?????

Post 95 iirc

Drivers side was added in 1995, passenger side in 1997. 95-96 driver's air bags were mechanically operated, changing to electronic in 97.

No such thing as a mechanically operated airbag, they all have been computer controlled since day one.

[QUOTE=Radi;1960656] 95-96 driver's air bags were mechanically operatedQUOTE]
Mechanically operated? You have to rewind it before each use?
Never heard about mechanically operated airbags.

Re: disabling air bag on 96 jeep cherokee
95 and 96 this is easy - it's a mechanical airbag and no electronics are involved.

from SOME OTHER XJ forum.....im sure its on here too. people remove them all the time on 95-6's due to mechanical airbags tendency to go off at the most inopportune moments.

"Mechanically activated systems use inertia to move a triggering pin. Regardless of the type the triggering mechanism, the air bag deploys due to simultaneous explosions occurring within the squib, the igniter, and the gas generator. All three of these are located in a metal housing attached to the back of the air bag assembly."

Ask Jrock(FOS). she had hers blow out on a big dip i believe!

The early versions had a firing pin and a safety catch you were supposed to engage if you removed the module. (and they'll blow sitting on the workbench if you look at them wrong without that engaged...ask me how I know, lol) Some of the early XJ airbags were recalled as they forgot to install the safety catch at the factory. They operate with no external power, no sensors, no computer...disconnecting the batter won't disable the mechanical bags.
The computer control and inertia sensor were added in '97.

I'm supposed to be looking at a 1996 XJ next week; my 2001 was totaled in a BAD accident, and in spite of seat belt and airbags, the impact left me with a serious brain injury. As long as I don't mess around with them myself, do you consider them good airbags? (I know the 97-99s were those faulty Takatas with the recall, but I don't know much about earlier ones.) Should I take it in to my mechanic and have him check them out if I buy it? Can they be replaced with newer ones? Is there anything in particular that would deploy them other than impact?
Hope I'm posting this in the right place.

I can’t answer the last poster’s question. But I’m glad this thread was brought to the surface, because it sounds like a safety concern. I have a 96 and I had no idea the airbag was so finicky. All I know is I hit a deer with mine and it pushed in the driver side of the bumper, put a kink in the fender, broke the grille. And the airbag didn’t go off. Yet others have had it go off if you hit a bump wrong. Sounds like time to do something with mine. None of my other vehicles have airbags anyway.

Hoping one of the veterans or mods will see it and have something definitive for us.
Here's what BlueRidgeMark said in a related thread, and I think he's spot on: [QUOTE=BlueRidgeMark;3494356] Having no airbags is no problem until you need them. Just like seat belts. They are completely useless until they aren't.

A lot of things are no problem... until they are. Tailgating is no problem until it is. Driving drunk is no problem until it is. Street racing is no problem until it is.

If I had not had airbags 3 months ago today, I would be in very bad shape today, possibly dead, instead of just recovering from a fractured kneecap.

"I've been doing X for Y years and I never had any problem!" is the language of stupid people.

Please don't let it go. A freakin' Civic running into me left me in such bad shape that I'm still not back to work almost 6 months later, and my short-term memory and balance were obliterated, I can't handle bright light or noise (most TV and music included, screen brightness can't be above 30-40% & even then I can't be on my phone or laptop for long), Whiplash, near-constant headaches and dizziness until the last few weeks, and most disturbing, losing all your coping skills that got you to adulthood and having major personality changes. I even forgot my date of birth for a while and had to practice it.
And I'm maybe halfway at the most to the worst case scenario. I don't mean to lecture you at all. I just can't stand the thought of this or worse happening to anyone.

I'm not really sure what this thread is about but my first XJ was a 96 I bought new. It had the " mechanical " air bag. I had the vehicle for ~15 years and over 100,000 miles and had zero air bag issues.
my guess is that if anyone had problems with them they were doing something stupid, like taking them out and dropping them on the floor.

Thanks for this! I was already a pretty cautious driver (ok, maybe a little less so on a gorgeous day on a country road), but in the city, I just assume everyone would kill you to get their kids home from school faster.
If I buy this one, I will probably get them checked out, anyway.
If you see anything that suggests they can be replaced or improved upon, I'd love to know.

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1) with the mechanical air bag there isn't really anything to check out, it's either there or it isn't, which would be obvious
2) retrofitting a later (97+) xj airbag system would not be practical, way too much involved and all you would end up with is a 25 year old system. If you're really concerned about crash test ratings you really need to consider vehicles that are a lot newer than an XJ
https://www.iihs.org/ratings/vehicle...-door-suv/1997