Model X Crash

[verygreen]

I wonder why they can't build an intelligent system that knows when someone is in the seat. The OP made it sound like there was no one else in the car but his wife. So what's the point of the rear seat airbags deploying?

They usually know when somebody is in the seat (you get the nag about buckling up).

faulty sensor -> no airbag deployment -> BIG lawsuit -> lose money
always deploy all airbags -> earn money on additional replacement parts

Which one would you chose if you were Tesla?

 

[Mrcook4590]

If someone else's fault, the insurance of the person who hit you...

When I had a tiny dent after someone backed into me in a parking lot, the lady who hit me tried to make it sound like I was moving as well so she would not have to pay damages. This, of course, ticked me off. I had a witness as well as getting the Tesla logs, so after I had that ammo, I demanded that they pay for the nicest car available - no Teslas available around here - as well as pay for my gas, which they did without question. Her insurance guy was horrible at getting back with me until I left a message that I was going to call the police if he didn't return my call quickly. I have no doubt they would have given me a Tesla loaner by the time I was finished had one been available. They also paid to have my car trailered to the nearest Tesla approved body shop which was about two hours away. Sooo.... keep those receipts, and get that claim in!

You might also have an advocate with your insurance company. In hindsight, I could have used mine, but I was comfortable handling things myself. I think if they had given me any trouble with payments or in choosing my repair shop, I would have definitely used them. You also might want to find out what the limits are for the person who hit your wife. You don't want to have to pay out of pocket and then have to sue for the rental fees. Just a thought in case you are in a loaner for an extended period of time.

 

[Peteski]

I wonder why they can't build an intelligent system that knows when someone is in the seat. The OP made it sound like there was no one else in the car but his wife. So what's the point of the rear seat airbags deploying?

Model X does have intelligent front passenger seat monitoring for the airbag - mainly to prevent it deploying when infants are seated. Not sure about the rear though. Personally I'd rather the airbag system was permanently armed. Imagine the disappointment if the "intelligent" system got it wrong and didn't deploy the airbags appropriately?

 

[DrivingTheFuture]

OK... so heard back from the body shop today. They are going to repair. They are quoting 45 days... I'd be surprised if they meet that deadline. Sure enough, they have to order two entirely new mono post seats for the center row. Actually I think they have to re order front seats too. So my wife misses her X badly enough that we called our local owner advisor and found a 100D loaner with a few thousand miles that's for sale... if we buy, we could either, A. keep the Model X when we get it back and have his and hers, or B. sell it to pay for my model 3, option C which my wife suggested is keep all 3. But that feels over the top to me as we have no kids or pets to speak of...

 

[mongo]

Model X does have intelligent front passenger seat monitoring for the airbag - mainly to prevent it deploying when infants are seated. Not sure about the rear though. Personally I'd rather the airbag system was permanently armed. Imagine the disappointment if the "intelligent" system got it wrong and didn't deploy the airbags appropriately?

@Buddyroe
Infants (or children in booster seats) should never be in the front seat (unless it is a truck with the air bag disabled). The seat occupancy sensor and seat belt latched sensor are used to select the activation and force criteria for the variable force frontal airbags. Rear seats do not have front airbags, so the need for occupant buckled or not is not there.

Believed true anecdote: early cars only had seat belt latched sensors. In certain crashes, the driver's air bag would not deploy, but the unoccupied passenger seat would. This was due to the lower activation limit for an unrestrained passenger.

 

[Peteski]

@Buddyroe
Infants (or children in booster seats) should never be in the front seat (unless it is a truck with the air bag disabled). The seat occupancy sensor and seat belt latched sensor are used to select the activation and force criteria for the variable force frontal airbags. Rear seats do not have front airbags, so the need for occupant buckled or not is not there.

That's not totally correct (at least for Euro market, maybe laws are different in the US?). The Model X user manual states:-

Occupant detection system: Model X has an occupancy sensor in the front passenger seat that controls the status of the associated airbags based on the weight of the occupant:-

Empty = Airbag OFF
Infant in child safety seat (up to 9kg) = OFF
Child or small occupant (9-45 kg) = ON or OFF
Heavy object / occupant = ON

Basically you can seat infants up front providing the frontal airbag is deactivated. Obviously it is preferable to seat infants in the middle or back row seats given a choice.

 

[Barklikeadog]

OK... so heard back from the body shop today. They are going to repair. They are quoting 245 days... I'd be surprised if they meet that deadline.

fixed

 

[mongo]

That's not totally correct (at least for Euro market, maybe laws are different in the US?). The Model X user manual states:-

Occupant detection system: Model X has an occupancy sensor in the front passenger seat that controls the status of the associated airbags based on the weight of the occupant:-

Empty = Airbag OFF
Infant in child safety seat (up to 9kg) = OFF
Child or small occupant (9-45 kg) = ON or OFF
Heavy object / occupant = ON

Basically you can seat infants up front providing the frontal airbag is deactivated. Obviously it is preferable to seat infants in the middle or back row seats given a choice.

Interesting, I had thought of bringing up the weight detection systems, but wasn't sure who had them. North American version of the manual states the same thing.

 

[vandacca]

If I place my laptop bag on the passenger seat, I get a "Passenger AirBag Off" notification on the console. So, if there is no passenger, I wouldn't expect the airbag to deploy.

 

[beths11]

If I place my laptop bag on the passenger seat, I get a "Passenger AirBag Off" notification on the console. So, if there is no passenger, I wouldn't expect the airbag to deploy.

If the front seat is empty I get no message. With my small dog on the front seat I get the "air bag off" message. The car is telling me it senses something on the seat which is not heavy enough to take the force of the airbag.

 

[Sawyer8888]

don't forget about the diminished value claim.

Glad that no one was seriously hurt. Hopefully the bruise on your wife's arm was the worst of it.

You will find out that diminished value claims are a little bit of a pain to follow through with, but they can be well worth it. At-fault insurance companies will do their very best to avoid paying out a DV claim. I hope it all works out for you @DrivingTheFuture.

As another person suggested, investing in a dash cam is well worth it. I use an old cell phone to record the countless bad drivers down here in Florida. My morning almost resulted in a similar thread being posted. I wish EAP was more responsive.

This guy had his cell phone pressed against his head with one hand as he waved apologetically with the other hand as I passed...

 

[Lasttoy]

It's up to insurance firm whether to total or not, once body shop gives estimate. Beware, my buddies took 6 months. They stopped paying rent car after 30 days.

 

[Brightonuk]

Also look into a "Diminished Value Claim" I got $$ for a dent on a 2013 P85
(BTW I had a dash cam to disprove the other drivers claim I moved into her lane)

I relasies it is a bit late but I cannot stress enough the value of a dash cam, it saved me on the diminished value claim and a hit and run in a parking lot (Where the cam got the licence plate of the SUV that clipped the front or my car)

If you search my threads you can see both incidents as the videos are posted on TMC.

Good luck with the repair

 

[HappyHappy]

Just a bit on diminished value claims. I'm currently pursing one in California. If you are at fault, then you have no claim because 99.9% of insurance policies specifically exclude diminished value claims. Your insurance company is only required to repair the car (or total it). However, if you are not at fault (i.e. someone runs into you), then you can file a claim directly with the at fault driver's insurance company. Your own will not help you, because your policy excludes it. The reason you can seek it with the at fault driver's insurance company is because you do not have a contractual agreement with them excluding those claims.

Rental car reimbursement is similar. Your policy probably limits you to $50/day for 30 days or so. If you go directly to the at fault driver's insurance company, you do not have a contractual limit. The downside to this is insurance companies are bastards, and they will lie to you and say diminished value claims are illegal, rental car limits are set by law, etc. Don't believe them. There are no limits written in the law, just in your policy.

 

[chelseap]

Tell me more about this diminished value claim...

"Diminished value" also is known as "accelerated depreciation," meaning that although documented, extensive repairs supposedly can be performed, the parts and service to do this will never duplicate the originally manufactured parts that had been in workable condition. But for the trauma the accident caused to the vehicle, replacement parts and service would not have been required. Extensive restorative work is not identical to the original state of the vehicle. As a result, the scope of incurred damage and subsequent repairs likely has lowered the value of the vehicle to the point that, bluntly speaking, no one would touch it on a resale with a 10-food pole. Insurers don't like to mention this. You need to mention and debate this with them.

 

[DrivingTheFuture]

If I place my laptop bag on the passenger seat, I get a "Passenger AirBag Off" notification on the console. So, if there is no passenger, I wouldn't expect the airbag to deploy.

I'm starting to wonder if it was because she had her laptop and all her folders on passenger seat that that airbag deployed.

 

[bonnie]

Planning to install dash cam in my car, could never talk wife into it. Now I think I'll just require it. We had worked all the kinks out in that car, just got all new tires and the "uncorked" performance update. Lots of fun memories too. All airbags deployed inside. Wife was alone. Someone ran a red light and her left front corner hit their back left passenger side. Luckily it was a small sedan. Wife does not even have a scratch or concussion, thank goodness.

So sorry! I just saw this. I'm glad B is okay ... give her my best.

 

[DrivingTheFuture]

It's up to insurance firm whether to total or not, once body shop gives estimate. Beware, my buddies took 6 months. They stopped paying rent car after 30 days.

This won't be a problem... you'll see why in a moment

 

[DrivingTheFuture]

Okay I have something very exciting to announce, and we are lucky that business was good this year so that we were able to do this, but after 1 week of her driving the ICE rental, my wife wined that she missed her Tesla and couldn't wait 2 months for the repairs, so we went ahead and purchased the 100D! We have thoroughly enjoyed it the last few days, and since it was a showroom vehicle we got a decent discount and only had to wait 3 days from inquiry to delivery

Now I went ahead and changed my Model 3 reservation from Long Range first delivery to the preference to wait on the dual motor version... I plan to take ownership of the repaired Model X and promptly rename it something like Wolverine, or Logan (Xmen), or Narsil/ Anduril (LOTR) since it was broken then remade into something stronger

Irony of all this is when we picked up the new X, they pulled in a long range black Model 3 that was to be delivered same day (my spec choice). It was a bit torturous. But knowing I can drive the X while I instead wait for the vehicle I really want which is the ludicrous Model 3 (if Elon holds to his Twitter promise) will make the waiting bearable. I just find it funny that the repair time estimate is almost identical to my Model 3 delivery estimate. Long winded, but suffice it to say I still have months of waiting ahead. The question then becomes in the fall or winter on whether or not to keep all 3. I'm tempted to sell the X which would hopefully come close to covering the ludicrous model 3.

 

[DrivingTheFuture]

So sorry! I just saw this. I'm glad B is okay ... give her my best.

Thank you Bonnie! She is happily driving around her new 100D today... definitely a silver lining but not near as much as the fact that she is OK! Hope you're having a good week.