abrowne

Okay after two years of having fuse 46 in the glovebox, I get a letter from Ford that they will let me use a rent car on their dime while they figure out who to buy a new passenger side airbag from. Enough is enough, I swapped of the 2010 fusion sport with 94000 miles on it for a brand new 2018 fusion sport with the 2.7 eco boost. Faster and approximately the same fuel mileage. And after checking all the internet sites I found a pearl white one for the same price I paid for the 2010. Since Takata is dead as a doornail the problem should be solved.

Hey Komondor, Then I would have to buy a fuse when the passenger side airbag gets replaced!

Hey, I already did it and nobody has come up with a good enough reason for me to change my mind. Thanks for the input.

What I read was 100 takata airbags from junkyards that were from recalled vehicles and they were deployed and 10 deployed shrapnel. Your two points of "if it was really 1 in 10 ......" and "way more reported deaths." are both assumptions that I am not comfortable with. Since this has just come to light the numbers are probably going to increase by several factors as time goes on. While airbags have evolved to provide more "protection" it remains that they are a supplement to seatbelts and since I am not interested in playing Takata roulette i will leave the fuse in the glovebox and trust my seatbelt. Toyota is disabling airbags so my reasoning is at least reasonable.

Hey monochrome11 Liability is an issue. Shops will not disable because of this. That is why I did it myself. If i leave the fuse in and the airbag kills my wife, will Takata reimburse the insurance company for the death benefit or will the insurance company say it is Takata's fault? With the fuse out at least the passenger avoided a 1 in 10 chance of shrapnel. I understand that airbags were originally designed to protect the unbelted. What additional benefits do you get when and if the airbag deploys when you are belted? I have not seen sufficient scientific research that justifies a benefit that out ways a 1 in 10 chance of shrapnel. How is Toyota justifying disabling airbags? I can make a better case for disabling the airbag, than having a undefined benefit and a one in ten chance of shrapnel by leaving it in. The point is that I or my passenger will be alive to have that discussion. Thank you for your input.

Hey komondor, So we just start noticing the problem in areas of high humidity after so many years and the odds it will happen to you are going to stay the same? The odds of shrapnel happening are going to get a whole lot worse as the ammonium nitrate ages. Since I am so lucky at winning the lottery my luck would be that i would see shrapnel in a front end collision. Texans have a special relationship with ammonium nitrate (see West and Texas City) and I for one don't trust ammonium nitrate any further that i could throw Tim McVea. The point remains that airbags are Supplemental Restraint Systems and the primary systems remains seatbelts. I will trust my seatbelts and number 46 fuse will stay in the glovebox, thank you very much.

I got the 10 out of 100 from a study where the authors acquired 100 takata airbags out of junkyards and deployed all of them. Ten deployed shrapnel. While 10 percent doesn't sound that bad thats only if you are not one of the ten. While the point about 5 point seatbelts, hans devices and the other race equipment is perhaps valid I also do not travel in excess of 85 mph while most race vehicles do. It remains a fact that racecars do not have airbags. It is also true that the principle safety device is the seatbelts and the airbag was originally designed for unbelted dingbats. There may be advantages to airbags plus seatbelts but I am willing to trust the seatbelts rather than a potential handgrenade on the passenger side. It seems silly to me to say to just sit in the back seat as a good idea (some manufacturers have said this) to avoid injury when we are talking steel shrapnel traveling at a high rate of speed. if the shrapnel is traveling fast enough to kill somebody in the front seat, and nobody is sitting in the front the person in the back is next in line. By removing the fuse and therefore knowing that your car can not kill your passenger until the parts are available to correctly fix the problem, seems to be a good trade off.

I have a 2010 fusion sport and have been really happy with it. I recently got the letter from Ford that says the passenger side airbag is being recalled but no parts are available. I have read that out of 100 airbags deployed that 10 of them did the shrapnel trick. So i got out the fusion owners manual and pulled underdash fuse 46 with is the 7.5 amp fuse powering the occupant sensor and the passenger airbag warning light. I now have an airbag light on which is fine with me if the airbags do not deploy. While NHSTA says dont disconnect because "airbags can save lives" it is my observation that race cars have seatbelts and no airbags. It will be interesting to see how long it takes to get the parts.