Chevrolet Malibu 2010 Owner's Manual page 96

In addition, the vehicle has dual-stage frontal airbags.
Dual-stage airbags adjust the restraint according to
crash severity. The vehicle has electronic frontal
sensors, which help the sensing system distinguish
between a moderate frontal impact and a more severe
frontal impact. For moderate frontal impacts, dual-stage
airbags inflate at a level less than full deployment.
For more severe frontal impacts, full deployment occurs.
The vehicle has seat-mounted side impact and roof-rail
airbags. See Airbag System on page 2-58. Seat-mounted
side impact and roof-rail airbags are intended to inflate in
moderate to severe side crashes. Seat-mounted side
impact and roof-rail airbags will inflate if the crash
severity is above the system's designed threshold level.
The threshold level can vary with specific vehicle design.
2-64
Seat-mounted side impact and roof-rail airbags are not
intended to inflate in frontal impacts, near-frontal impacts,
rollovers, or rear impacts. A seat-mounted side impact
airbag is intended to deploy on the side of the vehicle that
is struck. A roof-rail airbag is intended to deploy on the
side of the vehicle that is struck.
In any particular crash, no one can say whether an
airbag should have inflated simply because of the
damage to a vehicle or because of what the repair costs
were. For frontal airbags, inflation is determined by
what the vehicle hits, the angle of the impact, and how
quickly the vehicle slows down. For seat-mounted
side impact and roof-rail airbags, deployment is
determined by the location and severity of the side
impact.