Consumer Complaint Detail
MERCEDES BENZ / 190E / 1991
1 Injured
0 Death
No Fire
| Components - Details | |
|---|---|
| NHTSA Complaint Number: 000046577 | Incident Date: Aug, 20 2000 |
| Consumer's City: HIXSON | Consumer's State: TN |
| Vehicle Transmission Type: | Manufacturers Name: Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC |
| Model Name: 190E | Model Year: 1991 |
| Vehicle Involved in a Crash: No | Component's Description: Air bags |
| Vehicle Involved in a Fire: No | Persons Injured: 1 |
| Vehicle's VIN#: WDBDA29DXMF | Date added to File: May, 16 2021 |
| Date Complaint Received: Aug, 22 2000 | Complaint Type: IVOQ |
| Incident Reported To Police: Yes | Purchase Date: Mar, 31 1996 |
| Was Original Owner: No | Anti-lock Brakes: Yes |
| Number of Cylinders: 0 | Date of Manufacturer: - |
| Was Vehicle Towed: - | Description of the Complaints: While transporting four children to school, i heard a long banging noise underneath the car. the car traveled about 6 feet and stopped. after the car stopped, the driverside airbag deployed causing severe brusing, abrasions, and burns to my left arm. clifford blakemore, service manager at long of chattanooga confirmed that the airbag could deploy under the conditions described and after the vehicle had stopped. he stated that the flexdisk which connects the drive shaft to the transmission probably came loose and resulted in the drive shaft hitting the transmission tunnel. this would have explained the loud, banging noise. i have since learned from another source that the control unit for the airbag resides on top of the transmission tunnel. my concern is that the airbag could have deployed while the car was in motion resulting in much more severe injuries or even fatalities. i question whether the airbag could acciddently be deployed by the car striking an object on the road or hitting a pothole and believe the design of the airbag control unit poses a serious threat. |