Your Car Airbags deployed

Your car’s airbags deployed: Is your car a total loss?

Have you ever gotten into an accident where your car’s airbags deployed? If so, you’re probably already wondering if your car is going to be declared a total loss by the car insurance company. But does the airbags deploying mean your car is totaled (i.e. a total loss)? Not necessarily, and our Orlando Toyota Collision Center experts are here to explain why.

Will your vehicle be totaled if your car’s airbags deploy?

First, let’s talk about what a total loss is. Basically, it’s when your car insurance company determines that the damage and cost of subsequent repairs needed for your car after an accident are more than what the car is worth. There’s also a state threshold that varies from state to state – in Florida, it’s 80%. So if the repair costs for your car exceed 80% of its value, it’s deemed a total loss.

In a total loss scenario, the insurance company decides it’s more practical to just cut you a check to use toward a new car rather than pay to fix your existing car. But is your car automatically totaled if your airbags deploy?

Not always. It’s a pretty common misconception among drivers that if your car’s airbags deploy, it’s going to be considered a total loss by the insurance company. It’s not that simple, though – here’s what our Orlando auto body repair techs have to say about it.

• The reason this misconception exists is that usually when cars are in a bad enough accident to deploy the airbags, there’s a lot of other significant damage to the vehicle.
• It all comes down to cost and the value of your vehicle. If your vehicle has deployed airbags and a lot of damage, the overall cost of repairs to get it back on the road may exceed that total loss threshold that we talked about earlier, meaning it’s deemed totaled.
• If your car is getting up there in age, deployed airbags may make it a total loss simply because the car’s old age means it’s not worth much. The cost of replacing the airbags could exceed the total loss threshold simply because the car doesn’t have a lot of resale value left.
• If you get hit by another vehicle and they’re at fault, their insurance has to pay for the airbag replacement. The total loss rules still apply in this scenario.
• Once your car’s airbags have deployed, they cannot be used again. They have to be completely removed and replaced with new airbags, which is a costly and labor-intensive process. If you try to reinstall the old, deployed airbags, you can be fined by the state, denied coverage by insurance, and even sued by future owners of the vehicle. And if you don’t replace them at all, your risk of a fatal accident goes up by 30% immediately. (Not a good outlook in general.)

Call Toyota of Orlando’s Collision Center for help after an accident

Need help after a car accident? Toyota of Orlando has got your back. Call us today at (407) 298-0001 or stop by. We’re conveniently located just off I-4 near the Millenia Mall at 3575 Vineland Road!