If you recently had an airbag replaced, you know the reality: it costs an arm and a leg. Drivers can easily drop $1,000 just for the part alone. Then comes labor. Then comes the dashboard repair. Or the windshield.
This price tag explains why law enforcement agencies are calling airbags “the new car stereos.” Auto thieves love them.
Think about the last time your car was broken into. That anger? That frustration? The gaping hole in your dash is bad. But a missing airbag is worse. You never know it’s gone until the worst possible moment. A serious crash. No airbag. Severe injury. Or death.
Thieves can steal an airbag in under two minutes. It’s that easy. But some thefts aren’t even break-ins. They happen inside repair shops. Scammers are stealing airbags from customers who already paid for a replacement.
We’re going to break down how these scams work. Why thieves target airbags. And what you can do to protect yourself.
Why Thieves Target Airbags
Airbags are expensive. And easy to remove.
Modern cars have multiple airbags. Driver side. Passenger side. Side curtains. Knee airbags. Each one adds to the bill. If you’re a thief, that’s a big target.
But it’s not just about money. It’s about timing.
A thief doesn’t need to know the car’s model. Just the year and trim. Airbags are standardized. A 2018 Honda Civic driver airbag fits most 2018 Civic trims. They sell them on eBay. Or on the black market. For hundreds of dollars.
And the victim? They never know.
“If you’ve ever had your car broken into, you know that feeling of anger and frustration that comes over it when you see that gaping hole in your dashboard; however, the theft of an airbag reaches another level of horrible. Why? Because you’d never know your airbag is missing until the worst possible time.”
The danger is invisible. Your car looks fine. It drives fine. But in a crash? The airbag won’t deploy. Or it might deploy improperly. Either way, it’s a lethal gamble.
Some airbags are stolen as part of a scam. Unscrupulous repair shops do it.
How? They tell you the airbag was broken in the accident. You pay for a new one. They keep the original. They sell it. Or they leave the hole in your dash.
It’s a double theft. Your money. Your safety.
How the Scam Works
Let’s look at the two main methods.
1. Break-in theft
This is the fast one.
Thieves smash a window. Reach in. Pull the steering wheel cover. Pop the airbag out. Done. Under two minutes. They leave. You’re left with a hole in your dash and a massive bill.
2. Repair shop fraud
This is the sneaky one.
You bring your car in. The shop says the airbag deployed incorrectly. Or it’s damaged. They replace it. You pay. They don’t. Or they steal the old one. Or they sell a used one as new.
The Black Market for Stolen Airbags
The National Insurance Crime Bureau puts the number of airbags stolen in the US at roughly 50,000 a year. That’s about $50 million in goods disappearing from vehicles. The real total would be higher. It’s just that older cars still on the road don’t have airbags to steal. So why bother?
Because they are expensive.
You aren’t just buying the fabric bag. You have to replace the steering wheel or dashboard components if they took damage. The sensors. The electronics. And it’s a labor-intensive nightmare. A trained technician has to do the work. Take a 1994 Ford Taurus. Replacing both front airbags runs about $1,800. Not counting labor. Side airbags push that number even higher.
Despite the cost, they are easy to remove. Easy to transport. Easy to store.
This creates a thriving black market. A shady mechanic can snag a stolen airbag for $200. Then charge you the full retail price. Pocket the difference.
It’s gotten so lucrative that repair shops are doing the dirty work themselves. They don’t wait for a carjacker to smash a window. They remove the airbags while your car is in for service. Just four bolts. Sometimes less.
Common Scams: The Pullout and The Switch
There are two main ways this plays out.
First is “the pullout.” Your car is in for an accident repair. The mechanic pulls the airbag out to make it look like it deployed. It didn’t actually deploy. But now the dash looks wrecked. They replace it with a cheap black-market bag. Or they don’t replace it at all. Either way, you get billed for a brand-new unit. Or your insurance does.
Second is “the switch.” You’ve been in an accident. Your airbag didn’t deploy. The mechanic takes your original airbag. Puts a different, already-deployed one in its place. Bills the insurance company for a replacement. Then puts your original airbag back in your car. Or they sell your good airbag. Put in old rags. Or cheap fakes.
Without a thorough inspection by a qualified technician, you can’t tell if a real airbag is still in the dash. Is it functional? You have no idea.
Used Airbags: Good Deal or Trap?
Is installing a cheaper airbag really that bad? You see used and undeployed airbags on eBay all the time. Can’t be that risky, right?
It can be. A used airbag is a good deal only if it meets strict conditions.
- It was properly and professionally removed.
- It’s the right airbag for your specific car. There is no one-size-fits-all solution.
- It’s installed by a trained mechanic.
If the used airbag came from a repair shop scam, how many of those conditions do you think were met? Likely none.
Learn how to prevent thieves from making off with your airbags on the next page.
Preventing Airbag Theft
How to Stop Airbag Theft and Avoid Repair Scams
You can lower the odds of your airbags getting lifted by treating them like any other high-value part. Park in well-lit areas. Keep doors locked. Hide valuables so they don’t catch an eye. A steering wheel lock, like “The Club,” might block access to the driver-side unit in some models. It’s not a guarantee, but it adds friction.
The black market for airbags runs on basic supply and demand. Specific makes and models drive demand because the parts aren’t universal. Common cars are prime targets. Honda Civics and Acura Integras are frequently ripped out. If you own one of these, your risk is higher.
Avoiding repair shop scams is harder than preventing theft. You need to ensure the installation is proper and safe.
- Go to a dealership. They have the right OEM parts and trained mechanics. It costs more, but it’s safer.
- Get a second opinion. If you doubt the work, have another mechanic inspect it. When buying a used car, make sure the airbag is on the inspection checklist.
- Check the trim. Look for fake covers. Mismatched grain or color on the console is a red flag.
- Watch the dashboard. Newer cars have airbag indicator lights. They signal problems before you need them.
- Run a history report. Use CARFAX or a similar service on any used vehicle.
- Check reputations. Look up the repair shop on the Better Business Bureau or Angie’s List. Complaints reveal patterns.
Never try to inspect or repair an airbag yourself. Accidental deployment causes serious injury. It’s not worth the gamble.
Automakers and legislators could help. Integrating airbag parts more thoroughly into the vehicle would make removal difficult. Without integral parts, the system fails. Removing them would take too much time. This would raise costs. Labor for replacement would skyrocket.
The National Motor Vehicle Title Information System (NMVTIS) offers a legal remedy. It lets you check a car’s title electronically. You can see if it was totaled in another state. Thirty-four states participate. Scammers operate in non-participating states.
Some states require accident reports to note airbag deployment. They outline procedures for repair shops. The Motor Vehicle Theft Law Enforcement Act (1984) is federal law. It penalizes transporting stolen cars or parts across state lines. It allows prosecution under racketeering laws.
What’s at stake? It’s not just insurance rates or repair bills. Faulty replacements kill. A woman was injured and a passenger killed because a used car had an unreplaced airbag from a prior accident. The unit was just tucked away. In 2005, two teenagers died when improperly installed airbags, bought online, failed to deploy.
The fight continues. For more details, check the related links.
Lots More Information
Related HowStuffWorks Articles
* How Airbags Work
* How Crash Testing Works
* Why is it Still Necessary to Crash Test Vehicles?
More Great Links
* Environmental Protection Agency
* Insurance Information Institute
* Insurance Institute for Highway Safety
* National Safety Commission
Sources
* California State University, Northridge. “Theft of Airbags.” (9/27/2008) http://www-admn.csun.edu/police/crime/motor5.htm
* CBS News. “Ford Fusion Flunks Crash Test.” March 6, 2006. (9/27/2008) http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/03/06/business/main1371742.shtml
* Environmental Protection Agency. “Driving More Efficiently.” (9/28/2008) http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/driveHabits.shtml
* Insurance Information Institute. “Car Theft.” (9/27/2008) http://www.iii.org/media/hottopics/insurance/test4/
* Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. “Q&A: Airbags.” (9/26/2008) http://www.iihs.org/research/qanda/airbags.html
* Moore, Ronald E. “The “Totaled” Vs. “Totally Destroyed” Vehicle.” University of Extrication. June 1997. (9/27/2008) http://www.firehouse.com/extrication/archives/1997/june97.html
* Moore, Ron. “Knee Airbag Supplemental Restraint Systems.” Firehouse.com. (9/26/2008) http://cms.firehouse.com/content/article/printer.jsp?id=32423
* National Safety Commission. “Airbag Scams on the Rise.” Feb. 7, 2008. (9/25/2008) http://www.nationalsafetycommission.com/alerts/2008/02/airbag-scams-on-the-rise.php
* Safercar.gov. “Air Bags Safety.” (9/26/2008) http://www.safercar.gov/portal/site/safercar/menuitem.13dd5c887c7e1358fefe0a2f35a67789/?vgnextoid=a93be66aeee35110VgnVCM1000002fd17898RCRD
* State Farm Insurance. “Auto theft has new faces, but old crime still big trouble.” (9/25/2008) http://www.statefarm.com/about/media/backgrounder/theft.asp
