When changing the steering wheel, is the airbag still working?
Jakarta – Replacing the steering wheel with a newer model has now become one of the trending minor modification trends that is in great demand by vehicle owners. In addition to giving the impression of a more modern cabin, this step is also considered a practical way to update the appearance without the need to make a major overhaul of the car interior.
However, the question arises: Will cars that do not have airbags have the function of the airbags can activate the airbag function if the steering wheel is replaced with a model that is equipped with an airbag?
Muhammad Bobby, owner of Bobby Spec Rare Item, a car steering specialist shop at MGK Mall Kemayoran, explained that the function of the airbags is not automatically active just because the steering wheel is changed. “I can’t. So, the airbag will not work,” he said when met in Jakarta some time ago.
According to Bobby, if consumers have a car that is not equipped with an airbag system, then installing a new steering wheel that already has an airbag will not make the function of the airbag work. “That cannot be done. Because there must be many changes in the car, such as the addition of impact sensors, airbag modules, appropriate cables, to control units that can communicate with the entire safety system,” he explained.
The main reason why the airbags don’t work is because the system doesn’t just depend on the components in the steering wheel. There are many supporting devices that must be installed completely so that the safety system can work optimally. Therefore, if the car does not have supporting devices from the factory, installing the steering wheel with an airbag will only improve the appearance, but will not activate the safety function.
“If the car doesn’t have an airbag, we’ll install the steering wheel with an airbag, so it’s just deactivated,” added Bobby.
Even so, the trend of changing the steering wheel is still in demand. Many old car owners choose to change the steering wheel to get improvements to the interior appearance. Some of the reasons that keep this trend crowded include:
- Hand position becomes more comfortable and ergonomic
- More modern and aesthetic steering design
- Some new steering wheel models are equipped with multifunction buttons to control audio, phone, or other features
Bobby emphasized that even though the function of the airbag is not active, changing the steering wheel still provides a high aesthetic value. “But the point is that it looks. It looks like it can. But the airbags don’t work,” he said.
