[W126 Coupe] Air Bags

[Gerry Van Zandt]

Some year ago, MB extended the official lifetime of airbags to 15 years.

Subsequently, they have extended the lifetime again indefinitely.

Has anyone ever heard of a premature airbag failure? There are  
numerous safeguards built into the SRS system to prevent something  
like that from occurring.

As for the "doors" that pivot out of the way, at least on the  
steering wheel of the SEC it is a rubberized plastic coating and it  
doesn't break away, it splits along predefined lines but stays  
attached to the wheel quite firmly. As far as the passenger side, the  
cover goes downward and is not designed to blow outward to hit the  
passenger.

Believe me, MB thinks about these things VERY carefully. Why do you  
think their dashboard wood is veneer glued on top of a thin strip of  
aluminum ... it prevents the wood from shattering and splintering  
into a person's head or soft tissue if said head/tissue ever impacts  
the dashboard or wood.

Cheers,
Gerry