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I have never been off roading in a vehicle with airbags. How sensitive will they be - is it turned turned down from traditional road vehicles?
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Going over a bump should never cause an air bag to deploy. You would have to bash your front bumper pretty hard to deploy an airbag.
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A buddy of mine smashed his front bumper hard enough to twist the frame in his Jeep JKU and the airbags didn't go off. Everyone was okay, but if that didn't do it (assuming it wasn't a malfunction), then I don't think it is something you really have to worry about.
Yup. When I crashed my Jeep it was a pretty damn hard impact and they didn’t go off. You’ve gotta be going pretty damn fast for the airbags to go off, since they can be super damaging.
In a way airbags are kinda like chemotherapy. Super destructive but could very well save your life. (Which is why it’s a bit of a last resort)
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Airbags are tied into all the sensors available. They're constantly monitoring speed as well as the crumple zone sensors, brakes, etc. Old ones used gyroscopes to detected sudden stops and went off exactly on impact. That usually meant they went off a hair early and therefore needed to be more powerful to ensure they stayed inflated long enough. These days, airbags actually go off just after a collision and are completely sensor driven. We're talking about thousandths of a second but enough time to allow them to deploy with less force.
Curtain airbags are similar but also use a gyroscope to detect rollovers.
That being said, it's not a perfect science. The 2nd Gen Xterra had a recall to adjust the curtain airbag software because they had a tendency to go off while wheeling. Some vehicles have a bypass switch or turn them off while in 4lo. Not sure what the Bronco will have.
Curtain airbags are similar but also use a gyroscope to detect rollovers.
That being said, it's not a perfect science. The 2nd Gen Xterra had a recall to adjust the curtain airbag software because they had a tendency to go off while wheeling. Some vehicles have a bypass switch or turn them off while in 4lo. Not sure what the Bronco will have.
Haven’t you seen all the YouTube videos of off roaders with busted out windshields due to an airbag going off? Ok, not really. I never seen or heard of anyone that had it happen. I was concerned about the very same thing when I started off roadin.
I don’t know how it works or why, but I have bumped the steel bumper on rock walls and nada so far. A bump is not a crash, I get it. But it was still an impact.
I don’t know how it works or why, but I have bumped the steel bumper on rock walls and nada so far. A bump is not a crash, I get it. But it was still an impact.
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Oh don’t worry that’s what the big red button on the dash is for . If you are Off-roading the bronco will automatically disengage the airbag sensors in the front bumper and Will only deploy them if you hit that big red button ?
I know several people who had them go off in an Xterra. It happens. But it's a flaw in programming, not the system as a whole.
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It can be an issue. Newer Chevy colorados had or still have a problem with the side airbags deploying while offroad.
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I don’t know what I just watched, but I laughed my ass off all the same
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Lightly used Raptor for sale.
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I hit a buck at 50mph in my wife’s ‘18 grand cherokee that has all the fancy sensors and safety systems, caused 13k in damage and hit it at just the right angle and didnt set off any if the airbags. I wheel the crap out of my truck and wife’s grand cherokee and have never had any concerns of an airbag deploying when on trails.
