I have a 2003 Mazda Protege. When I purchased the car, I paid extra for a side airbags and anti-lock brake package. On Monday, December 20th of 2004, I was broad sided by a 1990 huge Chevy work pick up. I was going 40 mph, I estimate the truck at the same. My side airbags failed to deploy. If I had not seen the truck coming and offset the angle of impact, my brother and I would most likely be in the hospital right now. When I contacted Mazda Consumer Affairs, I was told that they were not guaranteed to deploy and "made a note in my file they failed to deploy.? at no point during the buying process was I told they were not guaranteed. When talking to Mazda"S Consumer Affairs, I was also told they would not look into the failure unless my insurance company came after them.

- Kimberton, PA, USA

Failure of side air bag to deploy. On date indicated the right side of my 2003 Mazda protege5 struck a metal utility pole with sufficient force to cause the vehicle to be a total loss, yet the side curtain air bag did not deploy. This was a direct and not glancing blow the main force of which struck immediately over the right rear wheel. Interestingly enough, when notified, the Mazda usa customer service representative stated that the insurance company (usaa) should initiate any required action. Yet, the insurance company claims they are not "involved" if the air bag did not contribute to the cause of the accident. Is no one but me concerned that there may be a defective side air bag system design or that a defective unit may have been installed in my car?

- Owens Cross Roads, AL, USA