Do air bags go bad?

TheDrake · Post by **TheDrake** » 24 Apr 2006, 20:21

On the below mentioned '96 850 wagon, one reason for keeping it is we like the safety of these cars. It's 10 years old now. Do airbags degrade over time only to not work when you need them most? Just curious.
Thanks.

Post by **JRL** » 25 Apr 2006, 21:15

Technically yes. "they" tell you to replace every 10 years
However, I don't know of ANYONE in the world who just replaced their airbag for time
Heck, the cost is the value of the entire car so it makes no economic sense and no one REALLY knows

Post by **kelvin6** » 26 Apr 2006, 01:16

Actually, Volvo put out a TSB to update the Airbag sticker on the B-Pillar.

They found that a airbag can last longer than 10 years... 15 years proven so far, it might even get extend to 20 years like the 200/700 series.

If your really are anal enough, you can update the sticker on your B-Pillar (the driver door area):

Here is the part numbers and years associated.

Volvo 850's:

English Text:
1993 - 30651045
1994 - 30651047
1995 - 30651049
1996 - 30651051

French Text:
1993 - 30651045
1994 - 30651047
1995 - 30651049
1996 - 30651051

English & French Text:
1993 - 30651046
1994 - 30651048
1995 - 30651050
1996 - 30651052

I'm getting this off the TSB, but i'm not sure why the seperate french text and seperate english text ones (part numbers) are the same. I'd go with the both english and french text one to be sure. They are meant to replace the sticker that's currently on the B-Pillar.