From my 2002 handbook...

Operation of the airbag SRS is dependant entirely on the rate at which the vehicles passenger compartment changes speed as a result of a collision.....

It follows, therefore, that significant superficial damage can occur without the airbags deploying or, conversely, that a relative small amount of structural damage may cause the airbags to be deployed.

So that seems to indicate it's down to how many G's you pull on impact, I've dropped off large boulders and jumped the rangie several times and none have gone off...

Better to be safe than sorry I suppose, glad no one was hurt and you will have it back soon....  Pete

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2014 L405 Autobiography SDV8 4.4 Loire Blue Ebony interior
2011 L322 Vogue SE 4.4 TDV8 Baltic Blue. Parchment over Navy Interior. Sold
2012 L322 Autobiography 5.0 Supercharged Ipanema Sand, Jet Interior. Sold
2002 L322 Vogue 4.4 V8 Epson Green, Ivory over Aspen Interior (Fatty Offroader) Sold
-Click for Project Fatty off roader-

RRVSE wrote:

Cheers Jkay. I did feel like someone had been punching me in the stomach for around 4 days due to the seatbelt, couldn't believe how tight it was, assume it is to protect you from a roll-over or something.

Glad you're ok (apart from the sore stomach)

The seatbelts are a compromise between safety and comfort (hence the tensioner a going off) and are to hold you in place in all accidents not just rolls .
A 5-point harness will hold you n place much better , but driving to work drinking coffee and smoking would be a pain !!
I have 6-points in one of my cars , and it crushes the cigarettes in my top pocket


They are designed to go around your pelvis , not your stomach .
If I remember the figures right , Your hip bones can take around 6000lb and your stomach around 150

They could have deformed during and accident , so they'll be totally replaced .

It's a bad situation for you obviously , but be glad the car safety did it its job .

Cheers Pete - it was the last thing I was expecting to happen. I suppose if they didn't trigger, the sudden jolt in some circumstances could cause people to hit their heads on the windows so it would have protected against that if it had happened. Steve

Main car : FFRR L405 Vogue SDV8
Other car : Vauxhall Lotus Carlton
Past cars : FFRR L322 Vogue TD6 SE (Sept 2006 MY07) ; LandCruiser SWB ; 4-Runner ; Supras; XJS V12 LeMans

Without wanting to appear too alarmist, it is (IMHO) always a good idea to have a sharp cutting implement (stanley or otherwise) to hand in the front cabin for when the seatbelt is unable to open. can be a life saver when fire is part of the accident or you are upside down and can't self-release.

I think Halfords may sell the safety cutter type thingy?

Just a thought.

Wow. As a matter of interest what tyres were you using?

This is the sort of thing that puts me off driving Defenders, however iconic - the seatbelt bolt is just in the right place to hit my temple in the event of a driver side impact and of course no airbags. Only Range Rovers since 1988

I was just about to ask the tyre question too....

Having read this, I need to move my seatbelt cutter - it's in the door pocket, but sounds like thats a useless place to keep it as I wouldn't be able to reach it.

I arrived in La Plagne today in the snow - the roads were covered in compacted snow - I was certainly glad I had winter tyres on

Fastened to the inside of the centerconsole , or underside of its lid is an ideal spot ..

Wow - great story. It does make me question again the wisdom of having 22" wheels on my L405. Like you, my old L322 was on 19" wheels and was an absolute delight in snow. It seemed pretty invincible and I just don't have the same level of confidence in the L405, certainly in the 22" rubber. 2024 Range Rover P550e AB

@CS & Alistair - I am on the tyres that come standard with the 22" wheels - Continental 275/40 R22 CrossContact LX 108 Y - Range Rover version (there is a specific one for RR that is about £30 more than the normal one, all I can assume is that they have a strengthened tyre wall due to torque of the 4.4L but could be wrong).

@DolphinBoy - I was thinking that at the time, my other car has a cutter affixed to the central tunnel and a fire extinguisher

@Ian - my story was a bit misleading, the belt was across my hips / lower stomach, but the sudden tensioner pull (I was already tensed up once I realised I was not going to get out of the slide) tightened on an already 'braced for impact' body.

@EDj - I will be wary in future when the roads aren't overly wide and will go to smaller wheels for my next one. Steve

Main car : FFRR L405 Vogue SDV8
Other car : Vauxhall Lotus Carlton
Past cars : FFRR L322 Vogue TD6 SE (Sept 2006 MY07) ; LandCruiser SWB ; 4-Runner ; Supras; XJS V12 LeMans

Also now seems the side air bags slightly bent some metal retaining struts when they went off , so when the guy tried to fit the new airbags, he found the struts had bent sufficiently enough to prevent the new airbags being fitted, so had to order new metal struts. Must be one powerful charge when the airbags go off. Steve

Main car : FFRR L405 Vogue SDV8
Other car : Vauxhall Lotus Carlton
Past cars : FFRR L322 Vogue TD6 SE (Sept 2006 MY07) ; LandCruiser SWB ; 4-Runner ; Supras; XJS V12 LeMans

These have been on the market for many years:
http://www.lifehammer.com/features_instructions.html

That's exactly what I have - but it's sitting in the door pocket - I had never thought about the seatbelt tensioning such that I wouldn't be able to reach it

Is it me? but all this damage from hitting a kerb at less than 20mph I think is just ridiculous and I for one do not think this is right. I would be very worried going off road in the OPs RR cant be right.

When I asked the accident repair guy to guess what speed I was doing to cause the damage, he said they had cars in that triggered as little as 10mph (not RRs) so wasn't surprised due to the weight of the cars basically. Also now seems the drivers seatbelt has 2 tensioner systems so another has been ordered as the 2nd tensioner wasn't with the belts that were ordered. The door card will also take a while apparently , it's a special order (I assumed they would have stores of these in the different leather options but seems not) and will have to be made. Steve

Main car : FFRR L405 Vogue SDV8
Other car : Vauxhall Lotus Carlton
Past cars : FFRR L322 Vogue TD6 SE (Sept 2006 MY07) ; LandCruiser SWB ; 4-Runner ; Supras; XJS V12 LeMans

Glad you're OK.

On the subject of tyres - the all season tyres JLR put on as standard are pretty rubbish in snow and on ice. I'm just over the Pennines from you and have put Michelin Alpin's on for the winter. The difference even on a cold wet road is staggering. Just back from a week in the Alps and was amazed by the number of struggling Landrover products of all shapes and sizes - all British and I'm guessing all on standard tyres.

I know it's a bit of extra cash up front but if you're keeping a RR for a while then it's the same cost in the end. I honestly couldn't recommend the change enough.

Hope all is well with it when it's back.

Cheers,

H