When should an air bag inflate?; If something is between an occupant and an air; bag, the bag might not inflate properly or it- Page 31

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CAUTION:

If something is between an occupant and an air
bag, the bag might not inflate properly or it
might force the object into that person causing
severe injury or even death. The path of an
inflating air bag must be kept clear. Don’t put
anything between an occupant and an air bag,
and don’t attach or put anything on the steering
wheel hub or on or near any other air bag
covering. Don’t let seat covers block the inflation
path of a side impact air bag.

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 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, rear
impacts, or in many side 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.