Aspen wreck rear end collison

[GOVOLS123]

I will start off saying I loved my wifes Aspen the only month we owned it. She was rear ended last Monday by someone texting while driving. She was hit in the rear at 55+ MPH and the driver did not even attempt to stop or slow down. He was ticketed and admitted to the texting when the accident occured. My wife was injured bad, but I firmly believe if she was not in the Aspen it could have been much worse. We just got word that the car was totaled yesterday. The fully enclosed frame on it is what I think saved her life. The whole rear end and suspension was pretty much destroyed. The rear cross member did its job, it twisted under the car into the spare tire and prevented it from getting to the gas tank. It did break off the gas tank fill valve but not rupture the tank. The spare tire was flattened and bent the wheel in half. With all the force it shoved the shocks and other suspension parts into the rear diff and drove the drive shaft into the tranny because it also leaks now. It did not fold to the back seat alothough it did mess up the storage area by pushing it upward. I firmly believe that if children were in the 3rd row they would be seriously hurt but not dead, and I believe it with all my heart. It also broke my wifes seat, it now reclines only at 35-45 degree angle and twisted. When she was rear ended she also hit a car in front of her also at a stop waiting for someone to turn. All it did was take all the paint off the rear bumper, busted all the chrome, and broke a few pieces in the grill. My next question is about the air bags. She was hit in the rear first then crushed another car, 92 Mercury Grand Marquis, and pushed his trunk and rear quarter pannels up to the real window. With that kind of force I think the air bags should have deployed, but they did not. If they did they may have saved her some of the head tramma. Someone told me that the computer didnt have time to reset is why the airbags did not deploy. From what I am reading the only thing with the airbags and being tied into the computer is when they are not working. Which puts a light on in the dash. Supposedly the sensors are completly separate part. Does anyone know how the airbags sensors work, and if the computer part is true? To conclude we did both love the Aspen for the 1 month we owned it, the first payment came out today, and will replace with another one if we can find one we like again. After seeing this wreck I firmly believe the Aspen may be one of the safest cars on the road. Oh and even with all the damage we drove it home 3 miles and parked it in the garage when the police report was over. It drove like crap but it was tough enough to make it.

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[CHRYSLER TECH]

air bags are for frontal or side impact not rear

when u hit something int eh front the force is pushing u toward the front of the car and the air bag will help slow you down like catching a ball with a glove

the rear is impacted the force is from behind and the get pushed back toward the rear and no air bag will deploy.


Deployment of the SRS components depends upon the angle and severity of an impact. Deployment is not based upon vehicle speed; rather, deployment is based upon the rate of deceleration as measured by the forces of gravity (G force) upon the acceleration-type impact sensors. When an impact is severe enough, the microprocessor in the ORC signals the inflator of the appropriate airbag units to deploy their airbag cushions. The front seat belt retractor tensioners are provided with a deployment signal by the ORC in conjunction with the front airbags. The side curtain airbags are provided with a deployment signal individually by the ORC based upon a side impact sensor input for the same side of the vehicle.

[GOVOLS123]

Thanks Tech. That does make sense now. Thank you again for your help.

[kkreit01]

Wow! I'm very sorry to hear about your accident. At least your wife survived. The Aspen can be replaced. She can't. I'm surprised the culprit survived. What was he driving?

[GOVOLS123]

He was driving an 2002 Ford Ranger. I was suprised he was not hurt either. He was walking around saying sorry, but he didnt even get checked out by the EMT's or anything. The only thing he complained about was his wrist hurting, which I suspect was from the airbags jamming his wrist when he was texting while the wreck occured.

[bjatwood]

So Sorry to hear about your wife's accident. These Aspens are a very solid vehicle. Does anyone know how many crash rating stars these things were rated at, when they were new?

[bjatwood]

Just found out the crash test ratings on the Aspen:

NHTSA Frontal Crash Test


NHTSA rates crash-tested vehicles by assigning them one to five stars, with five stars indicating the most injury protection and one star indicating the least protection.
Aspen w/SAB 2WD Aspen w/SAB 4WD Driver Front Passenger Front