How Does The Air Bag System Operate - Kia Optima 2017 Owner's Manual

Safety features of your vehicle
(Continued)
• Keep the SRS parts and wirings
away from water or any liquid. If
the SRS components are inopera‐
tive due to exposure to water or
liquids, it may cause fire or severe
injury.
How does the air bag system
operate
• Air bags are activated (able to inflate
if necessary) only when the ignition
switch is turned to the ON or START
position.
• Air bags inflate instantly in the event
of a serious frontal or side collision (if
equipped with side air bag or curtain
air bag) in order to help protect the
occupants from serious physical in‐
jury.
NOTICE
n if equipped with rollover sen‐
sor
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3-46
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Also, the air bags inflate instantly in
the event of a rollover (if equipped
with a side air bag or curtain air bag)
in order to help protect the occu‐
pants from serious physical injury.
• There is no single speed at which the
air bags will inflate.
Generally, air bags are designed to in‐
flate based upon the severity of a
collision and its direction. These two
factors determine whether the sen‐
sors produce an electronic deploy‐
ment/ inflation signal.
• Air bag deployment depends on a
number of factors including vehicle
speed, angles of impact and the den‐
sity and stiffness of the vehicles or
objects which your vehicle hits in the
collision. The determining factors are
not limited to those mentioned
above.
• The front air bags will completely in‐
flate and deflate in an instant.
It is virtually impossible for you to
see the air bags inflate during an ac‐
cident.
It is much more likely that you will
simply see the deflated air bags
hanging out of their storage com‐
partments after the collision.
• In order to help provide protection in
a severe collision, the air bags must
inflate rapidly. The speed of air bag
inflation is a consequence of the ex‐
tremely short time in which a collision
occurs and the need to inflate the air
bag between the occupant and the
vehicle structures before the occu‐
pant impacts those structures. This
speed of inflation reduces the risk of
serious or life-threatening injuries in
a severe collision and is thus a neces‐
sary part of air bag design.
However, air bag inflation can also
cause injuries which can include facial
abrasions, bruises and broken bones
because the inflation speed also cau‐
ses the air bags to expand with a
great deal of force.