mcm95403

I'm wondering if there is an easy way to either gut or permanently disarm the steering wheel airbag. Anyone ever done this while keeping the original steering wheel?

Lee Cromwell

One question? WHY?

Lee Cromwell

But to answer your question, it would be super simple, I've changed my steering wheel but of course kept the airbag in place, but you could simply pull the airbag and un-plug it, you'll get an 'airbag' light displayed but it will be disabled... Think there's a way to eliminate the light,,, but there might be a day that you'll regret it Not being there for you, god forbid that ever happened though .. your car!

PDsVettes

You might want to look at the legality since they are federally mandated. Would insurance cover any personal injuries if you knowingly eliminated the airbag? If someone else was driving your car and were injured or killed in a wreck, would you be held responsible criminally or civilly?

mcm95403

Because I've seen too many horror stories about airbags injuring people. They're not designed for unusual things like deploying during a turn where they can break your arms and slam your arms into your face because you have your arms crossed in an avoidance attempt to steer around what you impact. They can easily blow the lenses out of your glasses and cause serious eye injury and even destroy an eye ball. Search "degloving" to see what can happen if you happen to be holding at 10-2 or 11-1.

Yes, I get the whole safety thing, but I'm not so sure that avoidance isn't safer than an airbag in the wheel.

Kenny94945

Um.. I could say I have never been a fan of airbags....
helmets and harnesses, and for the bedroom too. LOL

As for the OP question, there are still the seat airbags.
Depending on how you want to approach it:
Leave all the bags and disable the system.
Remove all the bags.

Removing the dash gauge cluster is comparatively easy for access to the AB warning light bulb (or to tape over it).
I could also say disabling may be truly involved, you'll need a factory service manual and some good study time.
As one example, if I understand the system, the passenger AB does not "explode", unless the pass. seat sensor detects weight in the pass. seat.
I believe the AB deployment "brain" is under the radio, requiring center console removal to access.

Another good point brought up is liability.... insurance denials for purposely disabling the system, resale court liability, and lastly, resale value.

What a project....good luck.
Let us all know what you find.

wjnjr

Air bag delete kit disables the steering wheel airbag with no airbag light or OBD code. Use at your own risk.

https://getnrg.com/products/srk-res

mcm95403

I'm far less worried about the seat and a-pillar airbags, the steering wheel one is my main concern.

C6_Prodigy

Airbags hurting people is a thing of the early airbag systems. It may happen on rare occasion today but it's not what you should be worried about. Modern airbag systems, like we thankfully have in the C6, deploy based where the seat position sensor is. If it senses you are adjusted all the way forward, it will deploy with less force than if your seat was all the way back. There are many factors that play into how the bags deploy.

Airbags save lives, plain and simple. Being afraid of them causing more harm than good is like not wearing your seatbelt because uncle Johnny was ejected from his pickup in the 80s and it saved his life... Statistically seatbelts save way more lives than the alternative and the same is true for airbags.

If you aren't going to run an airbag then I hope you are installing a cage, 5 point harness, and wearing a helmet with a HANS device all the time. Otherwise you are just going backward in safety and your family will miss you if you get into a serious accident. Please don't remove your airbag.