How Your Front Airbags Work - Honda Civic Owner's Manual

Additional Information About Your Airbags

How Your Front Airbags Work

If you ever have a moderate to
severe frontal collision, sensors will
detect the vehicle's rapid
deceleration.
If the rate of deceleration is high
enough, the control unit will instantly
inflate the driver's and front
passenger's airbags, at the time and
with the force needed.
26
During a frontal crash, your seat belt
restrains your lower body and torso,
and the front airbag helps protect
your head and chest.
Although both airbags normally
inflate within a split second of each
other, it is possible for only one
airbag to deploy.
This can happen if the severity of a
collision is at the margin, or
threshold, that determines whether
or not the airbags will deploy. In
such cases, the seat belt will provide
sufficient protection, and the
supplemental protection offered by
the airbag would be minimal.
Only the driver's airbag will deploy if
there is no passenger in the front
seat, or if the advanced airbag
system has turned the passenger's
airbag off (see page 32 ).
After inflating, the front airbags
immediately deflate, so they won't
interfere with the driver's visibility,
or the ability to steer or operate
other controls.
The total time for inflation and
deflation is one-tenth of a second, so
fast that most occupants are not
aware that the airbags deployed until
they see them lying in their laps.