Is a 15+ year old airbag really going to work when needed?

Considering all that fails on our 2nd gens (even little things like I just had to sandpaper the contacts on my dome light to make it work again) is that 15 year old airbag really going to work and all the sensors/electronics that fire it?

Has anyone ever done a study on this, maybe on some cars in the junkyard or on their way there?

As long as the airbag itself hasn't gotten wet inside and the airbag light stays off during driving it will work. If there were a problem with the airbag system the light on the dash would stay on.

should take it to a dealership to test airbags on 10 year intervals according to Ford, not sure what they do though... Maybe they check the dash light?

fyi I was going down a hill in a 93lx and locked up the brakes on a sheet of ice. hit the car and the bottom of the hill doing ~40kmph.

the impact was so hard that both the side mirrors went flying off the car into the intersection, the rear seats flung open, everything from my trunk hit the back of my head and the windshield.

no airbag ever deployed and no light came on. car just stalled.

All cars with airbags are listed as such on the door label (also Ford likes to show it off, I think they label the dash SRS ?)

I thought the 96 was the first escort year to have airbags, my steering wheel definitely is much fatter than the 92 wagon.

Also, for airbags to deploy it has to be an impact to the front, the sensors are near the radiator?

I think I read somewhere that modern airbags are much better than the ones from the 80's and 90's and can vary how fast they inflate and are less likely to injure the person they are meant to protect.

In the 80's you could be killed by the airbag meant to protect you, on the very few cars that had them.

Ford I'm sure can test the airbag systems...but most diag tests are around 89.95 or above

I believe this is correct. My 99 Escort is listed with "second generation" airbags on the price sticker as standard equipment (for some reason, the original owner kept it). I know on some other Ford models, they actually had stickers on the side windows that said "second generation airbags".

1st post in 2 years. Lurking much?

Just wear your seat belt and don't worry about it if the air bad doesn't deploy. You really don't need them if you are wearing your seat belt.

Not that our Escorts have Takata airbags of course, but with all the recent news of airbag issues, this is an interesting topic.

Someone please refresh me -- where is the airbag warning light on our dash? In a 2'nd Gen Escort LX wagon, would it be the amber light at the far right bottom of the panel?

Reason I ask, whenever our Escort has sat outside in the rain overnight, that little light will come on with a peculiar pattern: 3 blinks, pause, then 3 blinks. Then a longer pause, then it repeats. If that's the airbag warning light, I'm wondering if it's indicating some issue with the impact sensors down in front.

We inherrited our Escort with cracked bumpers front and rear (courtesy of the dingbat sister-in-laws that bashed and trashed this poor car before it dropped a valve seat). The crash sensors are located in a position vulnerable to contamination and corrosion. Wondering if there's something I should check.

I'm going out in a blaze of glory with my wagon. No airbag will save me.

Code 33 means there's a problem with the passenger side airbag: click this for more info:

http://www.ehow.com/list_7652177_airbag-light-codes-fords.html

i want to remove the airbags from my scorts. our 3rd gen has 2 and our 2nd gen has 1, is there any problems with the engine functioning thru computer by removing them? i like my kids to ride up front. so might just remove passanger side one from 3rdgen