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This is a continuation of a post made a few days ago. My wife was in a T-bone accident (2015 S-550) where she was alone in the car and hit by someone running a red light with no attempt to brake at an estimated 40mph or more by PD report. He hit her dead center of the I beam between the two doors on the passenger side and it is not designed to absorb any energy but protect the cockpit area. It is slightly bent but the impact was severe and caused a bad side to side whiplash effect on her neck. She also struck the drivers I Beam extremely hard causing a serious concussion. The passenger side curtain deployed, the drivers side curtain did not.
I have almost the identical arrangement in my 2016 GL-550. My head would clearly hit that I beam in the same circumstances as my wife. In doing my research, over 20% of the fatal accidents are from T-Bone collisions similar to my wife's. I contend had the guy been moving at 60 mph or higher the head injury hitting the drivers I beam could have been fatal. The MB S class is one of the safest cars on the road and can withstand crashes that would easily kill the occupants of other cars, however I cannot get a straight answer from MB or anyone if the side curtain on the drivers side is programed to deploy in a situation like this. If it is not supposed to deploy unless hit on the drivers side, there is a major flaw in the safety of the car. That would apply to occupants of both sides of the car in T-Bone collisions, what protects your head from hitting the beam or window glass when it flies back in the opposite direction, which it almost always will?
As of now, both insurance companies involved, his liability and my collision coverage think the car can be repaired, even though it has every electronic option offered along with the rare Chauffeur Pkg which adds many more electric parts to go wrong. I want it totaled but it is not my call. It was a CPO purchased about 18 month back. I did have the foresight to spend an extra $5k and add 2 years to the CPO so it has a full MB warranty until mid 2022.
She does not want to drive the car again, as she is afraid of hitting the post again. Does anyone have any hard fast knowledge of what is the protection for the drivers or front seat passengers head in these T bone crashes that impact the opposite side of the car? It is an automatic that on a hard collision hitting the I bean on one side that, no energy is absorbed and heads are going to violently be thrown in the direction of the crash and then thrown back the opposite direction which would almost always hit the large beam unless someone was short and then they would hit the heavy window glass which also could cause a serious head injury. UNLESS THAT OPPOSITE SIDE CURTAIN DEPLOYED
You can scroll down and see my first post on this Crash, If no side curtain or air bag is designed to protect the head in this relatively common type crash it is a safety flow in my opinion and a serious flaw. So in my wife's case, either there is a safety design flaw or the system did not operate as intended. Since both of my cars (MB's) are very similar in design this is a big deal to us since one of the main reasons we buy MBs is safety.
Thanks for any insight as I am very close to buying the newly designed 2019 A-8L Audi to replace her car as if repaired, it will take many weeks. It has an airbag in that I beam between the doors plus a side curtain. I do not think the S class has an airbag in that I beam plus the side curtain but I cannot look with the car in the shop. However, my 2016 GL does not have an airbag in that beam besides the drivers head.
Sorry to hear about your accident. I have not done this in the detail I am about to mention, but if I was in your situation, I would go and watch a few youtube videos that depict the crash tests for the vehicles (I do not remember seeing S class, but there were a few of the modern E class ones I remember). There are many side impact videos, and you can tell whether the non-impacted side is deploying as well or not. You can look at other brands too, and compare. Would love to hear what you find out.
Its not a design flaw. Was In the industry for 25+ years. Air bags are to minimize injuries not eliminate them. They deploy from impact to that area. Was her seat belt properly adjusted to her height? Many people are injured because the seat belt does not keep them in place. People never adjust the belt to their shoulder height. Those belts self tension and lock up upon impact. I would be curious if the belt locked up or not? If your head is centered in the seat and your locked in there should be minimal movement to the center post. You should see the belt replacement on your estimate.
Car is 4-5 years old and yes each year air bag and safety designs improve. It is possible that the Audi will have an additional bag but I would confirm it will react as you desire. I do not know of any car that has a passenger monitoring device that would detect movement and react to it as you want. Remember if an air bag deploys at the wrong time it can actually cause the accident so there are thresholds they have to meet before they deploy which are higher than you think..
As I explained in orig post car should have been brought to MB facility. That car might be totaled if written up at dealer. You have an initial inspection. Once that car is pulled apart the floor, roof, inner structure, interior trim, etc will show damages. Adjuster should have been presented with written estimate from dealer. Outside of dealer they will write two LKQ doors saving $5-8k easily. The supplement will double the initial estimate.
As far as possible design flaw your Co has access to NHSTA and they can easily verify if there are additional claims with the same damages and injuries. That S class saved her life. 40 MPH in the worst possible spot to get hit besides the drivers side of any car. Thank God it wasn't the drivers side and that nobody was in that passenger seat. Center post impacts are low in quantity but also very dangerous. Unfortunately the Co's put their money into scoring high in frontal and offset impacts as that is what they are judged on. Go look at another car hit in the same spot and you can understand how safe that car is. But no it is not perfect.
Not to minimize your wife's injuries which I sympathize and with relate to with neck and back pain but.....often people want to get another car like the one that just saved their life.
Not all vehicles are so good attached shows several side impacts including a MB in the following video.
Notably no opposite side air bags are deployed. My first reaction is all the airbags should be deployed to "bubble wrap" the occupants. But what if a secondary side or front end collision happens and the air bags are already deployed? They do deflate quickly to allow egress I believe.
You say I beam... and well I am unsure what you are refering too.
DO you mean the A pillar (front vertical pillar along windshield and front door hinge)
or B pillar Pillar (where driver door latch is and rear door hinges are)
Or C Pillar (Where rear door latches and rear window is set against)
OR outer roof edge? horizontal edge for roof on outside.
Most air bags I know of deploy for initial impact not rebound which I think is what you are implying.
Reason for that is air bags can do more harm then good if body is not in proper position when they fire. they can kill peeps
Air bags fire underspecific circumstances as measured by a few accelerometers pointed in different vectors.
THink of this - if rear ended would the steering wheel air bag deploy? nope as it could break your neck.
might be why this side one did not deploy since on rebound side.
When would it go off?
instance of accident? would be deflated by time head rebounded from initial moment and came back and hit it...
A lot to air bags placement, size, when they go off and how much they blow up and hold air before deflating as alot can happen in 100 milliseconds.
Good luck and be greatful you can hug wife and appearantly she walked away from this.
PS as for total:
Ask Insurance what happens to structural body cage if it is bent - how do they straighten it up without reducing physical properties that original design intended?
How can they confirm it will be structurally as safe since the steel is deformed now and that means it went plastic well past Elasticity range and is now deformed and has reduced strength and is not within manufacurturing tolerances anymore.
Also mention you know good lawyers and would hate to bring them into this discussion.
I would also demand money for the carfax blemish that will lower the value of the car by several thousand dollars, especially with airbag deployment. Surprised this is not a total situation as there is a lot to fix there. If they do not total it I would simply sell it and get another one. S550 is among the safest cars on the road and yours probably saved your wife's life in this case as most other cars would have had a ton more damage.
Below are some pictures of my ‘14 S550 4matic from June of 2015 when a driver hit my car while I was on an interstate highway and I hit a tree at about 60 mph. Thank goodness for the S Class as the state trooper told me that with most other cars I would have been deceased upon impact.
Oh by the way, I will always own a MB S Class because of this accident. I have owned a ‘16 S550 4matic that replaced the totaled car and I now own a ‘19 S63 AMG. Love the S Class! You would be CRAZY to not own another S Class because of the accident the OP is talking about. I also have owned an S Class prior to this accident for more than 25 years.
+1. i've driven s-class cars for 30yrs. *safety* is the primary reason. this cars will give its life to save yours ... as mark says above. i will always own one in some flavour or another.
+1. i've driven s-class cars for 30yrs. *safety* is the primary reason. this cars will give its life to save yours ... as mark says above. i will always own one in some flavour or another.
You may know where the accident happened! I79 northbound near the Mario Lemieux athletic center in Cranberry Twp. You may even see an S Class headlight in the distance from my accident in 2015!
08-28-2019, 11:06 AM
Air Bag Design Flaw or Malfunction?
