Cool-Blue-Dad

Dude, really sorry to hear that. I suffered bad damage to my RX-8 once - not one good thing about (aside from not dying in the crash - that's a good thing - nothing else was good though).They'd better not deploy after you came to a stop. They're supposed to deploy during a *very* hard front or side impact. Must be square and dead-on otherwise the sensors will not let the system fire lest the airbag hit you at an odd angle and cause greater injury. If you're here and able to post then don't be concerned about the non-deployment - sounds like you bounced around at all kinds of crazy angles. You should have been concerned that the airbag would flip that plastic cover open from the middle of the steering wheel and rip an eye out. Older systems did that.A location otherwise known to us as the driver's door? Did your door open okay? Personally, in a car with airbags I have more fear of being pinned in the car during a fire than being beat up from the crash. I'd really like to see pics of that door. Anyway, that first impact sounds too light and certainly a wrong angle to deploy an airbag.The car cannot sense a 'hard landing' and the airbags wouldn't help you in that case anyway. Such an impact should not cause the airbags to deploy (unless they malfunction).A chain fence gives pretty good. I have no doubt it will chew the crap out of the side of your car, but it's not solid. Airbags sense really hard impacts like hitting a concrete wall or an object with the mass of another vehicle (such as another vehicle).If you can prove the frame is twisted you probably have a solid case for them totaling the car. Your insurance company or state law may have a number such as "if the repairs cost 60% (or 80% or something%) of the blue-book or fair-market value of the car then the car shall be totalled" Don't trust friends, strangers on the internet or your insurance company to tell you. Find out from an impartial and knowledgeable source. Get yourself into a nice rental car promptly (if your policy covers that) and get your insurance company on the road to getting you a check (you'll spend quite some time haggling over the amount).If you were wearing your seatbelt then I am not amazed at all. Been there, done that. You were lucky and I'm happy for you, but the frame of the RX-8 and the seat and seatbelt system work as well as anything else I've wrecked.Good enough chance they wouldn't have been seriously injured actually. Granted, they might have hit the window with their head, but they wouldn't have hit nearly as hard as if you'd slammed into a series of concrete poles or a concrete wall.No, they absolutely should not have deployed. They might have done more harm that good.

One other note on airbags. My car has had the airbag light on for a while and my dealer is replacing an electrical harness to fix the problem (he had to order it). He told me the airbag system would not allow any airbags to fire under any circumstances if that dashboard airbag light was on indicating any fault at all with the system.

Did you have the airbag light on prior to your crash?You mean "not" instead of "now", but you're exactly right. The air bag systems are deliberately designed to *not* fire in an angled crash.Yes, exactly right - in fact, the seatbelt holds you in the right position to catch you. I'm convinced a person would be hurt very badly by an airbag in even a perfect head-on collision if they were not wearing a seatbelt. See the thread "Airbag Stories" for more details.
https://www.rx8club.com/showthread.p...Airbag+stories
Agreed - I think I met a 1st-stage-only, weaker deplayment of the RX-8 airbag. No way to prove it except that it was nothing compared to the whallop I received from a 1995 Pontiac Sunfire airbag.I don't know about seat position being taken into account in the RX-8, but I know your statement about the passenger side bags is completely wrong for U.S. models. The RX-8 (definitely the 2004 and as-far-as-I-know all later models) do not sense passenger seat occupancy. 1) I went through a dozen people at Mazda's 1-800 tech line all telling the same story, 2) there is no indicater to warn when the passenger airbag is disabled (European models have this), 3) I was alone in my car in a square frontal crash and both front airbags popped out. No offense ken-x8, in most other 2004 cars you'd be right.

Got pics in this thread - https://www.rx8club.com/rx-8-discussion-3/hit-deer-5-week-anniversary-76587/

Once again - TexasRX8_84, I'm really glad you're okay. Some people complain about how tight these cars are - once or twice I've heard folks say it feels like being sealed in a coffin. I think they're completely wrong - somehow Mazda made these tiny cars exceptionally strong. Search around and you'll see some horrific damage and folks posted here along with their stories of, "oh, *I'm* fine, but just look at my poor car!!!!"

Cool-Blue-Dad

I made the same requirement - a Mazda RX-8 must be repaired at a Mazda dealership (preferably one with an on-site body shop). I told my insurance company this was a performance sports car with a rotary engine - far too exotic for any regular body shop. They bought it and we conducted all our business at a Mazda dealership.

I think the estimate is way low-balled. My damage was over $10,000 and the dealership still whined about losing money on the job in the end. Now, I had over $3,000 in airbag replacement, but I only had primary damage to the nose (bumper, hood, headlights, core support, etc). It sounds like you've got damage all the way around - lots more replacement body panels by my guess. Based on your description I think if they estimate less than $10,000 they're way wrong. Hopefully they'll get more realistic in subsequent rounds.

In the meantime, I hope you're feeling well and healing well. You can always get another ride, but you're only issued one back