Cybertruck Airbag Issue: Unexpected Deployment and Injury—Any Similar Experiences?

[PowersolUSA]

you can access the glove box and get the drive out, put it in a PC and view the footage. VLC media player works well for this. If your unable to power the truck off the 12v you can google / YouTube how to “jump start it” and the the glove box will open.

Thanks I will try that. I’m yet to get into the vehicle, Tesla service (knowing the airbags deployed) asked me to bring it in, even gave me instructions on how to get it there. It got turned down on site. Then told me how to open the charge port. I do that and that have a lock on it. Any idea about this?

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[Tecyber1]

I don't see a single issue here as it relates to "why did the airbag go off?", it did precisely what it was meant and should do!

Now the Tesla SC part? I would be going off, I'd create a Twitter account and bombard Elon or whoever about it.

Did you try another Tesla SC?

 

[PowersolUSA]

Lawsuits suck as a Plaintiff, I can't imagine getting tied up as a Defendant. I laugh at all the people telling you to sue Tesla, bc you will make bank. LOL.
I looked briefly at your TCPA, and gotta say you will get no sympathy if this is about you being a telemarketer and blowing up our phones with call centers and texts.

lol, definitely not a “Telamarketer” I have one guy that works are retail store and calls when someone submits a lead form asking for us to call. Some ppl put their information in baiting you in to call them, they act interested then lie and say that was a cold call with a robo dialer and extort small businesses for money. If it costs $50k minimum to fight a $5 million dollar lawsuit, most ppl just settle for $50k. I didn’t and had records to the exact time he asked for us to call. In a Class Action lawsuit you can’t just email over his lead form. It took 11 months, and close to $200k before I could even start to tell my story. Its called a broken system, and yes they have annoying callers but my company is NOT one of them. We are construction company and have a retail store, get most clients from doing good business. Plus, no reason to cold call this is 2024, you have much better ways to get ppl interested. Please don’t make comments with Bad Facts, not a good look for you…. The right thing vs the wrong thing is often costly, but always profitable.

 

[wtibbit]

[QUOTE="Brandon708, post: 414043,
……
I can't help to notice that your post seems to be providing yourself a foundation for a lawsuit to sue Tesla.
…….

[/QUOTE]
I think not.

Publicly laying out claims and rationale for an egregious lawsuit in front of a concentrated group of experienced vehicle owners who will likely post informed counter-statements is not a winning strategy.

 

[PowersolUSA]

I don't see a single issue here as it relates to "why did the airbag go off?", it did precisely what it was meant and should do!

Now the Tesla SC part? I would be going off, I'd create a Twitter account and bombard Elon or whoever about it.

Did you try another Tesla SC?

I have not, but I will now Thank you appreciate that.

 

[PowersolUSA]

[QUOTE="Brandon708, post: 414043,
……
I can't help to notice that your post seems to be providing yourself a foundation for a lawsuit to sue Tesla.
…….

I think not.

Publicly laying out claims and rationale for an egregious lawsuit in front of a concentrated group of experienced vehicle owners who will likely post informed counter-statements is not a winning strategy.
[/QUOTE]
I said I’m not going that route and said I didn’t like it when someone did it to me. Sorry was defensive on bad facts. But since we are talking about it in a perfect world what I would like is to have open dialogue conversation with someone from Tesla (face ti face) to address my concerns, not give me conflicting answers and the run around. My experiences so far, Tesla doesn’t have an actual customer support layer. Make an appointment with service lol you have 10+ customers with 2 or 3 ppl working there. Trying to help 5 ppl at once. No fault to Tesla employees, they are understaffed. It’s easier to punt on the more complex issues. But yes I would like to discuss it with someone that can help me, at a minimum investigate what happened. I never claimed to be an expert, It was my understanding airbags were to protect you and I get has to be give and take. Had I busted my face on an airbag this would be a different conversation. But to not even touch an airbag to get hit in the back of the head, by an unknown object is something I would like to understand why and what it was. I spent over $100k on a truck and can’t ask questions? It’s like we forgot how to disagree and talk things out. Ppl just assume I’m up to something lmfao only thing I want is answers. I could be wrong, I could be right, how do we have this conversation in a constructive manner? That seems to be the difficult part.

 

[AO-Pete]

Nobody really answered why the rear airbag fired when there was nobody in the back of the truck, I'd be curious about that too; Elon/Tesla have previously discussed all the sensors to make sure the deployment is 'optimal'. I suspect there is a solid reason, maybe as a preventative 'barrier' to stop anything in the back flying forward, though since a bit of plastic got you, there's some irony in that. Was it part of the center console assembly/guts? If so, hopefully that'll eventually work its way back to Tesla; you're experiencing the worst bit of Tesla right now (the service - totally hit or miss).

With any airbag deployment there's a risk of collateral injury, just on balance, they provide far more benefit than risk to the occupants. This is also why people should be careful with some accessories...bedazzling your T logo on your steering wheel is basically adding shrapnel.

 

[UberNoob]

Thanks I will try that. I’m yet to get into the vehicle, Tesla service (knowing the airbags deployed) asked me to bring it in, even gave me instructions on how to get it there. It got turned down on site. Then told me how to open the charge port. I do that and that have a lock on it. Any idea about this?

that tab is ran off the low voltage battery, along with the door pops and other things. Energize the truck like they show in this video.

 

[Tecyber1]

I have not, but I will now Thank you appreciate that.

I have heard some people talk of a shitty SC experience only to drive to another location and get treated far better is why I mention that.

 

[UberNoob]

Hopefully I never need to know, but I live in the middle of the Pensacola SC (an absolute dump of a property that's not qualified to house a Buy Here, Pay Here lot) and the new one in Tallahassee. I'm two hours from each. I saw a Tesla body shop near the Pensacola SC, but where else are Tesla body shops in the panhandle?

when you put in a service request and select collision repairs, the app gives you a list of closest within X Miles range. Think our next option closer is in Alabama. But it’s been a few years sense I looked into it. Things change ofc.

 

[misterk9]

No how do we have this conversation in a constructive manner? That seems to be the difficult part.


Alright. It is all the drama. You have about a single paragraph of information worth sharing but what you did shared doesn’t make a lot of sense nor is it entirely consistent. Tesla says it is totaled. Tesla says bring it. Tesla says get it the hell out of here. Tesla says it is just a scratch, buff it out. Tesla says who needs insurance. It came from the air bags but I didn’t see it. You google how air bags work, you read the CT manual. There is no mystery here. And I don’t recall very many instances I got satisfaction from brand dealers service centers with my new cars since the 70’s but I did learn that histrionics got me nowhere. You asked for advice-get it fixed and sell it. I would be extremely depressed if it happened to my CT but Tesla had nothing to do with your unfortunate accident.

 

[Deleted member 17810]

Side curtain airbag is one piece for the entire side.

 

[CyberGus]

The impact damage seems mostly cosmetic. Airbag deployment blows the pyro fuses which disables the pack, but replacement is straightforward. Heck, just replacing the pyro fuses would likely make it driveable, albeit with multiple alerts about the deployed airbags etc.

Pyro Fuses R&R

You can't charge the HV pack without the pyro fuses. IDK if being plugged-in will keep the MV battery charged, or how to charge it from an external source, so perhaps you should disconnect it to keep it from draining further while you await repair.

Disconnect MV Power

Once the MV power is disconnected you'll need to leave the frunk open. If the MV battery is already dead then you'll need to "jump-start" to gain entry.

Jump-Start Procedure

That looks totally fixable, but just the airbag and pyro fuse replacements will be several thousand dollars. The damaged exterior trim is easy to replace, but the stainless panels will be pricey.

 

[wtibbit]

I think not.

Publicly laying out claims and rationale for an egregious lawsuit in front of a concentrated group of experienced vehicle owners who will likely post informed counter-statements is not a winning strategy.

I said I’m not going that route and said I didn’t like it when someone did it to me. Sorry was defensive on bad facts. But since we are talking about it in a perfect world what I would like is to have open dialogue conversation with someone from Tesla (face ti face) to address my concerns, not give me conflicting answers and the run around. My experiences so far, Tesla doesn’t have an actual customer support layer. Make an appointment with service lol you have 10+ customers with 2 or 3 ppl working there. Trying to help 5 ppl at once. No fault to Tesla employees, they are understaffed. It’s easier to punt on the more complex issues. But yes I would like to discuss it with someone that can help me, at a minimum investigate what happened. I never claimed to be an expert, It was my understanding airbags were to protect you and I get has to be give and take. Had I busted my face on an airbag this would be a different conversation. But to not even touch an airbag to get hit in the back of the head, by an unknown object is something I would like to understand why and what it was. I spent over $100k on a truck and can’t ask questions? It’s like we forgot how to disagree and talk things out. Ppl just assume I’m up to something lmfao only thing I want is answers. I could be wrong, I could be right, how do we have this conversation in a constructive manner? That seems to be the difficult part.
[/QUOTE]

No worries. I never thought you were setting up case for a lawsuit; I was trying to make the point that anyone trying to do that wouldn't start a conversation about it on a public forum.

You got some good advice and answers among the responders here (CyberGus and UberNoob are prime examples)

I agree with you about Tesla's customer service issues. I even found it impossible to contact anyone at Tesla by phone for a person-to-person conversation when I was trying to pick up my truck. There is simply very few customer-facing employees in the company. That is a conscious business strategy by Tesla, apparently.

The service center I use, in Dallas, TX, had 5 customer support people, including a manager who also worked the counter, in the office when I brought my truck in for recalls. It seemed pretty efficient for the customers who were present, who were all served within a few minutes. I never heard or noticed any of those support people talking to a customer on the phone. Of course, SC's are obviously are not always as run that well even for customers who are there in person.

I empathize with your situation and hope you get it resolved as well as possible.

 

[PowersolUSA]

No how do we have this conversation in a constructive manner? That seems to be the difficult part.


Alright. It is all the drama. You have about a single paragraph of information worth sharing but what you did shared doesn’t make a lot of sense nor is it entirely consistent. Tesla says it is totaled. Tesla says bring it. Tesla says get it the hell out of here. Tesla says it is just a scratch, buff it out. Tesla says who needs insurance. It came from the air bags but I didn’t see it. You google how air bags work, you read the CT manual. There is no mystery here. And I don’t recall very many instances I got satisfaction from brand dealers service centers with my new cars since the 70’s but I did learn that histrionics got me nowhere. You asked for advice-get it fixed and sell it. I would be extremely depressed if it happened to my CT but Tesla had nothing to do with your unfortunate accident.

It seems like you didn’t quite understand what I was getting at. The issue is that Tesla has given me conflicting answers throughout this process. First, they scheduled a service call and told me to bring the vehicle in, so I ordered Tesla Roadside through Stepps Towing, who delivered it to the service center. Then, Tesla refused to take it because the head manager overruled the decision of the service manager who initially told me to bring it in.

Since Tesla doesn’t have a direct phone line (I’ve tried calling 50+ times), I was getting updates from the towing dispatch. I finally drove down there myself to figure out why they wouldn’t accept the vehicle, even though my app said to drop it off at the service center. This back-and-forth is what I mean by conflicting answers—there was no clear plan or consistency.

As for your “expert opinion,” Tesla shouldn't even have a discussion about faulty airbags, just take that one on the chin (Or the back of the head) and let it happen to more ppl before I bring that historia to Tesla. No, sorry I must have missed the part or I didn't read the about beware of flying objects if the Airbags are deployed? Maybe Tesla should install a shotgun to shoot the driver in the head with a bean bag or rubber bullet—that make sense. Should every truck that gets hit in the tire face consequences, or is this random?

And as for getting it fixed and selling it, sure, that might be the way to go. But should I tell Tesla about selling it while I’m at it? May as well add a $500K fine on top of everything! After all, the law of averages says things will eventually go my way with the next vehicle, right?

Thanks for your input.

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