mscheebs

i just brought a 97 e320 with 139000 miles on it. today after i pick up my daughter from school and i am returning home and there are these two loud pops and the seat belts get tight. it seems that some how the seatbelts locked up. scared the hell out of me and my kids and hurt ny daughter chest. has this happen to anyone before? i can't return it here in florida it's the dealers choise if he wants to take it back. so i guess i have to replace the beats but d@mn. how could this happen? should i be sarced the airbags will pop next?

h0rn3t920

maybe it was in an accident that you dont know about

koskesh

Sounds like the belt tentioning mechanism some how got triggered. I don't exactly know the setup but there are accelerometers (sensors) that trigger these and the air bags. I would definitely be concerned and get those checked. I'm guessing the seatbelts need to be replaced since this is a one time use type of thing (i may be wrong though it maybe electrical and not explosion based like the airbags).

My mechanic told me about the 190Es that if the flex wheel that connects the transmission to the drive shaft is loose or broken the vibrations of the drive shaft could trigger the air bag sensors since they are located above the drive shaft. If it is true or not, i don't know but i replaced my old and worn out flex wheel cause it needed to be changed anyways.

lkchris

Yes, the seatbelt portion of the supplemental restraint system (SRS) has fired. It is indeed pyrotechnic, which means explosives were involved. It seems more surprising your airbags didn't fire, too. This will be a rather expensive fix.