aftermarket steering wheel and airbag removal?

[2000impreza]

i'm looking into getting a aftermarket steering wheel with no airbag. would it be illegal to remove the airbag since the stock steering wheel has a built in airbag? someone told me its legal but if i get into a accident its my own fault... i plan to get a momo hub so the passenger airbag still works.

[ME_VS_YOU]

im pretty sureits illegal...iknow it is for sure in the states but im not sure about canada......

[tulit]

Roland,
I talked to Alberta govt about this last year, and from what they told me, I was able to get this. Also Try emailing them/calling them yourself and tell them what your up to. They are usually pretty helpful.

I don't beleive its directly illegal. More of a grey area. You need to do the work yourself though. No shop will touch this. You normally need special permission and papers to get airbags fully legally removed (like your too short).

If you remove your driver side airbag, your passenger airbag will ALSO be disabled. It triggers the SRS light, and according to subaru service manual, whenever the SRS light is lit the complete SRS is disabled. I think this is a requirement to prevent accidiental detonation when the SRS is broken.

If you do get in an accidient, your insurance is based on assumption you have working airbags. I dont know what this means, but they may be able to refuse to pay out or only pay out a certain amount.

In short, its probably not worth it to look cool. Good idea for a track only car maybe, but a bad idea for a street car?

[HOK]

your also gonna have a stinking CEL don't do it... but if you plan on rally crossing and track days all the time... DO IT@!! feel like an idiot going around a corner as fast as you can and BEEP.... BEEP...

[2000impreza]

i've been asking around today. from what i gather its legal to remove the airbag but don't know how insurance will take this.

also the airbag light will come on but i've been told there are different sensors for each airbag. even with the light on the passenger side airbag will still come out.

i will also lose the horn and criuse control.....

[Superesc]

I think it also depends on different cars (as of the airbag deployment issue). You can also rewire the Horn / Cruise control if you need it. Somebody on the 403h forum has done a few. Might want to ask him too.

http://www.403honda.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=856

[Davan]

I talked to my insurance company about this last year.

Removing an airbag from a car that was equipt with one from the factory is illegal. It is considered removal of a safety device. But that's not the bad part.

They said if you were in an accident, they can void your policy on the spot, because you removed a safety device from the car.

Not worth it, in my opinion. Too many risks.

[Superesc]

Would this also depends on which Insurance company??

[2000impreza]

tulit if your reading this. do you still have the e-mail you gave me a few months back? i remember you gave it to me but lost it:(

i was talking to one of the guys at autozeal. he siad 95 and up cars, you might crap about it from the cops.

also told me a story of a guy with a prelude getting in crap with a aftermarket steering wheel in edmonton. had to put the stock one back on and get his car inspected or something like that....

[tulit]

Roland, I probably dont, sorry :( I bought a new computer here, so all my emails back home I dont have anymore. Search on google though, it didn't take me long to find, or go down to CAA, im sure theyll know.

About the airbag deployment, I guarantee you it will disable both (at least on 2000 Impreza). Even if you read the user manual that came with the car it says whenever the SRS light is lit the whole system is disabled.

I dont know if youll get in trouble with the cops. I think the big question mark is getting in trouble with the insurance company.

[Zephyr]

in the states its legal to take out the air bag and change to aftermarket steering wheel, but its just dumb....i saw this one race which a civic ended up hitting a spectator car, and the driver hit his head on his steering wheel getting hurt prettty bad......if he didn't replace the steering wheel, the air bag would of prevented his injuries....

[Superesc]

what if he had a racing seat with 4 pt harness???

[Zephyr]

Originally posted by Superesc
what if he had a racing seat with 4 pt harness???


id guess that can prevent it, but not a lot of people have racing seats with those kinds of harnesses. here in the states of u take the air bags off i heard the insurance goes up as well...

[Superesc]

hmm so basically, if you take out your airbag, its better u have aftermarket seats and harness :D






I love convicing myself to buy things hahahahaha :rofl:

[Zephyr]

Originally posted by szw


Then he'd be safe, unless he rolled the car and survived, in which case he'd probably be crushed to death!

i was following a civic from behind on the freeway, and it blew a tire and flipped over, i almost ran right into it...man it was crushed on the roof...we were going like 80 mph...

[ManHunter]

You can only disable the airbag for safety reasons. If you are too short, or too fat, or for some other reasons you are too close to the steering wheel while driving you can have the airbag disabled because in the event of an accident the airbag might kill you.

If you disable the airbag with no good reason and get into an accident, your insurance company might decide not to pay, and the cops might decide to give you a ticket just has if you were not wearing your seatbelt.

Funny thing is that a recent study of high speed accidents showed that the survial rate is 65% with the seatbelts and 68% with seatbelts and airbag... Seems like the airbag is a marginal improvement.

MH

[2000impreza]

to think about it..... i do have very bad chest and back problems. i had to go through physical therapy for months.... so if anything was to happen i can get a doctors note no problem.

can't go for the thing about being too short. i'm 5'10". maybe a bit taller. haha.

[ManHunter]

I forgot to mention that on all cars equipped with airbags, the seat belts are designed to work in conjunction with the airbag. Instead of keeping you tight in your seat, those seat belts will let you slowly hit the airbag. So, if the airbag is removed, the seat belts will not provide adequate protection by themselves and usually needs to be replaced.

MH

[Big_Six_Boy]

Well, I came across this same dilemma about a month ago. I HATED the factory 4-spoke steering wheel w/ Airbag. I went and bought a 3-spoke OEM BMW steering without the airbag. Installing it wasn't so bad. You have to remove the airbag FUSE or else the airbag will deploy on removal. Also, when you remove the fuse, BOTH airbags are now disabled. (!!!) Really sucks, in my opinion, cause I want my passengers to have their airbag working!
In terms of legality, I'm not too sure. I spoke with the dudes at BMW Calgary, and they didn't mention a thing. I'm sure alot of people do it.
...but since someone brought up the Insurance Company, now I'm a bit worried. Yikes! :eek:

[2000impreza]

finally someone thats done this!!! if i do this i'll probably unplug the battery altogether... don't want any chance of the airbag blowing in my face.

manhunter i'm pretty sure the seatbelts has not changed at all since the impreza came out back in 93. same part numbers still.

still debating about the steering wheel......:confused:

its not the fact i hate how the stock steering wheel looks its just its so big.

[Ferio_vti]

Originally posted by 2000impreza
finally someone thats done this!!! if i do this i'll probably unplug the battery altogether... don't want any chance of the airbag blowing in my face.



No, there's still a possibly of the airbag going off. Even if the airbag is safely disconnected and removed from your car, you always have to be careful handling it. Remember to point the cover side away from yourself and place it somewhere where it won't be touched or set off.

I took out my airbag to swap the wheel for a Prelude leather wheel and everywhere I looked for info, it was always clearly stated that the bag can go off even when its disconnected. Very sensitive piece of equipment.

[dsolgirl]

after reading all the posts regarding the concerns about taking out your airbag and stock wheel for an aftermarket steering wheel, i decided to look into it since i took mine out over a year ago...
my insurance company (state farm) said that they have no problems with this (you may want to call your own insurance agent to be sure). they told me to call the registry to see if they have any concerns. so i did and they said that they also have no objections. this could vary from province to province but as for alberta, its all good.
you may want to take a look at your personal situation though - for example, i'm a little filipino, so firstly i am pretty close to the wheel, and secondly, i can hardly see over the stock wheel - so i find the aftermarket better for me.
of course, there are negatives and positives involved. but in terms of legality, looks all clear!

[Superesc]

I think it depends on Which Insurance agency.

[2000impreza]

i just called royal sun & alliance and they siad they don't know.....

they siad it probably alters the safety level of the vehicle but they couldn't give me a straight answer of yes or no...

EDIT: also asked if it could void my insurancy policy they siad probably not but they didn't know for sure.

i'm switching insurance companies next year..... royal sun & alliance is charging me a ass raping...

[VTECMAN99]

Hmmm, now i'm freaked out too. I got mine in last year, but didnt ask the insurance company about it. I should give TD a call.

[Fuji]

The airbag was only designed to save people who didn't wear their seatbelts. I asked one my friend with the airbag removal and it depends on which insurance co you go with. Some may yank your policy.

[2000impreza]

called a few other insurance places.... non of them could give me a straight answer.. maybe this.. maybe that.. however i did ask about other modifications.

bumper rebar. if they can prove the stock rebar could have done less damage they could refuse to pay out.

increased powerlevel. if anything was to happen they can pull my policy right on the spot.

airbag. if i have any of the above 2 done the airbag should be the least of my worries. yes they actually siad that.

something to think about :confused: