Crash Autopsy
The end of an era. Here are a few pics of the remains of my '98 Passat from a high speed impact into
a cliff face. The car crumpled beautifully - the cabin interior held up well considering that the car
flipped and slid on the roof for around 50 feet (a little over 15 meters). This, despite having the sunroof open.
Other notes:
- Airbag burns? Not with this car. For whatever reason, the airbag deployment was powder-free and very, very soft on impact (like hitting a comfortable down pillow).
This may be because I don't drive with the seat crammed up against the steering wheel - with a bit of distance, the airbag can fully deploy in the
space between the driver and steering wheel, rather than forcing the driver backwards during expansion.
- The panasonic made changer is really great. Despite the trauma to the car, the sound system kept playing away happily, with the changer cutting out for a 2 second period.
The rescue crews finally had to just rip off the semi-removable faceplate to kill the sound.
- Engine protection. I assumed the engine would have been severely damaged because of the direct front collision. However, the
car crumpled around the engine, leaving it perfectly intact. It could easily have been transplanted
to a needy car.
So there it is. The Passat really is as safe a car as I thought it would be - I walked away without a scratch. The EMS crew
was in disbelief. :)
Of course my next step was to find another one - a few of the writeups online now are from the current B5, a 2000 1.8t manual.
While the damage looks severe, the car held up well overall. At the
time of the crash all of the windows + sunroof were open, leaving an easy route of exit. However, the
car doors all still functioned perfectly, despite frame damage. The hood was a bit more reluctant but it didn't take a lot of effort
to free it, either.
The bumper cover was sheared away, but the bumper itself sustained very little damage. This was puzzling - the bumper should have impacted and crumpled.
There wasn't much in the way of fluid leakage. With the damage to the radiator, coolant was pretty much the only leak.
Lots of damage surrounding the engine, but none internally.
The radiator assembly was pushed close to the front of the engine, but didn't actually touch it. The accessory belts were still in place and in good condition. If the battery
hadn't died from the emergency lighting and the fuel lines hadn't been shut down, the car probably would have started.
The roofline between the A pillars compressed about 1.5", but other than that the
cabin was in good shape. Nothing detached and flew around wildly. Note that the sunroof motor covering (above the
sunroof control) had been removed a few months before to integrate a car computer/LCD system. The stereo face plate was removed
by rescue crews to kill the music that refused to shut off.
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