2020 GT • Passenger Side-curtain airbag deployed

[Davidiot]

Sigh.

Just slid in the snow taking a left turn at slow speed, 2/3 of the way through the turn, and curbed both passenger side wheels at a glancing angle.

Didn’t feel like a hard impact but my passenger side side-curtain airbag deployed; destroying the headliner in the process.

No passenger was in the vehicle, but I was carrying a bag of groceries on the front passenger seat yesterday and had buckled the seat belt around the bag to keep it from falling over. Seem to have forgotten to unbuckle it. Otherwise, the seat was empty. Assumed occupancy was based on a weight sensor but never thought about it that hard.

This happened just before pulling into the parking lot at my apartment complex.

My first task (when the snow ends) is figuring out how to remove the airbag so I can see out the right side of the car.
Any ideas?

Second task is killing myself because I still don’t even have 7,000 miles on the thing; and was going to switch insurance companies tomorrow.

 

[Mazdiod2]

Do you have a high deductible?

 

[Whiter0se]

Ah sorry to see this. Before cutting the airbags to see out the right side, did you add the rental car to your insurance? Try getting a rental before touching anything before the insurance adjustor checks out the car.

 

[Davidiot]

Do you have a high deductible?

Just $500.
But they’ll get it all back when they blow up my rates sky high, I’m sure.

 

[Davidiot]

Ah sorry to see this. Before cutting the airbags to see out the right side, did you add the rental car to your insurance? Try getting a rental before touching anything before the insurance adjustor checks out the car.

I have rental insurance.
I’m assuming the car recorded the time and place of the incident (in addition to the steering angle, throttle and brake positions, and a million other black-box details) so I’d never suggest lying about what happened on a satellite connected, computer controlled car — especially in the effort to commit Insurance fraud.

 

[Sig cx-5]

I have rental insurance.
I’m assuming the car recorded the time and place of the incident (in addition to the steering angle, throttle and brake positions, and a million other black-box details) so I’d never suggest lying about what happened on a satellite connected, computer controlled car — especially in the effort to commit Insurance fraud.

Who said anything about insurance fraud? I believe the poster was trying to tell you to leave the vehicle as is, so not to make things worse.

 

[wlong01]

Doubt your vehicle is satellite connected.

 

[Davidiot]

Who said anything about insurance fraud? I believe the poster was trying to tell you to leave the vehicle as is, so not to make things worse.

Okay, I can see how I maybe misinterpreted that post. Apologies. Read to me as if suggesting I add rental insurance before calling the insurance company.

 

[Davidiot]

Doubt your vehicle is satellite connected.

It’s got sat nav; so the car knows where it is. It knows enough to call 911 on it’s own. It’s also got an EDR (Event Data Recorder).

 

[Sig cx-5]

... It knows enough to call 911 on it’s own. ...

I don't believe this is true. Our Sig does not have any cellular equipment in it.

 

[Candurin]

This thread is snowballing (sorry @Davidiot, no pun intended). There is nothing indicating anything nefarious from the OP.

Just call the insurance company and whatever shop you plan on using after coordinating with the adjuster. The headliner and airbag assembly will be replaced, however, they may want to keep things intact in order to fully cover damage (insurance is odd like that). In that case, your local shop will tow your car in. They may also allow you to drive it in, in which case you can manually deflate the bags.

I’d advise against that, strongly. What happens if you suffer a side impact and you have have no side impact bags and you may have pre-existing wheel/axel/joint/etc damage from this current impact in the snow? Wouldn’t end well.

Just something to think about. Just have it towed.

 

[minnesotaart]

What happens if you suffer a side impact and you have have no side impact bags and you may have pre-existing wheel/axel/joint/etc damage from this current impact in the snow? Wouldn’t end well.

Looking at the first picture, perhaps it's just a distortion due to a wide angles lens shot, but the rear wheel looks to be at an odd angle.

 

[Davidiot]

I don't believe this is true. Our Sig does not have any cellular equipment in it.

I think it uses your phone, whether connected via CarPlay / Android Auto, or in my case at the time, Bluetooth.
I was required to push the “hang up” button on the steering wheel to cancel the pending call. The car was talking to me; it told me how to cancel the call. Touch screen wouldn’t do it.

 

[Davidiot]

Looking at the first picture, perhaps it's just a distortion due to a wide angles lens shot, but the rear wheel looks to be at an odd angle.

I see what you mean. I’ll take a better look now that the sun is out.

 

[Davidiot]

This thread is snowballing (sorry @Davidiot, no pun intended). There is nothing indicating anything nefarious from the OP.

Just call the insurance company and whatever shop you plan on using after coordinating with the adjuster. The headliner and airbag assembly will be replaced, however, they may want to keep things intact in order to fully cover damage (insurance is odd like that). In that case, your local shop will tow your car in. They may also allow you to drive it in, in which case you can manually deflate the bags.

I’d advise against that, strongly. What happens if you suffer a side impact and you have have no side impact bags and you may have pre-existing wheel/axel/joint/etc damage from this current impact in the snow? Wouldn’t end well.

Just something to think about. Just have it towed.

Thank you for the advice and information.

As for the tow — I live an hour (43 miles) from the nearest dealership. Don’t have a roadside/tow policy with my insurance, since I have the Mazda new-car coverage. Hopefully Mazda will cover the costs if a tow is required.

Will update thread with the damage (financial and otherwise) as I get this taken care of.

 

[HyFlyer]

Hopefully Mazda will cover the costs if a tow is required.

Sorry to hear of your off road excursion. I wouldn't expect Mazda to cover towing since it is damaged from a collision as opposed to a mechanical failure of the vehicle. I would expect that your insurer will cover the tow bill under your collision portion of your auto policy.

A third option is a repair facility *may* pick up the tab or tow it with their own equipment to get your business.

Also, by the look of that right rear wheel, IMHO, you likely shouldn't be driving that car around. Gonna be control issues.

Good luck with your repairs.

 

[Davidiot]

Sorry to hear of your off road excursion. I wouldn't expect Mazda to cover towing since it is damaged from a collision as opposed to a mechanical failure of the vehicle. I would expect that your insurer will cover the tow bill under your collision portion of your auto policy.

A third option is a repair facility *may* pick up the tab or tow it with their own equipment to get your business.

Also, by the look of that right rear wheel, IMHO, you likely shouldn't be driving that car around. Gonna be control issues.

Good luck with your repairs.

Technically didn’t leave the road, as the curb prevented that.

Oh, yeah. Didn’t think about that (Mazda not being willing to tow it).

Yeah, the rear wheel is definitely gorked.

Time to start dealing with the insurance company. Yay.

 

[madar]

Wow. I thought a vehicle had to be going at least 35 mph for an air bag deployment. I did a similar thing last year with my 2016. I took a turn and discovered a huge patch of ice around the bend, slid into a curb and jumped it. It felt pretty violent but no air bag deployed. The only thing was the rear toe-in was out a little. I thought a lot more damage was done. Luckily, only the tire slammed into the curb and not the wheel.

 

[TBarney]

I don't know why you'd take it to a Mazda dealership. Read reviews to find the best body shop close to you, and then tell your insurance that's where it's going to be repaired.

 

[Davidiot]

Wow. I thought a vehicle had to be going at least 35 mph for an air bag deployment. I did a similar thing last year with my 2016. I took a turn and discovered a huge patch of ice around the bend, slid into a curb and jumped it. It felt pretty violent but no air bag deployed. The only thing was the rear toe-in was out a little. I thought a lot more damage was done. Luckily, only the tire slammed into the curb and not the wheel.

I think jumping the curb would have worked out better for me (bouncing off it probably is what made the difference tripping the airbag). Oddly, I didn’t feel like I hit hard at all. It was a lot louder than I expected; but I’m guessing that was mostly the airbag exploding out of the headliner. 🤷🏻‍♂️