Mazda 6 Training Manual page 154

ENGINE SPEED SENSING POWER STEERING
ENERGY ABSORBING SYSTEM
Structure and Operation
• The steering gear is joined to the steering shaft through the intermediate shaft.
• In a collision, the intermediate shaft is crushed as the steering gear moves rearward, thereby absorbing the
impact.
• If the driver’s body hits the steering wheel, the force applied to the steering wheel is transmitted through the
inner shaft, outer column, and fiing bracket. As a result, the fiing bracket is disengaged from the dashboard,
and the whole steering shaft will move forward.
At this moment, the U-shaped plate, which is fied to the dashboard at one end and held by the fiing bracket
at the other, will deform and absorb the impact.
.
1 Steering wheel
2 Steering shaft
3 Intermediate shaft
4 Steering gear
5 Section A—A
6 Steering gear side
7 Steering wheel side
End Of Sie
N–4
ENGINE SPEED SENSING POWER STEERING
8 U-shaped plate
9 Inner shaft
10 Outer column
11 Fiing bracket
12 Normal condition
13 During collision
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