In the early '90s, engineer Douglas C. Hansen was working for an aerospace firm developing airbag inflators. He discovered there was a lack of understanding regarding airbag systems'how they worked, how they should be handled and how they should be repaired.
Propelled by that discovery and recent legislation that required all cars to be equipped with driver and passenger airbags, Hansen and his wife, Victoria, founded Airbag Service. Franchisees work with repair shops and consumers in testing, maintaining and replacing airbags.
The company has co-branding relationships with Novus and Apple Auto Glass.
In 1988 Chrysler offered air bags as standard equipment and Doug Hansen, the founder of Airbag Service, was engineering air bag technologies for Rocket Research Company. After designing and crash testing airbag systems for a variety of car manufacturers, Doug realized servicing these devices required technical expertise outside of standard auto mechanics’ training.
In 1992 he founded Airbag Service LLC, a company specializing in the repair, maintenance and inspection of air bag systems and advanced automotive electronics.
Today’s "Smart" Air Bags Require Smart Repairs
Gone are the days of just a driver-side airbag. Passenger air bags are mandatory and many vehicles contain air bags and sensors throughout the vehicle. Sophisticated algorithms control air bag deployment and other components of the Supplemental Restraint System (SRS), factoring in variables such as passenger weight, interior temperature and crash angles.
The system is dependent upon advanced electronics positioned throughout the vehicle and controlled by multiple computers. These systems vary not just by make and model, but sometimes even by model year. This has increased the complexity of repairs with the potential for an incorrect repair to compromise the safety of the entire system.
Ironically, as the sophistication of the air bags and the SRS have increased, repair expertise has declined. Unlike areas in Europe, the U.S. repair market remains unregulated and has over-simplified the diagnostics and repair of airbags and air bag controllers to the point that you or your mechanic can order air bag light clear online without ever knowing why the airbag light is on.
Twenty Years Later Our Mission has Not Changed
At Airbag Service we don't service cars, we help people. We are the industry leader in air bag, SRS and electrical repair. All of our technicians receive specialized training, and our organization invests in the tools and technology needed to retain our position of leadership. The safety of the people that ride in the vehicles we service has always been and will continue to be our top priority.
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