pchansen

I agree too.

drcyrus3d

Gentlement, I am sorry to be the irrational one but i drew my conclusion out of the context:

1. "hit concrete median head on" - it wasn't a swipe of the median
2. "... not to mention the physical pain..." - there was physical injury
3. In my opinion in the first picture the hood seems mangled toward the cockpit and it seems that the bigger impact was on the side of the drivers wheel

I totally agree that speed is not a factor for the deployment of airbags but the force with which the car hits an object. If the resulting impact force is low the airbags will not deploy and and the car will rely on the force absorption mechanisms and the seat belts to do the trick.

If the people within the car have sustained "physical injury", it means that we are not talking about superficial bruising.

If indeed people got only bruised and scratched then I AM SORRY FOR BEEING WRONG (AND A HUGE A$$H0Le) and please accept my sincere apology for whoever I have may offended.

Thank you.

cmarshack

I agree that this car was spinning at the point of impact. If you look at the second picture the car is facing away from the median that the OP said he hit, so the car continued to spin after the initial impact. This car did what it was supposed to...ESP kept it from rolling and the cabin is completely intact. Enough energy to rip off the bumper and crush areas that are designed to be crushed but not necessarily enough to require airbag deployment. I find it odd that there is a tall cup still in the cup holder. Assuming (which is all we can do here given that we only have two photos and no real story to go with) that the cup was not in his/her hand at the time of the accident, then if the force of the impact is not great enough to send that cup flying it most certainly would not set off the airbags.

All accidents are very scary, even more so with a car full of your own family. I truly hope that everyone is OK and they should be if they had their seat belts on correctly. The Q7 is a safe vehicle which is why I drive one with my family of 5.

audi40

I had the same thought when I first saw the pics. Regardless, I hope OP and his family are all OK.

B490MTL

Also notice the car is running in the interior picture, so if it's drivable the car did its job keeping the passengers safe, remember that the air bag is supplemental to the seat belts not a replacement to.

iOOOO

I was involved in a pretty nasty "almost head on collision" with another vehicle and my air bags never deployed. Both our vehicles contacted and continued moving till we move stopped. All while being fused together. I had a lawyer etc., The explanation I was given was it not the collision that causes the airbag to deploy, but the sudden "stop" that causes it.

Edd W

One interesting thing is that in the interior shot, it looks like the engine is still idling at just below 1000 rpm....

crazyny24

My girlfriend was driving my car the other day and was hit in the side door which pushed her into a hydrant. Attached are the pictures from the accident. She was injured and not a single airbag deployed. I just contacted Audi and created a incident with them. I am waiting to hear back from them. I wonder if they will offer to do anything for us. We also have a Q5 and I was thinking about replacing the Q7 with a A5. I wonder if these vehicles are safe?

Edd W

That certainly looks like enough impact to expect at least the steering wheel bag to be deployed.

rarslan

What kind of wax do you use on the front portion up to the rear quarter panel in which salt spray does not stick to?