What makes an air bag inflate?- Page 37

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In addition, your vehicle has “dual stage” frontal air bags,
which tailor 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 26 km/h), and the threshold
level for a full deployment is about 18 to 24 mph 
(29 to 38.5 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 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

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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

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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, air bag and related hardware
are all part of the air bag modules inside the steering
wheel, instrument panel and the side of the front
seatbacks closest to the door.