What Makes An Airbag Inflate - Chevrolet Silverado 2007 Owner's Manual

Dual Stage Airbags
If your vehicle has frontal airbags with dual stage
deployment, the amount of restraint will adjust
according to crash severity. Your vehicle has
electronic frontal sensors which help the sensing
system distinguish between a moderate and a
more severe frontal impact. For moderate frontal
impacts, these airbags inflate at a level less
than full deployment. For more severe frontal
impacts, full deployment occurs. If the front of your
vehicle goes straight into a wall that does not
move or deform, the threshold level for the
reduced deployment is about 9 to 16 mph
(14 to 26 km/h), and the threshold level for a full
deployment is about 18 to 23 mph (29 to 37 km/h).
The threshold level can vary, however, with
specific vehicle design, so that it can be somewhat
above or below this range. Vehicle's with dual
stage airbags also have a sensor which enables
the sensing system to monitor the position of
the driver seat. The seat position sensor provides
information which is used to determine if the
airbags should deploy at a reduced level or at
full deployment.
What Makes an Airbag Inflate?
In an impact of sufficient severity, the airbag
sensing system detects that the vehicle is
in a crash. In the case of a roof-mounted rollover
airbag, the sensing system detects that the
vehicle is about to roll over or has been in a severe
frontal impact or a moderate to severe side
impact. The sensing system triggers a release of
gas from the inflator, which inflates the airbag.
The inflator, airbag, and related hardware are all
part of the airbag modules inside the steering
wheel and in the instrument panel in front of
the right front passenger. For vehicles with
roof-mounted rollover airbags, the airbag modules
are located in the ceiling of the vehicle, near
the side windows.
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