Your airbag is one of the most important safety features on your car and works together with the seat belt to make sure that injuries are minimal during a car crash.
That said, one of the things you need to look at whenever you are driving is the airbag or supplemental restraint system (SRS) light on your dashboard because this is quite important when it comes to the condition of your airbag.
So, will your airbag deploy if the airbag light is on?
Airbag deployed if the airbag SRS light is on?
It is unlikely that the airbag will still deploy if the airbag light is on. The reason is that the airbag light will turn on to indicate that there is a problem with your airbag or SRS. As such, in the unfortunate event of a crash, it is quite possible that your airbag will not deploy as long as the light is on.
There are plenty of important indicators on your dashboard, and the airbag light is one of them.
That means that you have to make sure that you watch out for this light because who knows what can happen while you are on the road.
Even if you have never been in a crash before, it can still happen. And you would need the help of your airbag to decrease the chances of major injuries.
Related:
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What happens when the airbag light comes on?
It is no secret that there are plenty of safety features in your car, and each of these safety features works together with one another to make sure that any chances of fatalities or serious injuries are minimized if you end up in a car crash.
Of course, one of the most important safety features of a car is the airbag.
The airbags are very important in the entire safety features of your car, as it forms part of the Secondary / Supplementary Restraint System or SRS.
It can never be overstated how important airbags are, as they are capable of decreasing driver fatalities by 29% in serious car crashes.
Because of how important airbags are, drivers are told to make sure that they keep an eye on their dashboard because we have something called the airbag / SRS light, which turns on when there is something wrong in relation to the airbag or the SRS.
But what exactly happens when the airbag light comes on?
1. There might be something wrong with the airbags
The first reason why the airbag light will come on is due to the possibility that there is something wrong with the airbags.
While it could also mean that some parts of the SRS are not working properly, there is still a chance that the airbags themselves are defective.
So, when this light comes on, it goes without saying that the car was able to detect something wrong in the system, such as when you may have faulty airbags.
2. The seatbelts could be the problem
Remember that the SRS does not only involve the airbags but the seatbelts as well.
The seat belts are there to restrain you and to make sure that you are kept safe during a crash by locking up when the car’s crash sensors detect a strong collision.
So, if the airbag or the SRS light is on, the problem may be in relation to your seatbelts and not necessarily your airbags, but you can still end up getting injured if the seatbelts don’t lock up during a crash, even if the airbags are working.
3. Your crash sensors could be the problem
It isn’t uncommon for the airbag light to come on even if the airbags and seatbelts are working properly.
The reason could be related to the crash sensors on your vehicle. Remember that the crash sensors are responsible for sending a signal to the SRS to deploy the airbags and lock the seatbelts when it detects a strong enough collision.
But if one of the crash sensors isn’t working, the airbag light turns on to indicate that there is something wrong with the SRS.
4. There might be wiring issues
Of course, the SRS works on an electrical circuit because of the very fact that this system is powered by electricity.
So, if the airbag light turns on, it might mean that there is something wrong with the wiring or electrical system related to your airbags or SRS.
This can happen if a fuse blows off or if the SRS computer itself is faulty.
Will my airbag deploy if the light is on?
Now that you know some of the reasons why your airbag light is on and what the light means, you might be wondering if your airbag will still deploy if the light is on.
Unfortunately, it is unlikely that the airbag will still work when the light is turned on.
And that’s because most of the reasons why the airbag light is on are related to the airbag and what allows it to deploy.
If the reason why the airbag light is on is due to the airbag itself, such as when the airbag is faulty, then it stands to reason that the airbag won’t deploy in the event of a crash.
You would have to have a mechanic check the car to determine what’s wrong with the airbags.
Meanwhile, if the airbag light is on due to a problem with the car’s sensors, then the airbag won’t deploy.
Remember that the sensors are very important because they send out the signal to the rest of the SRS so that the safety systems will deploy.
So, if the sensors are not working, your airbag and even your seatbelt pre-tensioner won’t deploy even if they are in working condition.
Then there is also the fact that the wiring issues in your car may make it impossible for the airbag to work.
Wiring issues can cause the airbag light to come on, and that means that these wiring issues may be serious enough to prevent the airbag from deploying in the event of a crash.
Probably the only instance that the airbag will still deploy even if the airbag light is on is if the issue is in relation to the seatbelts.
However, this isn’t a guarantee that the airbag will work because there are some airbags that won’t deploy whenever there is a problem with the car’s seatbelts.
Then again, if your airbags work independently from the seatbelts, they may still deploy if the reason why the airbag light is turned on is due entirely to a faulty seatbelt.
All that said, the conclusion we can come up with is that it still is unlikely that the airbag will deploy if the airbag light is on.
It could still be possible for the airbag to deploy, but the chances are quite slim.
Is it still safe to drive with the airbag light on?
So, given that you already know why the airbag light is on and that it is unlikely that your airbags will still work whenever the light is on, is it safe for you to be driving whenever the airbag light is on?
In any case, it isn’t safe for you to drive with the airbag light on.
The reason is that there are plenty of reasons why this light is on, and all of those reasons are connected to the SRS and not only to the airbags.
While it might be true that the airbags are important when it comes to minimizing serious injuries, the seatbelt pre-tensioner is just as important or even more important.
So, you don’t want to risk your airbags and your seatbelt pre-tensioner not working in the event of a crash.
Of course, you should know that there is nothing in the law that will prevent you from driving your car when the airbag light is on.
There is no criminal liability on your part if you do get caught driving a car while the airbag light is on because there are no local or state laws that will get you in trouble.
But, of course, just because there is no law against driving with the airbag lights on, it doesn’t mean that there are no laws regarding these lights and state inspection.
You will most likely get into trouble when it comes to passing a state inspection when the airbag lights are on, as many states will fail vehicles in safety tests when the light is on.
So, given what we had just said, it still is better to avoid driving a car when the airbag light is on because of the fact that you can get hurt or even find yourself in a fatal situation if you get into an unfortunate accident.
And even if you don’t get into an accident, there is a very small chance that your car will pass a safety test if your car’s airbag light is on.
All that said, have your car checked immediately if the airbag light is on so that the issue can be resolved as soon as possible.
Be cautious when driving your car before having any repairs done on it because accidents can always happen at any given moment.
And without your airbag or even your seatbelts to protect you, you might get seriously hurt.
