What Makes An Airbag Inflate; How Does An Airbag Restrain; What Will You See After An Airbag Inflates - Pontiac 2007 Solstice Owner's Manual

Frontal airbags are not intended to inflate during
vehicle rollovers, rear impacts, or in many
side impacts.
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. Inflation is determined by what the
vehicle hits, the angle of the impact, and how
quickly the vehicle slows down.
What Makes an Airbag Inflate?
In an impact of sufficient severity, the airbag
sensing system detects that the vehicle is in a
crash. The sensing system triggers a release of
gas from the inflator, which inflates the airbag.
The inflator, airbag, and related hardware are all
part of the airbag modules inside the steering wheel
and in the instrument panel in front of the right front
passenger.
48

How Does an Airbag Restrain?

In moderate to severe frontal or near-frontal
collisions, even belted occupants can contact the
steering wheel or the instrument panel. The
airbag supplements the protection provided by
safety belts. Airbags distribute the force of
the impact more evenly over the occupant's upper
body, stopping the occupant more gradually.
But airbags would not help you in many types of
collisions, including rollovers, rear impacts,
and many side impacts, primarily because an
occupant's motion is not toward those airbags.
Airbags 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
Airbag Inflates?
After an airbag inflates, it quickly deflates, so
quickly that some people may not even realize the
airbag inflated. Some components of the airbag
module — the steering wheel hub for the driver's
airbag or the instrument panel for the right front
passenger's bag — may be hot for a short time.