Every car nowadays comes with airbags for extra safety in case something goes wrong, but some cars put a decal on the top of your car to remind you about them and how they work. But most people don’t like how they look and wonder, is it illegal to remove airbag stickers?
Although it’s not entirely illegal, it can be illegal in some states of the US. But even if it isn’t illegal in your country, we still wouldn’t recommend you to peel the sticker off as it can remind you not to tamper with the airbags.
There’s more to it though, and we’ll be going all over them today in this article. So without further ado, let’s begin.
What Is The Purpose Of Airbag Stickers?
Airbags are one of the most vital components of your vehicle as they’ll prevent the driver from getting injuries as much as possible. But most people won’t remember the importance of an airbag warning sticker and potentially tamper with them and cause some damage to them.
This is when airbag stickers come in. They provide information to the owner of the vehicle about their specific airbag system. This sticker is officially put by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration or the NHTSA, as an airbag is a critical safety feature.
These are usually put at the top of your car, but they can sometimes be near the airbag itself. They’re often big in size too, which is why a lot of people don’t like how they look and want to remove them.
Is It Illegal To Remove Airbag Stickers?
As mentioned above, it’s not always illegal to remove the air bag warning label. It’s illegal in some states where the crashing or accident rate from cars is high but other than that it’s legal in most of the world.
Still then, even getting them off is a lot of effort most people don’t want to go through. Removing the stickers can often lead to consequences as well, such as the airbags not deploying correctly if the sticker is near the airbag.
Along with that, the adhesives are usually extremely strong and hard to get off. So if you want them to get off, you’ll need to put in some effort.
What Are The Consequences Of Removing Airbag Stickers?
Some people think that there aren’t many consequences to removing airbag stickers other than you forgetting about the airbags. But that’s not the case, and there can actually be tons of consequences if you remove airbag stickers.
Leftover residue
The most common consequence you get from trying to remove airbag stickers is leftover residue. So if you don’t want small chunks of the sticker getting stuck on your car, you’ll need to be extra careful while removing them.
Penalties where illegal
And in countries where removing the airbag sticker is illegal, you can get fined a few thousand dollars or get your car towed for a few weeks.
Damage to the airbag system
Along with that, removal or alteration of the stickers can damage that part of your car itself. It can even make your airbags not inflate properly. So overall, we wouldn’t recommend you to take it off.
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How To Remove Airbag Stickers
If you still want to remove the airbag stickers of your vehicle even after looking at the consequences, then follow along with these steps. Although it’s not recommended, you can easily avoid any consequences by being careful
So firstly, you need to get a hairdryer or a heat gun. If you don’t have any of these, you’ll have a very difficult time removing the airbag warning sticker cover and most likely won’t succeed without any damage. You’ll need a small knife, too.
So to get started, get your knife and try poking the decal lightly. If you see that the adhesive is too strong, use your hairdryer or heating gun to heat it up. This will make peeling it off much easier.
Make sure not to break the sticker itself, as you’ll want to remove it in one piece. This is the best way to prevent any leftover residue or damage to your car.
So after you heat it up, try to push your knife into it to make a gap between the sticker and part of the car it’s stuck to, which will often be the visor.
After doing so, you should heat the gap you made for a few minutes. This will evenly melt any adhesives to make peeling much easier. After that, you should be able to peel it easily with a knife or with your fingers. Heat it up more if needed.
Also Read: Is It Illegal To Drive Without A Rear Bumper : Rules and Penalties
Conclusion
Hopefully, now you know is it illegal to remove airbag stickers or not. As long as you don’t damage your car while removing it, the consequences aren’t that bad. It’s not illegal in most countries too.
But as a final note, we’d recommend you unscrew the visor of your car if the sticker is placed there. This will make removing the sticker much easier since you can put it on a table.
If the sticker doesn’t bother you much, you shouldn’t take it off as it’s a lot of effort. But with all that being said, cheers!
