Badly rear ended Vibe on ebay, no airbag deployment!!

[BenWA]

Check this out, an ebay listing for the rear view mirror on a 2010 Vibe that looks like it was rear ended by a tank (or maybe a semi). But check out the interior shots, neither airbag deployed!

http://www.ebay.com/itm/2010-Pontiac-Vi ... 1744405020

[vibrologist]

Bad rear impact indeed. It is no surprise that the air bags did no t deploy. The impact sensors are in the front and the front is undamaged. Quite possible the driver and front passenger may have walked away from this.

[BenWA]

Bad rear impact indeed. It is no surprise that the air bags did no t deploy. The impact sensors are in the front and the front is undamaged. Quite possible the driver and front passenger may have walked away from this.

It makes me reconsider riding my dog in the back seat. The airbag would hurt her less. sheesh!

My 03 lacks the airbag seat weight sensor of newer models, or she'd be safe from the airbag since she's only about 55lbs.

[ColonelPanic]

Yow, a Vibe to Sonic Hatchback conversion.

The frontal air bags wouldn't have been done much for the occupants in a case like this. The curtain air bags probably would have been more useful and those did work.

Very sad to see a Vibe beat up like this, I hope all were OK after the accident. A couple weeks ago, I was behind a rollback hauling a Fusion that was smashed in the rear all the way to the front doors. I don't know if anyone would have survived if they were sitting in the back. A rear end collision like this is always in the back of my mind especially since I drive a small car with not much behind me.

[tpollauf]

Yow, a Vibe to Sonic Hatchback conversion.

I was thinking the exact same thing Some of these subcomacts on the road now have very little if any protection in the rear due to the wheels actually extending out so far that they just may end up being the bumper in a rear collision.

[BenWA]

Yow, a Vibe to Sonic Hatchback conversion.

I was thinking the exact same thing Some of these subcomacts on the road now have very little if any protection in the rear due to the wheels actually extending out so far that they just may end up being the bumper in a rear collision.

Yeah, especially the Fiat 2 doors..

[petervivian]

Depending on whether the headrests were properly adjusted. The driver may at least had neck pain after this impact.

[ImUrOBGYN]

Bad rear impact indeed. It is no surprise that the air bags did no t deploy. The impact sensors are in the front and the front is undamaged. Quite possible the driver and front passenger may have walked away from this.

It makes me reconsider riding my dog in the back seat. The airbag would hurt her less. sheesh!

My 03 lacks the airbag seat weight sensor of newer models, or she'd be safe from the airbag since she's only about 55lbs.

The 03s do have an airbag seat weight sensor. I know because my dog does set it off. That's what that the "Passenger" light is on you dash. When it exceeds the weight in the seat with no seatbelt on, it should come on.

Or am I misunderstanding something here?

[BenWA]

Unless I am badly mistaken, it's only a seat belt reminder sensor. The dash light just says "Passenger" with a seatbelt icon.

From the 2003 manual:

When the key is turned to ON or START, this light will come on as a reminder for the right front passenger to fasten the safety belt. The safety belt light will flash until the right front passenger’s safety belt is buckled. The passenger’s safety belt reminder light will not illuminate if the right front passenger’s belt is already buckled or if a sensor does not detect the weight of a passenger in that seat. If something is placed on the right front passenger’s seat, the sensors in the seat may detect that object and cause the right front passenger’s safety belt reminder light to come on. If this ever happens, move the object to the rear seat or place it in a rear storage area, if at all possible.

In the airbag section, it says is you use a forward facing baby seat in the front passenger seat, adjust the seat all the way back to get it as far from the airbag as possible, but never mentions a weight minimum to set off the airbag.

Starting in 05 is when they combined it with the airbag system, the same year they changed to electronic throttle from cable driven. Those actually say "Airbag" on/off.

[tpollauf]

in the 2009-10 Vibes, 60 lbs is the threshold. I remember reading this when I tore the seats apart installing heated seat elements

[Owim]

in the 2009-10 Vibes, 60 lbs is the threshold. I remember reading this when I tore the seats apart installing heated seat elements

When I delivered newspapers in my 09 vibe it was very annoying every time I switched from reverse to drive it would go off again ended up just taking out the seat and putting all the papers on the floor and putting like 20 or so on my dash at a time so i could keep from leaning over to grab papers when I'm driving inches away from curbs and mailboxes on the wrong side of the road XD

[jazzvibe]

I had to respond to this thread because I was rear-ended in my Vibe on Thanksgiving Eve. It was raining. I came up on stopped traffic a bit too fast and I stopped quickly, but did not squeal my tires or veer out of my lane at all. As I came to a rest I looked in my rear-view mirror to see if anyone behind me had missed seeing me stop and was going to rear-end ME. Yup, a smear of a greige-colored car was coming fast. I was going to be hit. I have rehearsed this in my mind a thousand times. Let go of the wheel, get feet off the brake, head up against the headrest, and try to relax. Bang! the first impact threw me forward as I was rear-ended, and Smash! I hit the truck in front of me. I felt my body, and especially my neck, go forward and back. Otherwise, I was not hit by anything. The airbags did not deploy.

The cop later told me the airbags do not deploy if you are at a stop or near-stop. I knew that airbag injuries (and deaths) are a real thing, so I was glad to not have had to deal with them. I did ask to go to the hospital for a check because I do have degenerative disc disease in my neck already and I know that whiplash injuries often do not show up for days. I was afraid to do much until I knew I was okay. They did a CT and my neck and head were cleared of injury.

My door took two guys pulling on it to open, as the front end had been pushed into it and it was jammed against the front fender. I knew the front was smashed in. Until Friday morning, when we could get to the yard where they towed it, we did not know exactly what was damaged or not damaged, though. I did not get to look around, they put me in the ambulance and took me away. Friday we saw this:
http://www.pbase.com/nancyb/image/164703024/large
http://www.pbase.com/nancyb/image/164703040
http://www.pbase.com/nancyb/image/164703030
http://www.pbase.com/nancyb/image/164703031
And the following Wednesday, when the police report was finally available, I learned what had happened. A Dodge Charger with no insurance hit me, and I hit a Dodge Durango. No one was hurt, and the other two cars drove away from the accident. It did not say how fast the Charger was moving or if he was braking. I imagine that he was, or I would have been even more of a Dodge sandwich than I was. I stuck right to the Durango after the crash. I did not bounce back after hitting him. I think I was wedged under his bumper where my metal frame that was beneath my bumper is shown stripped of any red plastic parts, and where my grill is where the radiator used to be.

I believe that it was my taking my foot off the brake that saved me. The front bumper and the engine block absorbed most of the energy of the impact. My seat and harness and seat belt protected me just as they were designed to do. I was not even bruised. The back end is not dented as far as I can see. That bulb hanging down above the license plate is the only damage.

State Farm decided that the car was totaled, so I have lost my Vibe. She only had 51,123 miles! They gave me $9000 for her, minus the $500 deductible they are holding on to because I went to the hospital.

I have a set of GM window deflectors I never installed if anyone wants them. I also have a cover for the cargo area that I never even got to open because I started carrying a walker with me and needed to keep a seat-back down to fit it in.

If all this happened to my car at a low speed crash, but NOTHING dented in the back, I can only imagine how hard that car from eBay had to be hit!

[vibenvy]

@ jazzvibe: Wow, that's one heck of a story! So glad you are okay, but of course it sucks that the Vibe was totaled, especially with that low mileage. $9000 seems pretty darn good though! Do you think you'll end up getting another Vibe? Definitely keep us posted either way.

[jazzvibe]

Thanks, Vibenvy. Yeah, as it was happening I was afraid I would be hurt, but my Vibe protected me totally!

Unfortunately, no new Vibe for me. I got a Kia Soul ! model. I have a connective tissue disorder, meaning that the "recipe" my body has for my ligaments and tendons is wrong and all my joints are loose. As I age, arthritis is setting in from all the grinding of misaligned joints all my life and I am needing a car even easier to get in and out of, and easier to get my walker in and out of. Not to mention the heated seats and steering wheel of the fully loaded ! model (pronounced "exclaim") that feel so good.

Besides, as I slid into the Vibe the last few years, I often would knock off the interior trim on the door pillar. I was afraid that one day I was not going to be able to snap it back into place. I have even managed to dislodge the door sill molding, too. When I was tired, I kind of slid down into the seat, leaning against the pillar, I think. The Soul is a little higher and I step down getting out of it, instead of having to boost myself out of it, which is a lot easier on my bone-on-bone knees. My walker also fits in the back compartment behind the seats without having to fold down a seat. The Soul still has a small footprint, though, and is easy to maneuver and park. My husband says it is quirky and fits my personality. Before the Vibe, I drove a PT Cruiser.

I did love my Vibe. Entering highways was so easy with that extra power the GT had. It was responsive and fun to drive. I was very glad I had waited for a large opening in the traffic as I left the rental car place in a Chevy Cruze - if I had taken the first opening, as I would in the Vibe, that car would have been hit. There was nothing there when I hit the gas, and I am just not used to that!