What Makes An Airbag Inflate - Pontiac Vibe 2007 Owner's Manual

It is possible that, in a crash involving the front of
your vehicle, only one of the two frontal airbags
in your vehicle will deploy. This is rare, but it can
happen in a crash just severe enough to make
a frontal airbag inflate.
Side impact airbags are intended to inflate in
moderate to severe side crashes. A side impact
airbag will inflate if the crash severity is above the
system's designed "threshold level." The
threshold level can vary with specific vehicle
design. Side impact airbags are not intended to
inflate in frontal or near-frontal impacts, rollovers or
in many rear impacts. Your vehicle has sensors
which detect side impacts. These sensors
signal the appropriate side airbag to inflate. Both
side impact airbags (seat-mounted and
roof-mounted) are intended to deploy on the side
of the vehicle that is struck. It is possible that,
in a crash involving the rear side of your vehicle,
that only the roof-mounted airbag will deploy.
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, vehicle
speed, and how quickly the vehicle slows down in
frontal and near-frontal impacts. For side impact
airbags, inflation is determined by the location and
severity of the impact.
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. Frontal
airbag modules are located inside the steering
wheel and the instrument panel. For vehicles with
seat-mounted side impact airbags, there are
also airbag modules in the side of the front
seatbacks closest to the door. For vehicles with
roof-mounted side impact airbags, there are
also airbag modules in the ceiling of the vehicle,
near the side window.
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