When Should an Air Bag Inflate?
The driver’s and right front passenger’s frontal air bags
are designed to inflate in moderate to severe frontal
or near-frontal crashes. But they are designed to inflate
only if the impact speed is above the system’s
designed “threshold level.”
If the front of your vehicle goes straight into a wall that
doesn’t move or deform, the threshold level is about
9 to 14 mph (14 to 23 km/h). The threshold level
can vary, however, with specific vehicle design, so that
it can be somewhat above or below this range.
If your vehicle strikes something that will move or
deform, such as a parked car, the threshold level will be
higher. The driver’s and right front passenger’s frontal
air bags are not designed to inflate in rollovers, rear
impacts, or in many side impacts because inflation
would not help the occupant.
Your vehicle may or may not have a side impact air bag.
See Air Bag Systems on page 1-49. Side impact air bags
are designed to inflate in moderate to severe side
crashes. A side impact air bag will inflate if the crash
severity is above the system’s designed “threshold level.”
The threshold level can vary with specific vehicle design.
Side impact air bags are not designed to inflate in frontal
or near-frontal impacts, rollovers or rear impacts,
because inflation would not help the occupant. A side
impact air bag will only deploy on the side of the vehicle
that is struck.
In any particular crash, no one can say whether an air
bag should have inflated simply because of the damage
to a vehicle or because of what the repair costs were.
For frontal air bags, inflation is determined by the angle
of the impact and how quickly the vehicle slows down
in frontal and near-frontal impacts. For side impact
air bags, inflation is determined by the location
and severity of the impact.
What Makes an Air Bag Inflate?
In an impact of sufficient severity, the air bag sensing
system detects that the vehicle is in a crash. For both
frontal and side impact air bags, the sensing system
triggers a release of gas from the inflator, which inflates
the air bag. The inflator, the air bag and related hardware
are all part of the air bag modules. Frontal air bag
modules are located inside the steering wheel and
instrument panel. For vehicles with side impact air bags,
the air bag modules are located in the seatback closest to
the driver’s and/or right front passenger’s door.
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Summary of Contents for 2004 Sunfire
Page 5: ...These are some examples of symbols you may find on your vehicle v ...
Page 6: ... NOTES vi ...
Page 17: ...Put someone on it Get it up to speed Then stop the vehicle The rider doesn t stop 1 11 ...
Page 66: ... NOTES 1 60 ...
Page 106: ... NOTES 2 40 ...
Page 108: ...Instrument Panel Overview 3 2 ...
Page 182: ... NOTES 3 76 ...
Page 347: ...Maintenance Record cont d Date Odometer Reading Serviced By Maintenance Record 6 29 ...
Page 348: ...Maintenance Record cont d Date Odometer Reading Serviced By Maintenance Record 6 30 ...