When Should An Airbag Inflate; What Makes An Airbag Inflate - Chevrolet Silverado 4500HD 2022 Manual

36 Seats and Restraints
Warning (Continued)
that person causing severe injury or even
death. The path of an inflating airbag
must be kept clear. Do not put anything
between an occupant and an airbag, and
do not attach or put anything on the
steering wheel hub or on or near any
other airbag covering.
Do not use seat accessories that block the
inflation path of a seat-mounted side
impact airbag.
Never secure anything to the roof of a
vehicle with roof-rail airbags by routing a
rope or tie down through any door or
window opening. If you do, the path of
an inflating roof-rail airbag will be
blocked.

When Should an Airbag Inflate?

This vehicle is equipped with airbags. See
Airbag System 0 33. Airbags are designed to
inflate if the impact exceeds the specific
airbag system's deployment threshold.
Deployment thresholds are used to predict
how severe a crash is likely to be in time
for the airbags to inflate and help restrain
the occupants. The vehicle has electronic
sensors which help the airbag system
determine the severity of the impact.
Deployment thresholds can vary with
specific vehicle design.
Frontal airbags are designed to inflate in
moderate to severe frontal or near frontal
crashes to help reduce the potential for
severe injuries, mainly to the driver's or
front outboard passenger's head and chest.
Whether the frontal airbags will or should
inflate is not based primarily on how fast
the vehicle is traveling. It depends on what
is hit, the direction of the impact, and how
quickly the vehicle slows down. Frontal
airbags may inflate at different crash speeds
depending on whether the vehicle hits an
object straight on or at an angle, and
whether the object is fixed or moving, rigid
or deformable, narrow or wide.
Frontal airbags are not intended to inflate
during vehicle rollovers, in rear impacts,
or in many side impacts.
The vehicle may have front outboard
seat-mounted side impact airbags.
Seat-mounted side impact airbags are
designed to inflate in moderate to severe
side crashes depending on the location of
the impact. Seat-mounted side impact
airbags are not designed to inflate in frontal
impacts, near frontal impacts, rollovers,
or rear impacts.
A seat-mounted side impact airbag is
designed to inflate on the side of the vehicle
that is struck.
The vehicle may have roof-rail airbags. These
roof-rail airbags are designed to inflate in
moderate to severe side crashes depending
on the location of the impact. Both roof-rail
airbags will inflate when either side of the
vehicle is struck. In addition, these roof-rail
airbags are designed to inflate in a severe
frontal impact. Both roof-rail airbags will
also inflate if the sensing system predicts
that the vehicle is about to roll over on its
side. The roof-rail airbags are not designed
to inflate in rear impacts.
In any particular crash, no one can say
whether an airbag should have inflated
simply because of the vehicle damage or
repair costs.

What Makes an Airbag Inflate?

In a deployment event, the sensing system
sends an electrical signal triggering a release
of gas from the inflator. Gas from the
inflator fills the airbag causing the bag to