User Guide

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.
Air bags supplement 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 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 those air bags. Air
bags should never be regarded as anything more than a
supplement
to safety belts, and then only in moderate to
severe frontal or near-frontal collisions.
What will you see after an air bag inflates?
After an air bag inflates, it quickly deflates, so quickly
that some people may not even realize the air bag
inflated. Some components of the air bag module
-- in
the steering wheel hub for the driver’s air bag
-- or the
instrument panel for the right front passenger’s bag,
will be hot for a short time. The parts
of the bag that
come into contact with you may be warm, but not
too
hot to touch. There will be some smoke and dust coming
from vents in the deflated air bags. Air bag inflation
doesn’t prevent the driver from seeing or from being
able to steer the vehicle, nor does it stop people from
leaving the vehicle.
I
A CAUTION:
When an air bag inflates, there is dust in the air.
This dust could cause breathing problems
for
people with a history of asthma or other
breathing trouble.
To avoid this, everyone in the
vehicle should get out as soon as it
is safe to do so.
If you have breathing problems but can’t get out
of the vehicle after an air bag inflates, then get
fresh air by opening a window or door.
Air bags are designed to inflate only once. After they
inflate, you’ll need some new parts for your air bag
system. If you don’t get them, the air bag system
won’t be there
to help protect you in another crash.
A new system will include air bag modules and
possibly other parts. The service manual for your
vehicle covers the need
to replace other parts.
0 Your vehicle is equipped with a crash sensing and
diagnostic module, which records information about
the air bag system. The module records information
about
the readiness of the system, when the sensors are
activated and driver’s safety belt usage at deployment.
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