User Guide

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If your vehicle goes straight into a wall that doesn’t
move or deform, the threshold level is about 12 to
18 mph (19 to 29 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, side impacts, or rear
impacts, because inflation would not help the occupant.
The driver’s side impact air bag is designed to inflate in
moderate to severe side crashes involving the driver’s
door. The 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.
The driver’s side impact air bag is not designed to inflate
in frontal or near
-frontal impacts, rollovers or rear impacts,
because inflation would not help the occupant.
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 the side impact air
bag, 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, air bag and related hardware
are all part of the air bag modules inside the steering
wheel, instrument panel and the side of the driver’s
seatback closest to the door.
How does an air bag restrain?
In moderate to severe frontal or near frontal collisions,
even belted occupants can contact the steering wheel or
the instrument panel. In moderate to severe side
collisions, even belted occupants can contact the inside
of the vehicle. The air bag supplements the protection
provided by safety belts. Air bags distribute the force of
the impact more evenly over the occupant’s upper body,
stopping the occupant more gradually. But the frontal air
bags would not help you in many types of collisions,
including rollovers, rear impacts, and side impacts,
primarily because an occupant’s motion is not toward
the air bag. The side impact air bag would not help you
in many types of collisions, including frontal or near
frontal collisions, rollovers, and rear impacts, primarily
because the occupant’s motion is not toward that air bag.