Hi All,

I've been away from Mini scene for few years now after 1st and 2nd Gen Mini CooperS.
I thought it was a great fun and safe car for its size and all, so bought a 2019 MCS for my mother as a fun weekend car two years ago.
Last night, coming back from work, she got into an accident, hitting an utility pole. Thank god she is okay, just few bruises, small cut by eyebrow and... 3 or 4 broken ribs. She thought she didn't have much pain so did not take the ambulance at the spot but I took her to an emergency room anyways.
She got treated and home resting now, but I'm really worried/angry(?) at the fact that airbag didn't deploy... which could've prevented cut and broken ribs...
So I wanted to ask and see if this is a known problem with MCS or hear from members who had similar incident...

Pics of the accident. (as you can see from the second pic, it was pretty hard hit, passenger side wheel and suspension is buckled in

 

Airbags deploying can be dangerous due to their explosive force. So, its a trade off, of two evils.

The airbag system must have determined that the occupants would be safer withholding the deployment of the airbags. A lot of broken plastic doesn't always mean it was a high-energy impact. From the pics, it doesn't look like the front hood (bonnet) is even bent in the middle.

Glad to read all she got was some cuts and broken ribs.

 

Kai - Good news on the human damage! A key question - was the car brand new when you purchased it? If so, a conversation is in order with the dealer concerning the lack of airbag deployment! An impact great enough to deform the front suspension should be great enough to set off the airbag(s) in my opinion. The obvious second question is if the the car was previously owned - had it ever been in any collision? If so, the repairs would be suspect. Good luck with the insurance and what all... this might be a sticky project.

 

The issue is where the car hit the pole. You can see from the picture that she caught the pole with the right edge of the bumper, just in front of the wheel, which is why it has the damage that it does. The sensors that would cause an airbag to deploy are in the bumper bar behind the bumper cover. You can see from the pic you posted that this part is not damaged. It is typically this way in all cars.
Glad to hear that your mother is going to be OK. As mentioned above, airbags can also cause their own injuries.