2003 Ford Taurus, post collision

dvdrose18 · 01-13-2010, 04:00 AM

Intro: Over a month ago, I was involved in a collision with my Taurus. Some 87 year old lady thought it would be swell to turn in front of me. Long story short I went from ~35 MPH to 0 MPH in a very short distance. Primary point of impact: Front passenger side corner. Damage: bumper, hood, fender, water pump pulley, front impact bar, headlight, radiator and support, etc. all toast, and a bent front frame extension. Insurance wrote it off, but because I am a crazy fool, and because it has some sentimental value, and because I couldn't really tell the full extent of the damage, I bought it back from the insurance company, and am in the process of trying to repair it myself. I had a local body shop pull the frame straight, and so far it doesn't look too bad. I also got a front clip from the junk yard (2001 Taurus) that I am using as my donor car.
Questions:
Is it normal for only the passenger airbag to go off? There was no passenger in the vehicle. The driver’s airbag never deployed.

Can I just swap the Passenger airbag, the airbag control module and the front sensor from the donor car and be good to go? Or do I have to replace the driver’s airbag? Do I really need to replace the module?

The horn does not work, whether I press the panic button on the key fob, or press the horn on the steering wheel, the only thing I hear is the relay closing. Is it possible this is related to the airbag?

The ABS light is on. I think it is because of the sudden deceleration that occurred during the collision, that the ABS threw a fault that will clear once the vehicle is driven and the brakes are used. My father fears bigger problems. Any thoughts?

azkid110 · 01-15-2010, 10:51 PM

well its good your fixing it up, the damage doesn't look too bad. Usually if the impact is bad enough both airbags should deploy, so that's a bit odd. Look for an airbag simulator, it's installed in place of an airbag so you can test the circuits without the fear of accidentally deploying the airbags. Since the drivers side airbag didn't deploy you shouldn't have to replace it, but I would test the circuit using the simulator just to make sure it will work if you ever need it.

dvdrose18 · 01-16-2010, 03:05 PM

Well, I replaced the module, sensor, and passenger airbag, and it looks like I'm good to go. no error/warning lights. Also had to replace the drivers side seatbelt pretensioner. Makes me more confused as to why the drivers air bag never went off. Not that I wanted it to, probably better that it didn't, but then why did the passenger side go off, and the driver's seatbelt pretension?

The ABS light went out as soon as I went 20 feet down the road. appears to work fine.

The horn problem turned out to be bad contacts on the horns themselves. really odd that both tones stopped working at the same time, but they are fixed now.