More used vehicles turning up with missing airbags

Out of sight and out of mind could be a dangerous combination for thousands of local drivers who have no idea their air bags are missing.  

Many of the airbags have been stolen. Others were deployed in collisions and never replaced. And some of the cover-ups are so good, even reputable car dealers are fooled.

Airbag repair technician Doug Hansen says for years, it wasn't considered that big of a problem, but lately he's seeing more airbag units with no airbag.

"This is a Toyota airbag that we took out of a customer's car," Hansen said, picking up what looks like the complete air bag unit for a steering wheel compartment. "The mechanical inspection on the car didn't reveal anything because the airbag light on the dash worked properly. And then when we turn it around there's absolutely no air bag at all in the car." 

Vehicle history experts at CarFax report more than 75,000 airbags are stolen from cars every year. Many  cars get cleaned up and resold without the airbag being properly replaced.  Some of the fraud is impossible to spot, which is why many local car dealers, and other commercial customers bring their vehicles to Hansen's company, Airbag Service, for inspection. Lately, Hansen says hidden hazard is producing more individual consumers trying to avoid getting burned.

"We had a gentleman buy a car for his daughter going away to college. Bought it in a parking lot from somebody he met on Craigslist, and they brought it in and it was about a 28-hundred dollar repair bill to make  the car whole again, safety wise," Hanson said. "The system was a fraud. His good deal wasn't such a good deal anymore."

All of you who know me, know I'm a stickler about getting an independent inspection before you buy any used car- regardless of what the seller tells you. Now you can add an airbag check to your list.  In most situations, a free CarFax airbag report can tell you whether a vehicle has been in a crash, or if the airbag was deployed.   If it has, get a qualified technician to thoroughly inspect the airbags. Hansen says at his shop, the cost runs just over  $100 to inspect both the air bag and seat belt safety systems.