’t want any of that. So, turn off the engine right away.
The next thing to follow up here is that you shouldn’t drive your car right away. First, go through a thorough inspection yourself to check for any visible leaks and damages. Getting a mechanic for inspection will be a much better idea as they can tell if anything is wrong internally or not.
The best course of action is to take your car to the mechanic. You shouldn’t drive your car before doing that. However, if there is no medium for you to return, you can try to start up your car, which we will go through quickly.
Only do this as a last option, because there can be many fatal damages in your car that can make it explode. We suggest not taking that risk.
How to start a car after airbags deploy?
Several things can cause your car to not start after the airbags deploy. It depends on the damage your car goes through. If the engine dies after the accident, most of the time, the radiator gets damaged, and you have to replace it. Sometimes it can also damage the fuel pump.
Usually, all these happen because of the safety features of your car. It doesn’t allow the battery to run at any cost either. And it’s for the better. However, if you must start your car, then you can do the following methods.
- Fuel pump disconnected from the electrical source
The first one we will talk about is the fuel pump getting disconnected from the electrical system. This happens to prevent any fire hazard. So, if you want to start a car, all you have to do is connect it. Here’s how you do it.
First of all, you have to find the switch that pops open to disconnect this system. Once you find that, you will have to restart it or connect it again. But before you start your car, make sure to check for any other severe damage.
- Positive battery cable disconnected.
If the positive battery cable of your car gets detached due to the safety feature, you have to attach it again. For attaching the cable, you will need a positive battery terminal cable. Then, you have busted open the battery terminal, where you will see the cables detached.
Lastly, you have to attach the positive cable to the terminal, and your car should be good to go. This is a feature many BMW cars tend to have. You may find this on other cars as well.
- The fuel pump switch turned off.
Sometimes due to an intense impact, the fuel pump switch may turn off. So, all you have to do there is turn on the switch and reset it. The switch is also known as an inertia switch.
You will find the inertia switches in the trunk or the passenger side panel. Resetting the switches should do the job for you unless there are other damages to the car.
These are the common issues that are solvable on the go. Other than that, if your car faces any severe damage, it’s better to go for a professional mechanic first before starting up your car. Also, if there is even a little damage to the engine transmission, you shouldn’t try to start up your car.
How to fix deployed airbags?
To fix the deployed airbags, you have to follow up with three easy steps. Here’s are the things you have to look into-
- Repairing airbag lights: The first step is to check the airbag lights. In most cases, they are automatically reset to normal after the deployment of airbags. But if it’s not reset, then you have to reset it manually. Taking professional help is advisable here.
- Resetting inflator: This is the crucial part of fixing the deployed airbags. You have to deflate the bag first to reset it. Make sure to do this after resetting the lights. Once you deflate the bag, you can easily reset it following the instructions from your car manual.
These two steps should do the job for you. However, this only works if your deployed airbags don’t get damaged. You can’t repair or fix the airbags that get entirely damaged.
In such cases replacing the airbags is the only option you have left. Also, in some cars, you can’t even reset the airbags, so replacing is the only option left for them.
FAQ
Here are some frequent questions people ask about airbags deployment-
Can you drive a car with airbags deployed?
- It’s possible to drive a car with airbags deployed. However, it isn’t practical to do so. As you won’t have proper vision and control over your driving when you have an airbag deployed.
Driving a car with airbags deployed can be very serious and risky for you and others as well.
What happens to a car when the airbags deploy?
- Usually, your car will immediately stop when the airbags deploy. This is due to the safety mechanism your car may have that signals the battery or engine to turn off as soon as the airbags deploy because the deployment of airbags is an indication of an accident.
Is it legal to drive a car after airbags deploy?
- It’s not illegal to drive your car after the airbags have deployed. However, that doesn’t make it the right thing to do either. As it causes a risk to your life and others, you shouldn’t drive your car after airbags have deployed.
Final words
All in all, the lesson here is to avoid driving your car after the airbags have deployed. Don’t even think about it if the impact of the incident was too serious. But in mild cases, you can try out the methods we discussed that might help you out in emergencies.