What Makes An Airbag Inflate; How Does An Airbag Restrain; What Will You See After An Airbag; Inflates - GMC HUMMER EV 2023 Owner's Manual

56 Seats and Restraints
Seat-mounted side impact airbags are
designed to inflate in moderate to severe
side crashes depending on the location of
the impact. These airbags may also inflate
in some moderate to severe frontal impacts.
Seat-mounted side impact airbags are not
designed to inflate in rollovers or rear
impacts. A seat-mounted side impact airbag
is designed to inflate 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 vehicle damage or the
repair costs.

What Makes an Airbag Inflate?

In a deployment event, the sensing system
sends an electrical signal triggering a release
of gas from the inflator. Gas from the
inflator fills the airbag causing the bag to
break out of the cover. The inflator, the
airbag, and related hardware are all part of
the airbag module.
For airbag locations, see Where Are the
Airbags? 0 54.

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.
In moderate to severe side collisions, even
belted occupants can contact the inside of
the vehicle.
Airbags supplement the protection provided
by seat belts by distributing the force of the
impact more evenly over the
occupant's body.
But airbags would not help in many types
of collisions, primarily because the
occupant's motion is not toward those
airbags. See When Should an Airbag Inflate?
0 55.
Airbags should never be regarded as
anything more than a supplement to seat
belts.
What Will You See after an
Airbag Inflates?
After frontal and seat-mounted side impact
airbags inflate, they quickly deflate, so
quickly that some people may not even
realize the airbags inflated. Some
components of the airbag module may be
hot for several minutes. For location of the
airbags, see Where Are the Airbags? 0 54.
The parts of the airbag that come into
contact with you may be warm, but not too
hot to touch. There may be some smoke
and dust coming from the vents in the
deflated airbags. Airbag inflation does not
prevent the driver from seeing out of the
windshield or being able to steer the
vehicle, nor does it prevent people from
leaving the vehicle.
Warning
When an airbag inflates, there may be
dust in the air. This dust could cause
breathing problems for people with a
history of asthma or other breathing
trouble. To avoid this, everyone in the
vehicle should get out as soon as it is
safe to do so. If you have breathing
problems but cannot get out of the
vehicle after an airbag inflates, then get
fresh air by opening a window or a door.
If you experience breathing problems
following an airbag deployment, you
should seek medical attention.