If you’re in an accident where your airbags deploy, you might think it’s curtains for your car. That may not necessarily be the case. Here’s what we know.
One of the worst moments in a driver’s life is when a car accident occurs. That can be made even worse if the airbags have been deployed or your car has potentially been totaled. However, while the deployment of a vehicle’s airbags is seen as a reaction to something potentially horrible, it doesn’t always mean that a vehicle is totaled.
Airbags will deploy during a moderate to severe auto accident, although it will depend on how sensitive the airbag sensors have been set at. Your vehicle will likely deploy airbags when the sensors detect a crash equivalent to hitting a wall at 10 mph. There are also side airbags that deploy faster than front seat airbags, and the side airbags can deploy during a forward collision.
Just because the airbags of a vehicle have deployed during an accident does not necessarily mean that a car is totaled. Generally, a car is only considered totaled if the price to repair the issues caused by the accident is more than the current value of the car, or a certain percentage — it can vary depending on your insurance provider. If you only got into a minor fender bender but the airbags deployed, the likelihood of the vehicle being totaled is low.
