dbuxton13

I'm having trouble understanding this... the insurance company actually told you rear side airbags are a negative and will add a whopping $300 to your premium by having them?

My wife's friend lost her 8 year old daughter a few years ago in a collision these types of airbags are designed to mitigate. When it comes to something like this, I really prefer to get down to fact or at least a reference rather than speculation. This forum has a thread on this topic elsewhere, and when someone reached out to Audi with their concern they received this reply:

*****
Good Afternoon xxx,

I am reaching out to you today on behalf of Audi of America and the new 2017 Q7 you have on order. I understand you may have some questions regarding the side-impact airbags, the effect on children and why they are not standard in the vehicles.

We are sorry to hear that your preferred Audi dealership is encouraging you to not include this option. All airbags are designed with children in mind. As long as a child is properly restrained in the vehicle it should not be any cause for additional concern. It is an additional safety feature in the vehicle- but not government mandated which is why this is an available option.

Once you have taken delivery of your vehicle you will find specific information within the owner’s manual regarding the safety of the supplemental side airbags on page 288. In this section it does indicate: “Infants and other children who are properly restrained in an appropriate child restraint that is for their size and age can benefit from the protection that supplemental side airbags can provide in some kinds of crashes” .

One website we direct our customers to for a plethora of information on these topics is Home | Safercar -- National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). For specific information on Side-Impact Air Bags here is a link within this site: http://www.safercar.gov/Vehicle+Shop...mpact+Air+Bags.

I sincerely hope this helps to answer any questions you may have regarding this topic. I would like to make sure your dealership is updated with this information as well so they are providing their customers with all of the necessary information for the customer to make an informed decision. Would you mind providing me with the name of your dealership as well as your sales person? We always look for opportunities for training within the dealerships.

Please feel free to reach out 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to our Customer Experience Center at 1+800-822-2834. We are always here to try to answer questions or concerns.

Warmest regards,

xxx
Customer Safety Specialist

Audi of America, Inc.
Customer Experience
3800 Hamlin Road
Auburn Hills, MI, 48326
United States of America
****

I will be hauling kids around in my S4 (youngest is 7) and I for one plan on spending the measly $350 for this option.

markcincinnati

I saw this when it originally came out -- there is a key point "Between this and blind spot monitoring assistants, you should never merge accidentally into someone." The key in this sentence is the inclusion of the technology that our cars can be equipped with -- Audi Side Assist.

Although setting the mirrors correctly is, without question, helpful, I would wager most drivers do not set their mirrors accordingly. The fact that "we enthusiasts" do so is, of course, very important; but, I believe insufficient.

Hopefully Audi is moving toward making ASA standard across the product line. But the thing is, Audi represents a relatively small portion of cars on the road, and only when ALL cars come with such technologies will a dent be made in crashes caused by blind spots.

Too, style leads -- style often compromises the visibility around the vehicle as automotive design seeks to entice buyers. Technologies that mitigate the impact of styling choices made by manufacturers and their customers are, I would argue, necessary, not simply "nice" -- nor should they only be the purview of the premium class cars.

Some of the most important safety features are only available on premium vehicles rather than the mainstream cars which, after all, populate our highways in much higher percentages than premium cars.

We have had backup cameras, electronic stability programs and even ABS for years in Audis. My first Audi with what was called ESP (which included ABS) was a MY 2001 A6 that I bought in 2000. ESP became widespread in 2012.

The number of crashes that could have been avoided had this technology been implemented a decade sooner are technically unknown, but those experts who have speculated on the loss of life and/or property that could have been prevented have placed the "costs" [of not having this technology widely in use until sometime after 2012] at breathtakingly high numbers.

The driver assistance program on my new S4 is not -- yet -- autonomous driving, however, it has, in 1000 miles prevented two crashes, by my reckoning, due to b-hole drivers who have decided I should be abruptly cut off on the crowded interstates circling Cincinnati. Thankfully Pre-sense saved my butt, my car's front end and quantums of time that, had I crashed, could never be recovered.

The best news I have seen is that these technologies are proliferating across the board and up and down the price spectrum of vehicles.

carys4

Thanks for the post. Very informative. My order is still very far from delivery and I will be visiting my dealership today to have the option added. I did a lot of follow up research and contacted a different person from my insurance company and there seems to be confusion with "rear side airbags" and "rear-facing" when it comes to child safety. I clarified that it is rear "side" deploying and they confirmed that although it is not government mandated, the NHTSA did not find any adverse affects of having rear side deploying airbags where kids in seats are concerned

Talbot

If I might add two more cents into the pot.... Your child(ren) won't be in a booster seat forever. I'm guessing that you'll be keeping the car for (at least) 3 years.

heisnuts

The key phrase in the letter above is "Infants and other children who are properly restrained in an appropriate child restraint that is for their size and age can benefit from the protection that supplemental side airbags can provide in some kinds of crashes."

There is the possibility the child in the back was not "properly" restrained and that the air bags caused more harm than good. There is also the possibility that the child was properly restrained but that this particular collision was very minor where there would not have been any injury but the air bag did cause injury as it deployed.

So far everyone has been talking about small children. What about adults (including young adults), especially if they are larger people? Were they "properly" restrained, and even if they are the same potential for insurance liability is there where more harm then good occurs.

The insurance company is looking at the potential liability in the event of a claim. In this case there is at the very least over $2k just to replace the deployed air bags and related interior damage caused when the air bags deploy. So yes, I can see why they are charging more to insure the car.

Newer cars today are offering a lot of useful features like adaptive cruise control, LED headlights, collision mitigation systems, HUD, lane keep assist, air bags in just about every panel of the car, etc. The problem for the insurance company is that when these cars are in collisions the costs to replace/repair these systems are astronomical. Have you ever looked up[ the price for just one LED headlight assembly? I looked up the cost for just the drivers side LED headlight for an Audi S6 (part number 4G0-941-773-K), and the MSRP on just that part is $2,800.

Then there are all the sensors and cameras in the front of the car for the adaptive cruise control, lane assist and collision mitigation systems. The MSRP for JUST the passenger side distance sensor in the front bumper (part number 4G0-907-561-B) is $2,400. In a front end crash, both sides will probably be damaged and when you add this to both headlights you are approaching $10,000 before even considering the actual paint and body work needed to repair the car.

With these astronomical costs to repair newer cars, the chance that a newer car will be totaled in even a moderate collision is a lot higher than before. And as these cars get to be 4 to 5 years old, the chances only increase. So what seems like an important safety feature to a consumer that would lower risks in a crash, the insurance company looks at it as an increase in liability and charges accordingly.

Nathan.r007

When placing my order and receiving my confirmation email from my dealer last week for my new S4, I saw it listed all my option codes and an additional I couldn't recognize. Anyone know what "ACG" means?

Thanks!

carys4

ACG is just the "Audi Connect Guide" - probably a booklet/manual for all the Audi connect features

Nathan.r007

ahhhh! Yes thank you! It was driving me wild making me thing they had messed something us lol.

Thanks again!