Airbag / Horn Pad interchange for '05 with Momo wheel

[TMBLKDG]

The airbag cover/ horn pad in my wagon is pretty trashed.  The plastic has gotten soft and kind of gooey and scratches really easily and it's pretty beat up.

 

I'd like to replace it but am unsure about fitment.  Does a replacement need to come from a Momo wheel, or will other wheels work? What about different model years?

 

I don't suppose it's possible to replace just the cover, is it?  Need to replace the entire airbag assembly?

 

Are these still available new?

 

I've been using "horn pad" and "airbag" as search terms and wondering if those are correct.  

 

Thanks for any guidance!

[TMBLKDG]

So, I've determined that they are indeed available new for about $500...~!

Looks like the part number is 98211AG07AJC

I guess my best bet is to find a good used one on Ebay or local wrecking yard/facebook part-out ad or something.  Don't know how good my chances of finding a nice one are though.

There's this one on Ebay currently for $106+ some expensive shipping:  https://www.ebay.com/itm/363819907642

 

The pictures are kind of fuzzy and low-res and poorly lit so there could be a lot of blemishes/flaws that don't show up.

If anyone knows of a nice one for sale, let me know.

 

[KZJonny]

Crap. Mine is getting a little gooey as well....

I've got a spare one out of a parts car, but the condition of the airbag or whether or not it was fixed under warranty is unknown.

I'd debated trying to clean then plastic paint my current one, but wonder if whatever adhesive is oozeing out from the plastic would just destroy that.

 

Took a look at this the other day for a buddy who is currently going to be stuck with a tan airbag in a black wheel, and the skin is held on with 4 x rivets. I would think it might be a little tricky to drill them out and put new ones in if you find a plastic in better shape, but it should certainly be do-able.....

Perhaps not the worlds best idea, but the inflator shouldn't go off if it is not connected to a voltage source, and your not ridiculously rough with it.

[TMBLKDG]

5 hours ago, KZJonny said:

Crap. Mine is getting a little gooey as well....

I've got a spare one out of a parts car, but the condition of the airbag or whether or not it was fixed under warranty is unknown.

I'd debated trying to clean then plastic paint my current one, but wonder if whatever adhesive is oozeing out from the plastic would just destroy that.

 

Took a look at this the other day for a buddy who is currently going to be stuck with a tan airbag in a black wheel, and the skin is held on with 4 x rivets. I would think it might be a little tricky to drill them out and put new ones in if you find a plastic in better shape, but it should certainly be do-able.....

Perhaps not the worlds best idea, but the inflator shouldn't go off if it is not connected to a voltage source, and your not ridiculously rough with it.

Are the '05s part of the Takata recall?  I ran my VIN in a recall search and there were no outstanding recalls on my car so either that was taken care of already or wasn't part of it?

the only thing that should set off an airbag would be an electronic signal to the inflator so as long as it's disconnected it should be safe to drill out the rivets.  Unless there's something unusual about them, I'm confident that's something I could accomplish.

I've never had good luck painting that rubbery kind of plastic and paint thick enough to hide the scratches in mine would look like crap anyway.

Thanks for the info!  Do you know about fitment?  i.e. - are the Momo wheel bags the same as any other years/models?

[KZJonny]

Well, my '05 went in for airbag recall last year.... but that was for the passenger side dash airbag. I'd assumed the drivers side has already been done, but I could certainly be wrong about that.... might not have ever been recalled.

I'll have a quick look, but I am pretty sure that the only difference between the Momo airbag and the base level one is that the GT/Momo (maybe some other high trim level cars?) has the hard plastic Subaru logo, while the base model has an all black plastic coverplate. I suppose it depends on how badly you want the badging, coz there are certainly plenty of base level wheel airbags in scrap yards.

I'll do a quick double check when I have a minute, but I am nearly certain that my 2.5i wheel is essentially the same as the one in my GT except for the skin....

[KZJonny]

All the air bags I have are the same... Even the 2.5i is the same unit as what came in my GT.

The GT wheel I have in the 2.5i is also the exact same except for having the shift buttons on it. Which, weirdly, or not work juuust perfectly with the 4EAT, just as well as they did the with the 5EAT...

Anyway, I think it's either get something like that one, collect a couple from a scrapyard and hope they're good, or have a go at drilling out the rivet in the cover and swapping the skins. From what I can see, the cover is meant to stay on the unit, while the 'centre circle' opens/hinges, whatever. So as long as the fasteners you use are up to the tast of retaining the plastic from jump off the airbag itself if/when it's triggered, all should be good.

That's almost certainly some kind of official safetly violation, but I really don't imagine even small steel bolts threaded in where the rivets used to be would shear for any reason a rivet wouldn't..... I suppose it's your face that at risk EOD.... 

[Infosecdad]

You can separate the airbag cover and charge without drilling anything if I remember correctly.

I removed my stock '05 airbag cover and replaced it with an STi cover by just removing four screws, unless my memory is completely failing me. I know I didn't drill out any rivets to do it.

[KZJonny]

I'll have another look at the one on my parts shelf then.

I couldn't see how to separate the two parts, but then I didn't actually try and see how it comes apart. If it's as easy as few fasteners, then I need to take a very close look. My dash is good so far (touch wood) but I've got the stick air bag cover, and there are lots of BP/BL's in scrapyards right now. It might be prudent to try and find one with a warrantied dash and decent air bag just to have more spares on hand.

[Infosecdad]

I went and looked at one of my spare ones.  There are four 8mm nuts to remove the airbag charge from the center, that's what you would want to pull out and swap over. There are four rivet points holding the cover on a metal chassis, but the airbag is folded in there and I think would fall out and be useless if one actually drilled out the rivets. It's the little airbag charge that would be removed by someone before shipping, the metal chassis and plastic cover would remain together.

[KZJonny]

Ah! I see. I was looking at trying to move just the plastic skin, not thinking that it's only the charge you need to replace over time or becuase of recall. I'd never taken it apart, so assumed the charge and the airbag were integral.

From memory I do recall where those hex screws are, and hadn't thought that you could slip just the charge out by undoing the horn switch assembly. Thanks for confirming that. Definitely makes collecting a non-sticky air bag cover from a scrapyard a good option now, especially if you have a known good airbag charge unit.

Carry on then!

Edited December 29, 2022 by KZJonny

[TMBLKDG]

Great information folks thanks!