Do the air bags on your used car work?

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) - Pedro Hernandez bought a Chevy Trailblazer from Complete Automotive in Holland in January.

Shortly after, Hernandez got into a minor accident that damaged the driver's door. Repair technicians found hidden damage on the passenger side, too. And they found the air bag sensor on the passenger's side still chipped and not even mounted. It was just dangling below the truck.

Target 8 discovered Hernandez's truck had been in an accident in 2011, which damaged the passenger side so severely an insurance company ruled the truck a total loss.

Hernandez, a husband and father, had no idea.

"You hit something and the airbag don't go off, what's going to happen?" he said. "They're going to go towards the windshield."

Alex Babayan bought a 2005 Infiniti from Lee Auto Export in Grand Rapids in December 2011 Soon after, it was hit while it was parked in a parking lot. When he took it to be repaired, a technician noticed the air bag system wasn't even there.

Someone had filled the air bag compartment with foam, and then covered it up to make it appear to be working.

Babayan, who noticed the air bag light blinking, said he thought the air bag system was turned off. "I'm so angry about this. This is ridiculous."

Kelly Glass of Hansen Collision in Holland said he sees this all the time. Most drivers would never even know they don't have working air bags until they're in an accident.

"No air bags is the worst one. That's the worst thing you can run into," Glass said. "A car that's designed to have an air bag and then you don't have one and you don't know it? That's not a good thing."

Dealerships, he said, will "actually cut the old bag off, glue everything back down, do a little vinyl repair on it so it looks like it has an air bag but it really doesn't."

At Target 8's request, state Salvage Vehicle Inspector John Wilson looked at Hernandez's Trailblazer.

"If (the air bag sensor was) dangling down, it would be completely dysfunctional, obviously. So that would be an obvious cue for an inspector to look for other problems," said Wilson.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration studied about 1,500 deadly crashes and found that one in five vehicles had no air bags. They'd never been replaced after a previous crash.

Wilson has failed cars that had no working air bags. "As an inspector and as a former police officer, I've seen too many horrible accidents that could've been prevented by functioning air bags. As a body shop or somebody doing a repair on a car, to not repair that is unconscionable."

When Target 8 went to Complete Automotive in Holland about the damaged Trailblazer, Nate Eldred said he would only address the issue with the owner.

They then spoke, and Hernandez told Target 8 Eldred agreed to give him a new bumper, but reminded him he knew he was buying a previously damaged car and that he bought it "as is."

At Lee Auto Export, Molly Ly handles all the sales paperwork. She told Target 8 she always tells customers when air bags don't work, and that many customers choose not to have them fixed in a money-saving effort.

Babayan disagrees, and said Ly told him nothing when he bought his Infiniti. He recently filed a lawsuit against the dealer over what he feels is their dishonesty with what was wrong with the car, including the missing air bags.

Additionally, Target 8 discovered the state of Michigan is investigating Lee Auto Export, but officials wouldn't reveal why because their investigation is still open.

It's not illegal for used car dealers to sell a car without working air bags, as long as the customer knows.

"The state investigates complaints when they come to our attention, and then we take action," said Gisgie Gendreau, a spokesperson for the Secretary of State's office in Lansing. The state can fine dealerships and even revoke their licenses.

In order for the state to begin their investigation, a customer must fill out a complaint through the Secretary of State.

But it's also important to check before you buy.

Experts recommend taking a used car to a dealership that has certified mechanics to work on that brand's air bag system, and have them inspect it before you sign the final papers.

Carfax keeps tabs on cars that have had deployed air bags.

Several states have either looked into laws or are passing laws that make selling cars without air bags illegal. However, Michigan is not one of those states.

On the Net:

Q&A - Airbags (from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety)
Air Bag basics