Passenger airbag, the life-saving innovation, turns 30

Following the launch of the driver airbag in March 1981, the first front passenger airbag was introduced on the S-Class on sale in 1987 and, in the autumn of that same year, on the 124 series, the forerunner of today’s E-Class. Mercedes made the passenger airbag standard equipment across all its model series from 1994 onwards.

The front passenger airbag was presented as an exclusive world first by Mercedes-Benz at the Frankfurt Motor Show held in September 1987, on the S-Class units on display, which belonged to the 126 model series. Just a few months later, in February 1988, the innovative component was already available on the market as a new optional extra, only available in combination with the driver airbag.

It cost 4,617 marks in Germany, of which 2,348 marks corresponded to the value of the driver airbag, which was also a creation of Mercedes-Benz (it was presented on the 126 series S-Class at the 1981 Geneva Motor Show). Mercedes was the first brand to introduce both safety components in mass-produced models. The airbag had been patented for series vehicle production in 1971 as a protective element in combination with the seatbelt.

The passenger airbag, standard since 1994 on all Mercedes models

From its first installation in a car, the front passenger airbag quickly began to demonstrate its effectiveness as an effective passive safety element, which is why Mercedes decided in August 1994 to include it in the list of standard features for all its vehicles, together with head restraints for rear-seat occupants.

Combining the front passenger airbag with the three-point seatbelt led to an important improvement in passive safety inside the car. Soon, a belt tensioner was added to these elements, which reduced the risk of chest and head injuries by a third.

Today, Mercedes models can be equipped with up to 12 different airbags. The first location for the passenger airbag was the glovebox space in front of the front passenger seat. It weighed five kilos, two more than the driver’s airbag hidden in the steering wheel. Its larger size was needed to cover the greater distance between the airbag and the passenger, since there was no steering wheel in between, which meant the air cushion’s volume had to be almost tripled. In that S-Class, the passenger airbag had a volume of almost 170 litres, nearly three times that of the driver’s airbag, which offered only 60 litres.

Its operation was essentially the same as that of the driver airbag. When the impact sensors detected a collision, the trigger activated the two gas generators installed in the airbag, creating a gas mixture that instantly inflated the airbag. The shape of the bag allowed it to protect the passenger both from impact against the dashboard and windscreen and from the A-pillar.

That triggering device could even classify the type of collision according to its severity based on preset thresholds. Depending on the severity, it first activated the belt tensioner and, at the highest level, the passenger airbag, which took just 15 milliseconds to fully deploy. The cushion, made from a polyamide fabric coated in rubber, would not deploy if the system’s sensors detected that the passenger seat was unoccupied.

A passive safety element that began in 1971

Mercedes started research into the airbag system almost two decades before the system was presented, in 1971. Since then, research into this innovation, which has helped save so many lives, has continued with remarkable success, as the launch of the passenger and driver airbags has been followed by many others. Thanks to the ever-decreasing size of the modules containing the bag and the activation system, the airbag could be installed in other parts of the vehicle.

Today, airbags have made it possible to offer complete protection in side impacts. In 1993, Mercedes Benz presented the first side airbag prototype, and by 1995 it was already part of the optional equipment of the E-Class. In 1998, the side airbag became standard equipment (window bag), in 2011 the head and thorax side airbag, in 2009 the knee airbag, and in 2013 the head, thorax and pelvis side airbags, the belt airbag and the curtain airbag. Subsequently, other improvements have been introduced, such as two-stage deployment systems depending on impact force for the driver and passenger airbags.

Currently, Mercedes Benz models offer their occupants a sophisticated protection system in which up to 12 different airbags are integrated.