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The right-front passenger's air bag is
located in the instrument panel on the
passenger's side.
When is an air bag expected to inflate?
The air bag is designed to inflate in
moderate to severe frontal or near-frontal
crashes. The air bag will only inflate if
the velocity of the impact is above the
designed threshold level. When impacting
straight into a wall that does not move or
deform, the threshold level for most
GM vehicles is between 9 and 15 mph
(14 and 23
km/h).
However, this velocity
threshold depends on the vehicle design
and may be several miles-per-hour faster
or slower. In addition, this threshold
velocity will be considerably higher if the
vehicle strikes an object such as a parked
car which will move and deform on
impact. The air bag is also not designed to
inflate in rollovers, side impacts, or rear
impacts where the inflation would provide
no occupant protection benefit.
It is possible that in a crash, only one of
the two air bags in your Firebird will
deploy. This is rare, but can happen in a
crash just severe enough to make an air
bag inflate.
In any particular crash, the determination
of whether the air bag should have
inflated cannot be based solely on the
level of damage on the vehicle(s).
Inflation is determined by the angle of the
impact and the vehicle's deceleration, of
which vehicle damage is only one
indication. Repair cost is not a good
indicator of whether an air bag should
have deployed.
What makes an air bag inflate?
;,
[n a frontal or near-frontal impact of
sufficient severity, the air bag sensikg
system detects that the vehicle is suddenly
stopping as a result of a crash. The
sensing sytem triggers a chemical teaction
of the sodium azide sealed in the inflator.
The reaction produces nitrogen gas;
which inflates a cloth bag. The infktor,
210th bag, and related hardware are all
part of the air bag inflator modules
packed inside the steering wheel and in
the instrument panel in front of the
passenger.
How does an air bag restrain?
[n moderate to severe frontal or
near-frontal collisions, even belted
occupants can contact the steering wheel
or the instrument panel. The air bag
supplements the protection provided by
safety belts. Air bags distribute the force
of the impact more evenly over the
occupant's upper body, stopping the
occupant more gradually. But air bags
would not provide protection in many
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