Mike Chapman Posted January 15, 2009 Share Posted January 15, 2009 Could anyone please let me know of any new motor caravan based on the new Fiat Ducato X250 or the Peugeot Boxer or Citroen Relay and available on the UK market that does not come as standard with a Drivers Airbag or where the Airbag is an additional cost option. Additionally do you know of any of the same base vehicle with a passenger airbag fitted that cannot be temporarily de-activated by a switch when for instance using a child restraint or safety seat. Regards, Mike. ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spospe Posted January 15, 2009 Share Posted January 15, 2009 This is not a direct answer to your question, but ............. My impression is that all new vehicles come with a driver's air bag and that it is now impossible to get one without. Passenger air bags are at the moment an option, but I have the feeling that, they too will become standard in the near future. In our car (Toyota Yaris) the passenger bag can be switched off using the ignition key, but in our 'van (Duetto, based on a MK7 Transit) the passenger bag cannot be turned off so easily. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colin Posted January 15, 2009 Share Posted January 15, 2009 Base vehicle has drivers bag as standard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Tracker Posted January 15, 2009 Share Posted January 15, 2009 My natural curiosity - oh alright then nosiness - makes me wonder why - and I bet I ain't the only reader of this thread wondering why - anyone would want any vehicle without a driver's airbag? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colin Posted January 15, 2009 Share Posted January 15, 2009 my guess would be one of two reasons. 1) A van has 'turned up' with no airbag, maybe was originaly destined for non eu market. 2) The 'scare stories' about injuries caused by airbags Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Chapman Posted January 15, 2009 Author Share Posted January 15, 2009 Tracker - 2009-01-15 7:49 PM My natural curiosity - oh alright then nosiness - makes me wonder why - and I bet I ain't the only reader of this thread wondering why - anyone would want any vehicle without a driver's airbag? Hello Tracker, It's not that I want a vehicle without an airbag but the complete opposite I would be very unhappy to accept a vehicle with no airbags. I am trying to establish whether any Sevel X250 type motor caravan available in the UK is provided without them. While I am aware that all UK supplied Sevel base vans have the drivers airbag as standard my understanding is that this is not necessarily the case with non UK supplied vans. Apparently a base vehicle can be ordered without airbags especially if it is a Chassis Cowl that will be used to build an A Class. The Chassis Cowl is not currently available from a UK Dealer but a RHD UK specification version can be ordered directly from the factory. The City Van that I am looking at comes without an airbag as standard and the coachbuilder, Pilote, wants to charge £150 for drivers and passengers airbags and different seats as an option. Curiosity asks why they think anybody would accept a van without airbags. Is this just another means of increasing the price? I was curious to see whether any other coachbuilder charges extra and/or supplies without airbag(s) fitted and whether this is clearly indicated in their sales literature and accessories price list. Hello Colin, You are close with your "Reason 1". Regards, Mike. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fred grant Posted January 15, 2009 Share Posted January 15, 2009 thought this posting could be about alice me ansums, so i as better go an shuv off darn quick. f Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rainbow-Chasers Posted January 15, 2009 Share Posted January 15, 2009 The later relays etc can be shut off with a key for the passenger side at least! That is from 04 onwards Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted January 16, 2009 Share Posted January 16, 2009 I've no 2009 brochures, but I note that the 2008 Eura Mobil one shows all models (Fiat- or Ford-based, A-Class or 'coachbuilt') having a driver's airbag, but with some having a passenger airbag as standard while others had it as an optional extra. When I was in the market for a new motorhome in 2004 I had on my shopping list a Chausson W74, a Eura Mobil Profila and a Hobby T-Series. All of these vehicles were based on the same Ford Transit FWD platform-cab chassis, but the standard specification of the chassis differed. The Chausson (in LHD and French-market spec) had no ABS, no passenger airbag and nothing in the Chausson brochure to indicate these were available as options. Both the Eura Mobil and Hobby were said to have ABS and passenger airbag as standard. Oddly, when I inspected early RHD versions of the Profila, the passenger airbag was not present (despite the Eura Mobil brochure saying it ought to be). Historically, A-Class motorhomes have not had airbags and I've assumed that this was because the converter was wary of providing them when the vehicle lacked the crash-tested frontal crumple-zone found on designs that retained the base-vehicle manufacturer's original cab. Better to offer no airbags than risk them malfunctioning in an accident and end up being sued. A 2007 Hymer brochure showed 'original cab' designs as all having a driver's airbag, with a passenger airbag as standard on Ford-based designs and optional on those based on Fiat, Mercedes or Renault chassis. However, when it came to 2007 Hymer A-Class vehicles (Fiat-, Ford- or Mercedes-based) there was no mention whatsoever of airbags - neither driver nor passenger. I don't know what the current situation is regarding standard provision of airbags, but I'd be careful to confirm the exact specification of A-Class designs if I were considering buying that type of motorhome, and I'd be particularly cautious if the motorhome were made in France, as the market there seems less concerned about vehicle safety-related features than the UK's. As motorhomes are generally based on commercial-vehicle chassis that won't have transporting small children in the cab as a design priority, I wouldn't have anticipated the ability to deactivate a front passenger airbag to be included in the specification. My 2005 Ford Transit Mk 6's passenger airbag does not have a deactivation facility and I've never expected it to be present. There is a table in my Transit handbook relating to where a child-seat may safely be employed and using the cab passenger seat is only permissible when the vehicle is NOT fitted with a passenger airbag. However, it seems from sposne's comment that it is possible to deactivate a passenger airbag on Mk 7 Transits. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Chapman Posted January 17, 2009 Author Share Posted January 17, 2009 Correction. Pilote charge £1500 not £150 for the Aibags option. Regards, Mike. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted January 17, 2009 Share Posted January 17, 2009 I seem to remember that there is a functional relationship between the volume of the airbag, and the space between the airbag and the windscreen. I think "special" airbags mat be required for A class vans, because of this much increased distance, and that may underly the large cost of same. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted January 17, 2009 Share Posted January 17, 2009 Mike: I did think that £150 was a helluva bargain for twin airbags + different seats! If you do decide on a City Van with the £1500 upgrade, I suggest you be very sure that Pilote can actually deliver that specification. When I was interested in a Chausson and wanted ABS and a passenger airbag as options it proved impossible to confirm that the factory would provide this. The UK salesman suggested that I place an order specifying the options and see if Chausson would accept it. When I told him subsequently that I'd decided not to buy a Chausson, he said he was really quite glad as, even if the French factory had accepted the order, he wasn't sure what would have eventually turned up on his forecourt. ..................................................................................................................... Brian: Just out of curiosity, what's the procedure for disabling the passenger airbag on your Hobby? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Chapman Posted January 18, 2009 Author Share Posted January 18, 2009 Brian Kirby - 2009-01-17 4:34 PM I seem to remember that there is a functional relationship between the volume of the airbag, and the space between the airbag and the windscreen. I think "special" airbags mat be required for A class vans, because of this much increased distance, and that may underly the large cost of same. Hello Brian, I am not sure whether special airbags are required for A Class vans and cannot remember having seen any information about volume related to distance from windscreen although it does make sense especially for the passenger airbag. From what I remember some vehicles with airbags have sensors fittted in the seats to weigh the occupant and deploy the airbag accordingly. Some or maybe all airbags are two stage operation with partial inflation for low speed accidents and full inflation above a set collision speed/force. The main consideration that is mentioned in safety guidlines is the position of the driver to the wheel, being unconstrained where airbags are used and safety issues with small children in the front passenger seat. Hello Derek, Thanks for the information the £150 was purely a typing error. I understand that if airbags are chosen as an option then modified seats and seat mountings have to be included which probably accounts for the £1500 price. Regards, Mike. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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