Question Rear-side impact airbags? Yay or nay?

Well, we just bought the safety (and sporty) car of my dreams-a 2009 Jetta TDI sedan (I WILL get that wagen in the future!!!). We specifically wanted rear-side impact airbags, ordered precisely the car we wanted at an unbelievable price, and then this other dealer calls to tell me that I shouldn't have airbags in the back with children!!!!!! He then proceeded to quote me some information from about 3 years ago, and sent me info about those airbags that opened from the front seats toward the back and the ones that protrude into the seating/cabin area.

Okay, just so we're clear, these are the side airbags (NOT curtain) that, when deployed, don't protrude into the cabin area at all. They deploy forward and create a cushion of air between the passenger and whatever side impact just happened. I was explained this by the dealer who sold me the car (and who I trust very much) and that they were specifically designed to be compatible with child carseats (which my child will be in until she's 80-100lbs).

I just came here to get a little assurance and more opinions from the parents who know more about car seats than anyone else!!!

Thanks for any input you can give me!

Your vehicle manual will tell you if it is safe to use carseats in the backseat with your airbags so read that before anything else.

Side *curtain* airbags are safe to use with children in carseats and boosters. Side *impact* airbags often times are not and your manual will specify what you need to do in order to use carseats in the back seat. My old BMW 540 had side impact airbags in the door that came out from the door to cushion the torsos of rear passengers. It stated very clearly in my manual NOT to use carseats in the rear until you had these airbags de-activated, at no charge, by a BMW dealer.

side airbags were supposed to be a problem for older children out of carseats. Mainly, they were worried about kids who fell asleep and slumped over on the side. In a side impact crash - POOF! Airbag blows up against the kid's head. Similar to why they tell you not to put infants in the front seat (or why they have dual stage front airbags now for smaller drivers).

I also had a BMW where the manual warned against kids in the back with side airbags. I specifically ordered the car without side airbags cuz I knew I was gonna have a kid during the lifetime of the car. Course, it turned out I couldn't fit the infant seat back there and the trunk was too small to be practical so I had to sell it, but that's another story.

An another point of information. I would never take a dealer's word as truth regarding the safety of your children. You should always double check, which I see that you are

Some of the things I've been told by dealers is so wrong it's scary.

Heh, nearly everything I've ever heard from a dealer is wrong. This is even for basic stuff that's listed on the window sticker. I've had a few correct me until we reach the car and they read it off the sticker.

But it's no big deal if I'm lied to about the price or horsepower or some feature. Won't kill anyone. Safety is a totally different issue.

According to the test report at www.safercar.gov, the 2009 Jetta meets the specification for SAB Out of Position Testing. This should apply to the curtain and torso airbag systems.

A few early side torso airbag systems were noted to be of a possible concern to children because of their design or aggressive implementation. That was many years ago. I haven't heard of any issues for current generation vehicles. If your children are properly restrained in the back seat, then you have even less to worry about. The dealer simply wants to make a sale and is being lazy. Rather than come down on price to compensate for the loss of a feature, he's feeding you misinformation. Granted, the dealer may believe it is true, so it might not be an outright lie.

CPSDarren said:

According to the test report at www.safercar.gov, the 2009 Jetta meets the specification for SAB Out of Position Testing. This should apply to the curtain and torso airbag systems.

A few early side torso airbag systems were noted to be of a possible concern to children because of their design or aggressive implementation. That was many years ago. I haven't heard of any issues for current generation vehicles. If your children are properly restrained in the back seat, then you have even less to worry about. The dealer simply wants to make a sale and is being lazy. Rather than come down on price to compensate for the loss of a feature, he's feeding you misinformation. Granted, the dealer may believe it is true, so it might not be an outright lie.

Click to expand...

Thank you so much for this information. Yes, dealer #2, who I *didn't* buy from, was quite sneaky in several ways, but with the whole airbag thing, I thought I'd double check.

Thanks again.:thumbsup: