Help - had a tyre blow and the airbags deployed

[louise_a]

Louise, what actually happened & what car is it?

Its a Vauxhall Astra 5 and a half years old, I was just coming off the M57 onto the M62, when all of a sudden there was a bang and smoke, I thought the engine had blown at first. pulled off onto the hard shoulder, and sasw the airbags were down and when I checked, the offside rear tyre was flat.

 

[Blue in Munich]

Crikey sounds like its a 3rd party fire & theft policy that , i dealt a good bit with insurance claims / warranty claims over the years and the small print is a killer .

No, it's a standard comprehensive policy, here's Aviva's;

Exclusions to Section 1
We will not pay for:
(1) loss of use, wear and tear, deterioration, depreciation, or any loss or damage which happens gradually.
(2) mechanical, electrical or electronic failure, breakdown or breakage.
(3) computer and equipment failure or malfunction.
(4) loss or damage arising from theft while:
(a) the ignition keys of your vehicle have been left in or on your vehicle.
(b) your vehicle has been left unattended with the engine running.
(5) damage to tyres by braking or by punctures, cuts or bursts.
(6) loss or damage directly occasioned by pressure waves caused by aircraft or other aerial devices
travelling at sonic or supersonic speed.
(7) loss of value following repair.
(8) loss or damage arising from confiscation or requisition or destruction by or under order of any
Government or Public or Local Authority.
(9) loss or damage caused directly or indirectly by fire if your vehicle is equipped for the cooking or
heating of food or drink.

 

[Blue in Munich]

looking at the list of things not insured the one relating to the tyres states damage to the tyres NOT the tyre bursting has caused other damage,a good solicitor would run a horse and cart through that .

In order to do that you would need to prove that the tyre blowout caused the airbag deployment but as we haven't your horse & cart isn't going very far. The insurer might also point out the exclusion above relating to electrical failure.

 

[louise_a]

It seems so wrong that I may have to write off a car worth around £4000 through no fault of my own!

 

[Blue in Munich]

Its a Vauxhall Astra 5 and a half years old, I was just coming off the M57 onto the M62, when all of a sudden there was a bang and smoke, I thought the engine had blown at first. pulled off onto the hard shoulder, and sasw the airbags were down and when I checked, the offside rear tyre was flat.

Can't find a related recall on the VOSA site or anything suggesting similar issues on Vauxhall owner sites so it wouldn't appear to be a known issue. From your description hard to know if the bang was the airbags deploying or the tyre going. Only suggestion would be to get it to a dealer, get the underside looked at and see if there is any other damage that might explain what has happened and potentially substantiate an accident claim depending on what your policy says. Not a great deal of help, sorry.

 

[Mark_G]

I agree, the airbags should not have deployed in the situation you describe. The fact only the side bags activated points to one of the side sensors activating. Given the tyre was flat a possible reason was the tyre was the result of something hitting the car near the sill or floor, and then puncturing the tyre. An impact under the car would not be distinguishable from the airbags firing as they are both loud and would be so close together. The impact sensors would be positioned on the b pillars, so these need to be inspected to see if they are fitted correctly and wiring is clean and secure. It might be worth contacting the AA if you are a member or contact the Vauxhall Owners Forum to see if they have heard of issues. Manufacturers take airbag issues very seriously and the one I used to be connected to used to inspect all airbag detonations/non detonations that could not be explained logically.
The vehicle needs a thorough inspection of the body, the tyre and the airbag system. If you can prove the impact was the trigger the you should be covered.

 

[louise_a]

I have phoned Vauxhall this morning, they have taken all the details and am now waiting for them to get back to me.

 

[Deleted member 17920]

I have phoned Vauxhall this morning, they have taken all the details and am now waiting for them to get back to me.

Was that the dealer or Vauxhall customer services? Don't expect much from the dealer but Vauxhall customer services may make a contribution to the repair.

 

[hovis]

I've seen this quite alot. The tyre blows or you go over a speed bump too fast and the ecu gets jolted and thinks its being rolled and deploys airbags. Renualts are bad for this

 

[6inchcup]

VAUXHALL !!!! CUSTOMER SERVICE!!!!!!!!!! i have never owned one till i bought an insignia cdi last year,has all the toys but kept having a problem with the aircon,coming on in DECEMBER isnt ideal and refused to turn off,4 visits to the garage and it still didnt work,the mechanic bloke told me they could disconnect it if i wanted,got a letter yesterday to tell me they were recalling some insignia cars because of a problem with the aircon,phoned the garage to book it in only to be told they knew about this problem last year !!!!

 

[louise_a]

Just an update on this, finally it seems the Insurance company are going to cover this, however they say that its not worth the cost of repairing and have offered me nearly £1000 under the book retail price

 

[MegaSteve]

Just an update on this, finally it seems the Insurance company are going to cover this, however they say that its not worth the cost of repairing and have offered me nearly £1000 under the book retail price

Not the best of outcomes but better than a total loss... Had similar when my old Cortina flambe'd itself... Got about two thirds of its then market value... Just enough not to make it really worthwhile to put up a fight to get full value which is more or less what they have done in this case.... Insureres really don't keep their side of the 'deal'...

 

[North Mimms]

Just an update on this, finally it seems the Insurance company are going to cover this, however they say that its not worth the cost of repairing and have offered me nearly £1000 under the book retail price

not quite the result you were hoping for.

I never realised air bags going off was such a big thing

 

[triple_bogey]

Reject the offer and go on to sites like Autotrader and find similar cars of age/mileage/color etc....and email them back with the proof.

 

[ColchesterFC]

Reject the offer and go on to sites like Autotrader and find similar cars of age/mileage/color etc....and email them back with the proof.

That's exactly what I had to do when I wrote off my other half's car. The insurance company phoned and offered £1800 as that was what they said the average was for similar cars and that the maximum price they'd found within 150 miles of my address was £2200. Fortunately I was at home with my laptop on and logged onto Auto Trader while they were still on the phone. Immediately found a car the same age and mileage for £3400 and several others for £3200 all within 100 miles. I said I wanted to speak to a manager and asked whether it was company policy to lie to clients or whether the guy I spoke to had done it off his own back. The manager really didn't know what to say and I ended up getting £3100. Once the check had cleared I phoned up and cancelled my insurance policy with them and made sure to tell them that it was because their staff lied to customers.

 

[stevelev]

That's exactly what I had to do when I wrote off my other half's car. The insurance company phoned and offered £1800 as that was what they said the average was for similar cars and that the maximum price they'd found within 150 miles of my address was £2200. Fortunately I was at home with my laptop on and logged onto Auto Trader while they were still on the phone. Immediately found a car the same age and mileage for £3400 and several others for £3200 all within 100 miles. I said I wanted to speak to a manager and asked whether it was company policy to lie to clients or whether the guy I spoke to had done it off his own back. The manager really didn't know what to say and I ended up getting £3100. Once the check had cleared I phoned up and cancelled my insurance policy with them and made sure to tell them that it was because their staff lied to customers.

Always let them know that you are also recording the call at your end as they tend to be much more open to discussion then, I would research the cost of replacement with the same spec from as dealer, most dealers would be glad to offer you for a small admin fee a price your car would retail at if they were to sell it today. Then when you approach the insurer you have everything to hand, if possible have it saved on your pc so you can email it to them as your on the phone. They soon change their tune when you have done some background.

Not many people challenge insurers that's why they offer low, if they offered full whack every time imagine the dent on profits.

Good luck