When Should An Air Bag Inflate; What Makes An Air Bag Inflate; How Does An Air Bag Restrain - Chevrolet 2003 Malibu Owner's Manual

When Should an Air Bag Inflate?
An air bag is designed to inflate in moderate to severe
frontal or near-frontal crashes. The air bag will 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 9 to 14 mph
(1 4 to 23 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 air bag is not designed to inflate in
rollovers, rear impacts, or in many side 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.
If IlldllUl I I> UClCI I
I Ill
ICU
uy
LI IC
dl
IYlC 0 1 L I It: II I IpclLL
and how quickly the vehicle slows down in frontal and
near-frontal impacts.
i-.si-*:-.- :-
- I - *
-...--
!
. - - -
t
I^..
L L -
- +
a t - -
:
L
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.
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 and in the instrument
panel in front of the right front passenger.
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 many
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.
side
Implrts, p!-im2!-i!y
!29C'"SP 2!?
Ecups!?,'S m9tIon IC,
1-57