Chevrolet 1999 Prizm Owner's Manual page 34

CAUTION:
If something is between an occupant and an air
bag, the bag might not inflate properly or it
might force the object into that person. The path
of an inflating air bag must be kept clear. Don't
put anything between an occupant and an air
bag, and don't attach or put anything on the
steering wheel hub or on or near any other air
bag covering and don't let seat covers block the
inflation path of a side impact air bag.
When should an air bag inflate?
The driver's and right front passenger's frontal air bags
are designed to inflate in moderate to severe frontal or
-
near frontal crashes. The frontal air bags are designed to
inflate only if the impact speed is above the system's
designed "threshold level." If your vehicle goes straight
into a wall that doesn't move or deform, the threshold
level is about 11 to 15 mph (18 to 24 km/h).
The threshold level can vary, however, with specific
vehicle design, so that it can be somewhat above or
below this range. If your vehicle strikes something that
will move or deform, such as a parked car, the threshold
1-26
level will be higher. The driver's and right front
passenger's frontal air bags are not designed to inflate in
rollovers, side impacts, or rear impacts, because
inflation would not help the occupant.
The driver's and right front passenger's side impact air
bags are designed to inflate in moderate to severe side
crashes involving a front door. A side impact air bag
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 air bags are not
designed to inflate in frontal or near
rollovers or rear impacts, because inflation would not
help the occupant. A side impact air bag will only
deploy on the side of the vehicle that is struck.
It is possible that, in a crash involving the front of your
vehicle, only one of the two frontal air bags in your vehicle
will deploy. This is rare, but it can happen in a crash just
severe enough to make a frontal air bag inflate.
In any particular crash, no one can say whether an air
bag should have inflated simply because of the damage
to a vehicle or because of what the repair costs were. For
frontal air bags, inflation is determined by the angle of
the impact and how quickly the vehicle slows down in
-
frontal and near frontal impacts. For side impact air
bags, inflation is determined by the location of the
impact and how quickly the side of the vehicle deforms.
yellowblue
-
frontal impacts,