NHTSA complaint: 2003 HYUNDAI SANTA FE — AIR BAGS:SIDE/WINDOW
ON MARCH 30, 2004 AT 5:52 AM WHILE ON MY WAY TO WORK, MY HYUNDAI SANTA FE WAS HIT ON THE DRIVER'S SIDE DOOR BY A MAN WHO RAN A RED LIGHT. AS HIS VEHICLE MADE IMPACT, MY SANTA FE WAS SENT INTO A ROLL-OVER, WITH APPROXIMATELY THREE TO FOUR FLIPS. MY SIDE AIRBAGS DID NOT DEPLOY, AND AS A RESULT, I HIT MY HEAD ON THE DRIVER'S SIDE WINDOW. I SUFFERED FROM A CONCUSSION AND DAILY HEADACHES, THAT AT TIMES WERE DEBILITATING. THE DRIVER'S SIDE OF THE CAR, FROM FRONT TO BACK, WAS DESTROYED. I WAS UNABLE TO EXIT THE VEHICLE THIS WAY, AND HAD TO GET OUT OF THE CAR THROUGH THE PASSENGER'S SIDE WITH THE HELP OF A PASSER-BY. BOTH VEHICLES WERE TOTALED AS A RESULT OF THE ACCIDENT. I CONTACTED HYUNDAI AND SENT THEM ALL OF THE REQUIRED PAPERWORK. I RECEIVED A REPLY THAT STATED THEY FELT THE AIRBAGS HAD FUNCTIONED IN THE MANNER IN WHICH THEY WERE DESIGNED, AND THIS WAS THEIR FINAL DECISION ON THE MATTER. I FAIL TO SEE HOW SIDE-AIR BAGS, NOT DEPLOYING IN A ROLL-OVER COLLISION, ARE FUNCTIONING AT ALL. WHEN I PURCHASED THE VEHICLE, THE DUAL SIDE IMPACT AIRBAGS WERE ONE OF THE SELLING POINTS THAT THE DEALER USED. INCLUDED IN THE OWNERS MANUAL WAS A PAMPHLET THAT ALSO DESCRIBED THE AIRBAGS, ALONG WITH PICTURES OF A CAR BEING HIT IN THE DRIVER'S DOOR AND ROLL-OVER ACCIDENTS. ACCORDING TO THIS PAMPHLET, THE SIDE AIRBAGS WOULD PROTECT YOU IN CRASHES SUCH AS THESE. *JB
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration — Office of Defects Investigation