1998 camry side air bags?

[jazkillingjoke]

Hi

I am in the process of looking for a used car, something safer than my Ford escort.
I am down to 3 or 4 models including the Toyota camry. I learned that the 1998 model was the first one equipped with side air bags (Optional). My question is:

-Are those torso/chest only side air bags or both head/chest side air bags?
(Maybe if you own one the manual might tell you? I can't find the exact info so far online.)

This info is very important to me, as safety is going to be very important in my next purchase(I witnessed a deadly crash, it scared me). Checking the IIHS site, cars with head/torso side bags save lives at rates of 50-60% more than cars without side bags at all in side impact.
Chest only side air bags improve chances of surviving a side impact 10-15% opposed to cars non equipped with them at all.
If it has head/torso side air bags protection along with the affordable 4 cylinder, I will find it hard to not get the camry.

Thanks so much

Patrick

[ONE_to_HATE]

Well.. that really depends on the height of the person riding- isn't?

but- the placement of the gen4 passenger side airbag is right ontop of the dashboard. So i'm pretty confident they're tryna go and protect a person's head and the size will just compensate for the chest area. Ur midsection wise (abdominal area) - i don't think the airbag will reach that far.

[jazkillingjoke]

Hi

Thanks for the post. I am not sure about person height, actually I am trying to learn about the whole side air bag thing as I don't know much.

Best regards

Patrick

[Mike Gerber]

Patrick,

Why don't you call Toyota corporate at 1-800-331-4331 and follow the menu to get to customer service. Ask this question of a customer service rep. If they don't know the answer offhand, they will find a way to get the right information for you. Then you will know you have the correct answer to a question that is obviously very important to you.

Mike

[Hajoca]

FROM WHAT I REMEMBER.

The side air bag comes out of the seat. not from the windshield pillar.

[islandboy57]

Until the gen 5 (2002+) side airbags were torso only.. If safety is truly a big concern, you'll definitely want to get torso + curtain airbags, or at the very least curtain airbags. Clearly budget plays into how much car you can get. Don't forget to also look for ABS.

You'll likely have a very hard time finding a gen 4 (1997-2001) with side airbags. I'm always scanning craigslist for Camrys and I think I've seen ONE gen 4 Camry equipped with side airbags in the past few years. Your best bet is to look for a 2002 Camry with at least curtain airbags. Not many people opted for it but you'll have a much better chance of finding a gen 5 with side airbags compared to a gen 4. The trend seems like SE/XLE/V6 LE models were more likely to have side airbags for the gen 5 compared to the most popular I4 LE.

In any case, you really can't go wrong with any year Camry. From 1992 on up they're pretty substantial in terms of size and weight. The other night my relative was commenting on the strong wind pushing their car around. I couldn't relate to it because I'm almost never pushed around by the wind in either of our Camrys. They're safe cars.. Even if you pick one without side airbags, feel confident that it's safer than a lot of other cars out there on the road .

Keep us updated! I hope you do end up choosing a Camry..

Some articles for you to read up on:
http://www.edmunds.com/ownership/saf...les/index.html
http://www.iihs.org/research/qanda/airbags.html
http://www.edmunds.com/used/1998/toy...14/safety.html > shows that the 1998 Camry had torso airbags available, while curtain airbags were not.

[jazkillingjoke]

Hi

Mike, Hajoca and islandboy57

Thanks so much for the answers. islandboy57 great post and great link on the IIHS site with the side air bags, I have been checking every model I like by year, I didn't know this link it's very helpful.
Mike that is a great idea, I didn't know we could call car sellers about older models and ask about features.
Hajoca thanks for checking the info for me.
I like the camry more and more as the volvo 850 is way too expensive to repair.

The search goes on, but I got more weapons now.

Thanks so much for the help

Patrick

[islandboy57]

The Volvo 850 is a very nice car indeed. But like you said, taking into account repairs and maintenance - you'll be better off with a Camry. Have you thought about looking into a Lexus ES? They're based on the Camry. As you mentioned, the Camry had side torso airbags available starting in 1998. Same with the ES, except that it's standard equipment. Same goes for 2002 when the Camry got available torso AND curtain airbags; they're standard on the ES.I know they're more expensive than a used Camry but I wanted you to know your options. You might come across a good deal on an ES! Like I said earlier - try and find a gen 5 Camry. It's got a newer platform (6 years old now, compared to the gen 4 which an 11 year old platform so as I'm sure you can imagine, safety improvements were made) and more available safety features. The one downside is that the brakes got awfully mushy. They work fine, just that there's more pedal travel than most would prefer.

[jazkillingjoke]

islandboy57

You are starting to spoil me, a Lexus, I didn't know they could been obtained that cheap (That's how much I know about cars). I just did some nationwide and local searches just to see, ES 300 1998 $3000-$4500, each search returns 2-6 in that price range.
Now of course mileage is high but I need it for only 3 years then I will get a better ride. How much can they take even if I can expect a couple of repairs here and there? Can they take high mileage like a volvo or honda (300k or more), even if it will be mostly used to go to work (20 miles each way)?

Decent score here:

http://www.safercar.gov/Cars/630.html

Not tested prior to Lexus 2002 models on IIHS beside for head restraint. Both the 1997 and 1999 score "acceptable", the 1998 wasn't tested but I assume it should be the same.

No offense to all the camry fans here but I like the look of the ES 300 a lot better.

Thanks for that suggestion, I am going to research further it's safety record and what can go wrong on it.

Thanks again

Patrick

[islandboy57]

The ES300 you're looking at has a motor called the 1MZ-FE. It is a 3.0L V6 and it's a sweet engine. Unfortunately, it is very prone to sludging. Googling will lead you to I'm sure an infinite number of articles on the issue. That's the risk you take with buying a high-mileage Toyota/Lexus V6 product. IF it was maintained properly with frequent oil changes, I'm sure you could go quite far with it.

I agree that the ES300 is an extremely nice looking car. But when it comes down to it, you'll probably be better off with a 4 cylinder Camry just because there's less to go wrong and it's cheaper to maintain/repair. If you'll only have the car for 3 years you'll probably have to forgo side airbags. It's going to be tough finding one that was equipped with them..

If the sludging problem of the Toyota V6s hasn't scared you away, you can also look at the Toyota Avalon. Very nice car - I don't remember when side airbags were made available, but if I had to guess, I'd say around 2002.