Air bag replacement cost? - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

Jeremy5848 · #1 05-28-2008, 08:46 PM

My '87 300D-T (W124) has a sticker on the inside of the glovebox door stating that the airbag was due to be replaced 12 years ago in 1996. In other words, my airbag has never been replaced and is now 22 years old. I did some searching of this forum and other Internet sources and learned the following (a mix of facts and opinion):

1. Airbag replacement used to be specified every 10 years by Mercedes but has been extended to 15 years based on manufacturers' experience and testing.

2. An airbag will probably work even if it is 20 years old or more; the replacement policy is CYA on the part of the manufacturers, who understandably don't want to be sued when (if) an old airbag fails to deploy properly.

3. Mercedes (it is said) has never had an airbag accidentally deploy by itself.

4. Airbag replacement is said to be expensive -- $1000, more or less. I have been unable to get any hard cost numbers. The web sites that claim to sell airbags won't quote prices without a lot of personal information that I'm not ready to give. I have not been able to find a post from anyone who has actually had an airbag replaced other than those that have been deployed in a collision. Comments such as "more than the car is worth" abound as the reason why many choose not to replace an airbag.

5. Undeployed airbags taken from used cars can be purchased and self-installed. Whether they are any better than the airbags to be replaced is questionable. (There is some risk associated with this DIY job.)

Questions: Have you ever had an (undeployed) airbag replaced because it was out of date? or known anyone who did? and how much did it cost? Is there any data available (from dealers or independents) on the numbers or percentages of people who actually keep their airbags up to date? If the cost is really $1000, I suspect that there are a lot of old airbags out there, and more every day.

Caveat -- for the whiners lurking out there -- Yes, I always wear my seat belt, whether I'm in my '85 (no airbags), my '87 (one airbag), or my wife's '96 (four airbags).

Jeremy

babymog · #2 05-28-2008, 09:02 PM

Back in around '95 or '96, I received a letter from M-B that the inspection or replacement date of my ('91) airbag had been extended. I don't remember the length, don't have the car or letter anymore. 15years sounds right.

Hatterasguy · #3 05-28-2008, 09:18 PM

Call your local dealer and they will be able to give you a price.

TMAllison · #4 05-28-2008, 11:20 PM

Try calling a body shop. They do them all the time.

JordaanDMC-12 · #5 05-29-2008, 12:01 AM

You might as well forget about that.... I've tried. I called Mercedes Benz up because in my 300E the glove compartment said: "Replace Date: 1996" and I wanted the comfort of knowing my airbag would deploy in the case of a head on. I was biting my nails about the price knowing it was going to be close to probably 800$ maybe even more! While I was greeted rudely and told I would have to wait until the next day for a price quote, in which, might I add never received a call the next day when I was told I would. So I called the Mercedes dealership again and to my surprise it wasn't 800$ at all!!!! It's 5,000$ to have just one driver side airbag replaced on a 1986 300E. I almost started laughing on the phone and couldn't believe what I just heard.. If I recall the representative told me it would come out to about 5,800 something for everything... I'm sorry but I think that's complete BS

... Come on Mercedes, don't bash you long and faithful customers for wanting to be safe in the case of an accident!

also, to have the SRS checked out, it's 150$ which I though was a bit more reasonable.

Hatterasguy · #6 05-29-2008, 12:23 AM

Well the labor should be about an hour at most, they are easy to replace. I have no idea what the actual bag will cost.

#7 05-29-2008, 12:30 AM

Wow, $5000 for an airbag. I guess we know why airbag deployments usually total older cars.

OTOH, I might actually pay $5000 extra not to have one in my cars. Come to think of it, I probably have paid that much.

babymog · #8 05-29-2008, 10:00 AM

It was under $1000 plus sensors in my Wife's Ford (OE). $5800 doesn't sound right, maybe a body shop is a good idea.

pawoSD · #9 05-29-2008, 11:07 AM

Yikes......if the car is well built and has other safety features, it will likely not be an issue to not have an airbag. Being in a Kia with ten zillion airbags is likely still wayyy more dangerous than being in an MB without them.

Jeremy5848 · #10 05-29-2008, 04:11 PM

OK, so I visited the dealer (Smothers European, Santa Rosa, California) today and asked about replacing old airbags. The service adviser (Jennifer) was very nice, admitted she had never dealt with a customer having an airbag replaced because it was old, guessed that it might cost $1000 and surmised that the cost probably was the reason why.

She then called a more senior adviser and asked him (speakerphone, so I got to hear). He agreed that the cost would be about $1000, that the original 10-year factory interval had been increased to 15, that it might give some folks a warm fuzzy feeling to know that their airbag was "fresh," and that they would be happy to do the job if they were asked.

From all of this, I got the distinct impression that people are not having their airbags replaced and that there is no pressure from the factory to do so. Have any of you ever seen a postcard from your dealer saying "it's time to replace your airbag?" I certainly haven't.

So don't worry about it. Get a life. Who started this stupid thread, anyway?

Jeremy

#11 05-29-2008, 09:00 PM

I wouldn't worry about it. There are millions of W123's on the road doing very well without having one at all.

Hatterasguy · #12 05-29-2008, 10:27 PM

Thats the same response I got from the Toyota dealer when I asked them about it. Toyota said 10 years, the dealer was like if the light isn't on don't worry about it.

Mustang_man298 · #13 05-29-2008, 11:12 PM

You know, I'll probably be chastized for saying this but I will anyway. I've never worried over the age of an airbag. The only concerns I've ever had with one is it's stability. You need to understand now, that I live in a wooded mountain area, and always have this vision of a deer running out in front of me (happened to my 80 240D) and setting off the airbag in one of my newer vehicles. Normally you hit a deer and though heavily unsettled you just come to a stop. I always pictured hitting a deer, a hefty enough impact at backroads speeds to easily set off an airbag, which blows your hands off the wheel at the same time it blinds and stuns you, which on windy mountain roads can easily send you kareeming off an embankment to a tree or dropoff.
I never cared much for them myself. Sound old fashioned? maybe....but that's my take on them, I'm sure there's others out there that have been saved by them who will swear on them, that's understandable too.
My wife got in a hurry and slid off the road, hit a boulder and went airborne into a tree @ 30 mph...her airbag never deployed....which was supposed to deploy at 25 or better mph. It was a cherry 96 Bronco. She was fine, very upset over losing her baby though. The first thing I did on the scene was to deactivate the airbag because I did not trust it, even moreso because who knows how compromised those sensors now were. The insurance appraiser was releived to see I did that, and mentioned a good friend of his had recently been killed while taking pictures inside a vehicle with an undeployed airbag that popped on a whim. I understand in certain scenarios they can help, but I think I prefer the sanctity of knowing I can maintain control of my vehicle and minimize damage and injury in an average collision.

mb_newbie · #14 01-26-2009, 09:29 PM

I have a 2003 E 320 MB w/ approx 72k miles. My passanger-side rear door airbag, as well as the passanger side head (front door to back door) deployed for no reason. What is the expected cost to repair this, including the repairing of the torn rear leather panel? Im located in OC CA.

jcciem · #15 01-26-2009, 10:53 PM

On friday 01-23-08, with my '91 350SD, 535,000 miles, I hit a tractor trailer offset frontal crash, 30MPH, 18 year old air bags (not replaced at the required interval) deployed as designed. It does not blow your hands off the wheel, it obstructs your view for a second, which is a good thing, you don't see what your colliding with. Vehicle does not fill with smoke or dust just a faint smell of fireworks. If your age your SRS based on miles travelled and years of use, most of the systems out there are younger than my was, and mine operated beautifully. If your vehicle wasn't a flood wreck, or you don't live next to the ocean it might work as designed. Or it could be the SRS system in the 350SD just might be as superior as the 350 engine,which everbody knows there is no better engine Mercedes ever designed or made! Just kidding on the last line, i couldn't resist, sorry.

91 350Sd 535,000 dead before the rods had a chance to bend
'87 300SDl 236,000
'94 SL500 45.000