Owners Manual

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.”
In addition, your vehicle has “dual stage” frontal air
bags, which adjust the amount of restraint according
to
crash severity. For moderate frontal impacts, these
air bags inflate at a level less than full deployment.
For more severe frontal impacts, full deployment
occurs. If the front of your vehicle goes straight into a
wall that doesn’t move or deform, the threshold level
for the reduced deployment is about 10
to 16 mph
(16 to
25 km/h), and the threshold level for a full
deployment is about
20 to 25 mph (32 to 40 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.
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.
The air bag system is designed
to work properly under
a wide range of conditions, including off-road usage.
Observe safe driving speeds, especially on rough
terrain.
As always, wear your safety belt. See Operating
Your All- Wheel-Drive Vehicle Off Paved Roads on
page
4-17 for tips on off-road driving.
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