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You could be driving a time bomb and not even know it.

That’s what auto experts told 11 News Investigates, all because of a deadly type of fraud that makes you less safe behind the wheel.

They’re a big business on the black market: airbags.

Some of the most expensive parts on your car, and 11 News Investigates discovered those high-dollar items are fueling a dangerous trend behind the dashboard that’s already killed.

When you see just how effective these protective pillows work in a crash, only a dummy would want to tamper with an airbag.

“It’s kind of depressing that somebody lost their life because of somebody’s stupidity,” Harris County Deputy C.J. Meaux said.

But the accident investigator said it’s stupidity and greed that drive a dangerous problem in Houston that’s a hidden danger.

Take a two-car, head-on crash that deputy Meaux worked in northeast Harris County.

The airbags in this Camaro deployed, and the driver walked away.

But those in the front of this Mercury Sable didn’t because, “the vehicle’s airbags were not there,” Deputy Meaux said.

He said it wasn’t a malfunction, but a manipulation by someone making repairs.

“That car had been in a wreck previously,” he said.

First, the passenger side airbag.

“It had actually deployed, and they just stuffed it back in there, and crammed the top back on top of it,” Deputy Meaux said.

11 News

Airbags save lives.

And what’s even worse: the driver’s side airbag was completely gone.

Laura Vega was that driver, and the seatbelt she was wearing didn’t provide enough protection.

Doctors gave her 72 hours to live, but at one point she said she didn’t want to.

“It hurts everywhere,” she said. “Let me die, let me die because I can’t stand pain all over my body.”

Ten surgeries later, Vega pulled through, but the front passenger in the Mercury did not survive.

It was her mother.

“I pray and I talk to her,” she said. “Mama I’m sorry; it was not my fault that it happened to you.”

Experts said the fault lies in a ballooning type of fraud. Shady repair shops charge insurance companies for new airbags, but then never install them or instead install salvaged, much cheaper airbags from other cars—even if they don’t fit and even if they might not work.

“And so you can be driving a hand grenade on four wheels without knowing it,” Jim Quiggle of the Coalition Against Insurance Fraud said. “The crooked body shops who do this don’t care whether you live or die, they’re only motive is greed: m-o-n-e-y.”

And there’s quite a market fueling the fire.

On  eBay alone, 11 News found more than 1,700 ads for used airbags going for $100 or $200.

But the cost of new ones from the factory can be five times as much.

“A lot of times we see airbags being stolen out of the cars,” theft replacement specialist Nancy Palazzolo said.

And so it’s also a thriving market for thieves.

“The price per airbag starts at about $700,” she said.

Palazzolo’s company specializes in replacing the high dollar items, which are so popular she said, “sometimes there may not be anything else wrong with the car, except for the ignition was busted, the car was stolen, and airbags were stolen out of it.”

And at one shop, they only use factory parts for a reason.

“You’re risking that it doesn’t deploy properly or not at all,” Jason Craig said.

And when just milliseconds can make a difference: “The bag has to reach you before you reach the dash,” Craig said.

A handful of states have laws making it a crime to install anything but factory‑issued airbags, but Texas isn’t one of them.

Experts said there are some things to watch out for on your own:

If the airbag light on your dashboard comes on and stays on, if it starts flashing or if it doesn’t come on at all, get a mechanic to check it out.

If you’re buying a used car, you can run a CARFAX report, which will tell you if its been in a previous wreck.

If your car is getting repaired after a crash, a reputable body shop should have no qualms about showing you the receipt for the new airbag it installed.