hey,

as some of you may know my mini cooper has been in the shop for over 3 weeks now. i havent told u guys why and now im goin to. My parents and I went to Long Beach Mini 3 weeks ago to look at some aero kits to decide if we would want one on our car.... we got there and we parked our cooper on the top of a ramp. My dad went to get the car and was backing it up down the ramp at about 2 MPH and he did not see the drop in the curb..... uh oh. at 2 MPH the back tire fell off the curb went back up and the front tire remained sitting in the curb. THE AIRBAGS DEPLOYED AND THE AXEL WAS BENT!!!! yes, the airbags deployed going 2 mph and falling off a tiny curb and the rear axel was bent! overall our trip to Long Beach ended costing us a couple thousand dollars!! . Now here is my problem. My parents and myself are very worried about the Mini, i mean we fall off a little curb and the airbags deploy and the axel is bent!! that should not happen. the airbags, headliner, and the seat had to be replaced, costing the majority of the repair! anyone got any info on the airbags? do u think this should of happend (airbags deploying)??? thanks for all your input, i really appreciate it! this is the only major problem we have experienced and it is a major problem i think

_________________
2003 Mini Cooper S. Dark Silver. Black Top. Lapis Blue Leather Interior. Premium, Sport, Cold Weather.

Let's Not Overcompensate for Other Shortcomings.
Let's Motor

 

Sounds like a faulty sensor to me. Sorry to hear it. What does the dealer say? The axel bent also, that must be a freak thing or your Dad was going faster than he thought.

 

>>Sounds like a faulty sensor to me. Sorry to hear it. What does the dealer say? The axel bent also, that must be a freak thing or your Dad was going faster than he thought.

nope, only 2 mph....

dealer says that supposed to happen!! but i dont know!

 

sp: "axle"

If you guys dropped your MINI off a "curb" that was high enough to bend stuff and deploy the airbags, I'd say it was all driver error, and good-MINI.

Unless you're not telling part of the story, sounds like a "your bad" and not a problem saftey issue.

Regards,
Ryan

 

>>sp: "axle"
>>
>>If you guys dropped your MINI off a "curb" that was high enough to bend stuff and deploy the airbags, I'd say it was all driver error, and good-MINI.
>>
>>Unless you're not telling part of the story, sounds like a "your bad" and not a problem saftey issue.
>>
>>Regards,
>>Ryan

nope that is the whole story... only 2 mph, wat part of the story would i be leaving out????????

 

I am not sure about second gen air bags like the MINI has or its various roll over protection procedues but first gen airbags will not deploy like that. They will only deploy at speeds over 35 or so and only respond to force in the X or lengthwise direction.

Since the MINI uses second gen airbags with roll over protection then I can sort of understand why the airbags deployed. The computer may have interpruted the fall as the start of a roll over and deployed the air bags as part of the roll over protection package. Did the roll over curtain also deploy?

The MINI may only have been going a few miles per hour in the X direction but the velocity in the Y, or vertical direction, would have been much greater.

 

great response Azwed, I agree. The G-forces of bottoming out the frame on a curb could be far beyond anything occuring during 99th percentile driving, causing the body-management computer to think an accident has occured (and it was right!) thus depoying the airbags it thought appropriate.

Bottom line, don't drive your MINI off tall curbs, 3rd floor parking garages, or small high-rise apartment buildings.

Cheers,
Ryan

 

>>I am not sure about second gen air bags like the MINI has or its various roll over protection procedues but first gen airbags will not deploy like that. They will only deploy at speeds over 35 or so and only respond to force in the X or lengthwise direction.
>>
>>Since the MINI uses second gen airbags with roll over protection then I can sort of understand why the airbags deployed. The computer may have interpruted the fall as the start of a roll over and deployed the air bags as part of the roll over protection package. Did the roll over curtain also deploy?
>>
>>The MINI may only have been going a few miles per hour in the X direction but the velocity in the Y, or vertical direction, would have been much greater.

i dont know which r the roll over air bags but the followin deployed:

1. Top Left Headliner
2. Top Left Arch (Next to windshield)
3. Out of Drivers Seat

steering wheel did not deploy

 

>>>>I am not sure about second gen air bags like the MINI has or its various roll over protection procedues but first gen airbags will not deploy like that. They will only deploy at speeds over 35 or so and only respond to force in the X or lengthwise direction.
>>>>
>>>>Since the MINI uses second gen airbags with roll over protection then I can sort of understand why the airbags deployed. The computer may have interpruted the fall as the start of a roll over and deployed the air bags as part of the roll over protection package. Did the roll over curtain also deploy?
>>>>
>>>>The MINI may only have been going a few miles per hour in the X direction but the velocity in the Y, or vertical direction, would have been much greater.
>>
>>i dont know which r the roll over air bags but the followin deployed:
>>
>>1. Top Left Headliner
>>2. Top Left Arch (Next to windshield)
>>3. Out of Drivers Seat
>>
>>steering wheel did not deploy
>>

Uhh yeah the MINI did exactly what it was supposed to do. The computer thought the car was rolling over and so deployed the airbags on the side that would hit the ground. The reason the steering wheel bag did not deploy was because the X direction force was so small.

The reason the axle, really called the halfshaft in FWD cars, bent was probably by design in order to absorb energy. In modern cars the entire car, including the drivetrain, except for the saftey cage is designed to deform in order to absorb energy.

 

lbboarder: it really sucks that this happened; you guys learned the expensive way how to trick the computer.

I 2nd Azwed's statement again, the car will give its' life to save yours, the axle bending (or any part of the cars' mechanicals) is totally appropriate in a crash.

Did you notice that your father got out of the car injury-free? Yea, that's the point.

Best of luck,
Ryan

 

>>lbboarder: it really sucks that this happened; you guys learned the expensive way how to trick the computer.
>>
>>I 2nd Azwed's statement again, the car will give its' life to save yours, the axle bending (or any part of the cars' mechanicals) is totally appropriate in a crash.
>>
>>Did you notice that your father got out of the car injury-free? Yea, that's the point.
>>
>>Best of luck,
>>Ryan


well im hopin he would get out of the car injury-free, the car feel 2 feet going 2 mph

 

>>well im hopin he would get out of the car injury-free, the car feel 2 feet going 2 mph


2 feet 2400 lbs, oooops I think a bent halfshaft is reasonable

 

>>>>lbboarder: it really sucks that this happened; you guys learned the expensive way how to trick the computer.
>>>>
>>>>I 2nd Azwed's statement again, the car will give its' life to save yours, the axle bending (or any part of the cars' mechanicals) is totally appropriate in a crash.
>>>>
>>>>Did you notice that your father got out of the car injury-free? Yea, that's the point.
>>>>
>>>>Best of luck,
>>>>Ryan
>>
>>
>>well im hopin he would get out of the car injury-free, the car feel 2 feet going 2 mph

The car fell two feet?????
My god do you know how much energy that is?
No wonder the computer thought it was a roll over.

I will try a very rough estimation of the energy that the sensors felt. Keep in mind this is a very, very rough estimation.

Acceleration of gravity at ground level is 9.8 m/sec.
I will assume that 1/4 of the MINI's mass hit on that tire. About 306 KG
Force=Mass * acceleration so the force applied to that tire was 3006 Newtons. That is rougly 674 lbs of force.


That is a massive amount of force.

 

Good work Azwed, not to mention it was also moving at an angle of 3 ft per sec. 24 inches is a large drop.

 

>>
>>well im hopin he would get out of the car injury-free, the car feel 2 feet going 2 mph
<<

AH HA! I knew there was a secret yet! TWO FEET!!!!????
holy crap dude, no wonder the airbags inflated and the axle bent, feel lucky if that's it! You need to knock some sense into your parent there! [shocked!]

 

>>Good work Azwed, not to mention it was also moving at an angle of 3 ft per sec. 24 inches is a large drop.

I would actually estimate the force down around 500 lbs because the tire and suspension will absorb a lot of energy before it hits the halfshaft. Still 500 lbs of instantaneous force, force applied very quickly has a much higher impulse then force applied slowly and so does more damage, to a roughly 1 inch thick rod of steel will do tons of damage.

 

>>>>
>>>>well im hopin he would get out of the car injury-free, the car feel 2 feet going 2 mph
>><<
>>
>>AH HA! I knew there was a secret yet! TWO FEET!!!!????
>>holy crap dude, no wonder the airbags inflated and the axle bent, feel lucky if that's it! You need to knock some sense into your parent there! [shocked!]

not 2 feet!!! i was just makin up a number, how high is a curb on a sidewalk?

 

>>>>>>
>>>>>>well im hopin he would get out of the car injury-free, the car feel 2 feet going 2 mph
>>>><<
>>>>
>>>>AH HA! I knew there was a secret yet! TWO FEET!!!!????
>>>>holy crap dude, no wonder the airbags inflated and the axle bent, feel lucky if that's it! You need to knock some sense into your parent there! [shocked!]
>>
>>not 2 feet!!! i was just makin up a number, how high is a curb on a sidewalk?

Depends on the sidewalk anything from 6 inches to 1 foot is about average but you said it was off a ramp so could have been more.

I mean come on now don't you know how to estimate distance?

 

>>Depends on the sidewalk anything from 6 inches to 1 foot is about average but you said it was off a ramp so could have been more.
>>
>>I mean come on now don't you know how to estimate distance?
>>

Be easy on the kid; he's a student, he's still learning practical stuff like that.

In any case, the fall was big enough to do major damage. You can't really chalk it up to poor visibility, or no knowing where the rear end of the MINI was; we're not talking about a 1961 Chrysler New Yorker Imperial here

 

>>>>Depends on the sidewalk anything from 6 inches to 1 foot is about average but you said it was off a ramp so could have been more.
>>>>
>>>>I mean come on now don't you know how to estimate distance?
>>>>
>>
>>Be easy on the kid; he's a student, he's still learning practical stuff like that.
>>
>>In any case, the fall was big enough to do major damage. You can't really chalk it up to poor visibility, or no knowing where the rear end of the MINI was; we're not talking about a 1961 Chrysler New Yorker Imperial here


it was about 1 foot i would say, it was about 3 weeks ago, i dont remember wat the curb looked like

 

Great Story. Poor Title.

Nice to know my MINI will protect me.

:smile:

 

lbboarderh has a right to get freaked out about this, even though the MINI's rollover protection system did everything it was supposed to do.
Falling off a small curb becomes a terrifying ordeal when your head is surrounded by the deafening explosions of numerous airbags deploying. I'm surprised this dude's dad wasn't injured or at least scared halfway to a heart attack by the ordeal.
Seriously, if it had happened to me, I'd be pretty shaken and I'd probably vent on this message board with a thread expressing my, lets say, "alarm".
Granted, the title of this thread is a a bit misleading and kinda puts the MINI in a negative light considering everything worked the way it was designed to work. The MINI already gets enough bad press from people frustrated about this car's occasional "inconveniences", so let's give it a pat on the back this time for working the way it should.

So to lbboarderh, my suggestion is this: Your message is a good "heads up", so thanks for posting it..But you might want to change the title..

And to the rest of the people contributing to this post: I'm sure we can discuss the physics behind this mishap without chewing out or ridiculing this dude and his dad...after all, it's not that hard to fall off a curb once or twice in your life..

Hope your dad's ok, bro..and watch those curbs.. :smile:

 

There was a thread some time back, about a guy test driving and really nailing a railroad crossing. Deployed all the airbags in the Demo, As I recall the dealer was a little angry

 

Well said, Calvin77!!

Sorry to hear about the accident, lbboarderh2o. Let's hope they restore your MINI perfectly.

 

>>hey,
>>
>>as some of you may know my mini cooper has been in the shop for over 3 weeks now. i havent told u guys why and now im goin to. My parents and I went to Long Beach Mini 3 weeks ago to look at some aero kits to decide if we would want one on our car.... we got there and we parked our cooper on the top of a ramp. My dad went to get the car and was backing it up down the ramp at about 2 MPH and he did not see the drop in the curb..... uh oh. at 2 MPH the back tire fell off the curb went back up and the front tire remained sitting in the curb. THE AIRBAGS DEPLOYED AND THE AXEL WAS BENT!!!! yes, the airbags deployed going 2 mph and falling off a tiny curb and the rear axel was bent! overall our trip to Long Beach ended costing us a couple thousand dollars!! . Now here is my problem. My parents and myself are very worried about the Mini, i mean we fall off a little curb and the airbags deploy and the axel is bent!! that should not happen. the airbags, headliner, and the seat had to be replaced, costing the majority of the repair! anyone got any info on the airbags? do u think this should of happend (airbags deploying)??? thanks for all your input, i really appreciate it! this is the only major problem we have experienced and it is a major problem i think
>>
>>_________________
>>2003 Mini Cooper S. Dark Silver. Black Top. Lapis Blue Leather Interior. Premium, Sport, Cold Weather.
>>
>>Let's Not Overcompensate for Other Shortcomings.
>>Let's Motor
>>

This is obviously something you did wrong. The MINI's airbag system is never faulty. Also the thread title is very concerning please dont alarm us like that. Hope all is well. Cheers.