california: My parents recently gave my wife and I a minivan with low mileage but the biggest drawback is that both the driver and passenger airbags have already been deployed when my father hit a moving pole a few years ago. Is it legal to drive this vehicle in California? Would you drive this minivan without in exchange for no car payments? Would you attempt to get this vehicle repaired.|||they can be repacked and it is not illegal but if your insurance company finds out your rates will go up. i would get them packed because that is a big safety feature and could save your life. for a while i am driving my parents minivan to high school until i have the money for a car of my own.|||Legality aside, NO vehicle should be driven until the airbags are replaced by a technician especially trained to do this. Airbags are extremely important when it comes to personal safety when operating a motor vehicle. You NEVER know when an accident will happen. Every time you get behind the wheel, you are putting yourself in danger. Airbags should NEVER be "repacked" or "reset". Once airbags have deployed, the entire airbag assembly has to be replaced. Trying to repack or reset does nothing to help prevent injury should another accident occur. There is no guarantee that the airbags will deploy a second time. They are designed for one-time use. EMT Just a note...seatbelts should be replaced as well, if you are in a collision in which the airbags deploy. Seatbelts, when strained to the maximum limit of velocity, may not work properly the next time, causing serious injury or death. I was in a high velocity accident just over a month ago. Both airbags deployed and my seatbelt locked. All were replaced with manufacture equipment.|||In 1998, dual front airbags were mandated by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), and de-powered, or second-generation air bags were also mandated. This was due to the injuries caused by first-generation air bags that were designed to be powerful enough to restrain people who were not wearing seatbelts. This is a national law............|||as far as I know airbags can be repacked. Theres nothing that says you cant drive a vehicle without airbags my car is 15 years old and wasn't even manufactured with airbags.