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Safety system of your vehicle
During a frontal collision, sensors will
detect the vehicle's deceleration. If
the rate of deceleration is high
enough, the control unit will inflate
the front air bags.
The front air bags help protect the
driver and front passenger by
responding to frontal impacts in
which seat belts alone cannot pro-
vide adequate restraint. When need-
ed, the side air bags help provide
protection in the event of a side
impact or rollover.
• Air bags are activated (able to
inflate if necessary) only when the
POWER button is in the ON posi-
tion.
• Air bags inflate in the event of cer-
tain frontal or side collisions to help
protect the occupants from serious
physical injury.
• Generally, air bags are designed to
inflate based upon the severity of a
collision, its direction, etc. These
two factors determine whether the
sensors produce an electronic
deployment/inflation signal.
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• The front air bags will completely
inflate and deflate in an instant. It is
virtually impossible for you to see
the air bags inflate during an acci-
dent. 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 addition to inflating in certain
side collisions, vehicles equipped
with a rollover sensor, side and
curtain air bags will inflate if the
sensing system detects a rollover.
When a rollover is detected, side
and curtain air bags will remain
inflated longer to help provide pro-
tection from ejection, especially
when used in conjunction with the
seat belts.
• To help provide protection, the air
bags must inflate rapidly. The speed
of air bag inflation is a consequence
of extremely short time in which to
inflate the air bag between the
occupant and the vehicle structures
before the occupant impacts those
structures. This speed of inflation
reduces the risk of serious or life-
threatening injuries and is thus a
necessary part of air bag design.
However, the rapid air bag inflation
can also cause injuries which can
include facial abrasions, bruises and
broken bones because the inflation
speed also causes the air bags to
expand with a great deal of force.
• There are even circumstances
under which contact with the air
bag can cause fatal injuries, espe-
cially if the occupant is positioned
excessively close to the air bag.
You can take steps to help reduce
the risk of being injured by an inflat-
ing air bag. The greatest risk is sitting
too close to the air bag. An air bag
needs space to inflate. It is recom-
mended that drivers sit as far as pos-
sible between the center of the steer-
ing wheel and the chest while still
maintaining control of the vehicle.
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