You know you might have a problem if?

[GLIDN]

Just found this, pretty scary on what happened and what they have found.

Will be interesting to see how VW react to this case thou.

http://www.golfmk5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=161667

[Gordo]

There's normally a minimum speed before the 'bags deploy, regardless of the "G" shock to the various sensors - if he was going fast enough, the shock of the chassis hitting something solid enough to break that casting may have set it off.
I don't see him getting any sort of warranty support unless he can prove how slowly he was driving - perhaps the car insurance will cover (some) of it?

It's similar to a problem with some vehicles having fuel shutoffs operating when they've bottomed out hard - IIRC, Jaguar had a few issues with this.

[Alfashark]

It definitely looks like he's hit something with a decent pace on to tear that subframe out, I'd expect the piece in question to be still there but heavily deformed or bent otherwise...
It was Jag with the cutoff issues Gordo, and Sierras.  PI Triumphs also kill the fuel supply under heavy deceleration... One of mine caught out an over-zealous WOF inspector on a road test with the brake meter

[slowmo]

Being in the US, chances are he'll call on the lawyers and will get paid out (already been suggested in that thread).

[BB]

You would hardly even notice that alloy bit getting ripped off. He would have heard a clucnk and then kept driving as nothing really changed.
 
 And the airbags deployed while he was sitting in traffic.
 
 And the air bags would not deploy even if he was driving along and that chunk got knocked off. No way in hell.

 He will get the car fixed. But it means there are mk5s out there that have faulty airbags.

[Gordo]

He claims he was sitting in traffic  , however, that's why i mentioned the minimum speed for deployment.
If the chap is telling the truth, and we don't know when the damage to the underside was done, then there is a definite problem for VW and probably all the VAG family, as I expect the control issues will be common through the ranges.

[ranton-inc]

They way i look at it

I reckon he was Driving He hit the uncovered manhole the thud from that ripped out the subframe chunk and deployed the airbags at that exact moment..

The Photo he has displayed there he stated was taken later after he had dropped his girlfriend off..

so i doubt he was "just sitting" in traffic.. Id love to see a freeze frame from the ABS Computer of what the Car was doing at the moment of Deployment

[80 Vert]

I'd tell him to piss off, that impact on the subframe will be what set the airbags off no question.

[BB]

That chunk would break off very easily.
 Even if he was lieing about it happening while sitting in traffic, the air bags should not have gone off because a chunk of alloy subframe got knocked off.

 Interesting that another guy said he has seen other lowered cars bottom out and set off the bags. This could happen of course but I would imagine it would be somebody driving quite fast and hitting a bump very hard.
 
 I mean maybe that is what happened. But as I say it wouldn't take much to knock that alloy chunk off you could do it with a swipe from a hammer.
 Hes pretty stupid if he is lieing about it happening in traffic if it didn't.
 As Gordo says unless faulty there is a min speed they need to be going before they will deploy.

[BB]

So the airbags will go off if your doing 10kms and you knock a bit of subframe off? Well it does seem so as he says he found the chunk where it happened.
 
 That is s**t, they shouldn't go off that easy even if the kid is telling porkys.

 I guess you may not notice the thump of the manhole as the bags would have gone off at the same time.
 But I think they went off to easy.
 Tho you are right Vert now Ive read more of that thread.
 The chunk DID make the airbags deploy.

[80 Vert]

Thats not a weak part of the car, you try smasing that piece off with a hammer and see!
Other thing is that area is pretty well right in line with the airbag sensor on the tunnel so the shock of hitting a solid object with the subframe WILL have caused the bags to go off..............no surprise to me, car did what its desiged to do.

[slowmo]

cue: uncontrolled acceleration 

VW will just fix it and reimburse him rather than get into a sh*t slinging match about VW airbags deploying randomly.

[Skilfil]

Lol those guys accusing him sound like a bunch of whining bitches, maybe they didn't think that he may have not noticed hitting the manhole thanks to the airbags going off at the same time? He sounded genuinely shocked and confused, and actually posted up what the real cause was as he found out.

Bunch of judgemental childish wankers really.

[slowmo]

they pretty much turned on him because no photos of the girl were posted

[BB]

Thats not a weak part of the car, you try smasing that piece off with a hammer and see!
Other thing is that area is pretty well right in line with the airbag sensor on the tunnel so the shock of hitting a solid object with the subframe WILL have caused the bags to go off..............no surprise to me, car did what its desiged to do.

 Yes your right vert. I guess it would have caused the shock in the chassis in the right place for them to deploy.
 Its bad when people lie in what happened as if he was doing 5kms as he says then they shouldnt have gone off.
 How fast do you need to go to make them go off?