Daewoo Kalos, User Manual

Page: 27 / 270

SEATS AND OCCUPANT PROTECTION SYSTEMS 1–23
Air bags inflate when a sensor detects
a front-end crash of a severity sufficient
for air bag deployment. The crash sen-
sor sends an electric signal to initiate
the air bag’s inflation. A propellant is
ignited which rapidly burns inside the
air bag module, producing enough ni-
trogen gas to fully inflate the air bag.
The chemical process and nitrogen gas
are harmless to the vehicle’s occupants.
Within 0.045 seconds of the crash de-
tection, the pressure of the inflating air
bag splits open the plastic trim cover-
ing on the module, which is scored on
the inside surface to allow the trim of
the steering wheel hub or passenger-side
instrument panel to split open under
force.
The air bag fully inflates to create a sur-
face that can catch the forward move-
ment of the front occupant’s head and
upper torso. As the occupant comes into
contact with the air bag, the gas in the
bag empties through holes at the base
of the bag to soak up the force from the
occupant’s forward movement.
v v v v v
WARNING
Air bags are only a supplemental re-
straint, and are most effective in
combination with safety belts.
All occupants, including the driver,
should always wear their safety belts
whether or not an air bag is also pro-
vided at their seating position, to
minimize the risk of severe injury or
death in the event of a crash.
(Continued)
NOTE
Air bags cannot smother you and
they don’t restrict your movement.
Air bags have vents, so they deflate
immediately after cushioning you.
The entire process, from initial contact
through the air bag’s inflation and de-
flation, occurs within 0.2 seconds, faster
than the blink of an eye. Because the
collision is over in a fraction of a sec-
ond, and vehicles involved in an acci-
dent usually come to the final point of
rest only one or two seconds after ini-
tial contact, the supplemental restraint
system must sense the crash and cause
the air bags to deploy nearly instanta-
neously to protect the vehicle’s occu-
pants.
SIDE AIR BAGS*
The side air bag modules are located
in the outboard side of the front
seatbacks.
S3W1211A