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Dear jd620,

Hope you're well. Airbags are protective because their briefly-contained explosion provides a cushion for about 50 milliseconds after deployment.

The explosion, though contained, can be lethal if - for example, someone's head is right in front of the airbag when it deploys. That's why short persons should sit as far as possible from an airbag.

Because airbags contain a solid (sodium azide) that on ignition generates huge amounts of gas (mainly nitrogen), airbags are classed as an explosive and may not lawfully be shipped via the post office in most countries.

Your report is useful because it validates Volvo's guidance that the factory-installed airbag system's service life is equal to "the life of the vehicle".

The airbags used in 940s were made by a unit of Electrolux (Sweden), not Takata, the Japanese firm whose airbags sometimes deploy with such force, that the metal canister fragments. In some cases Takata's airbags killed the driver or passenger. See: https://www.nhtsa.gov/equipment/takata-recall-spotlight .

Hope this helps.

Yours faithfully,

Spook