1993 Buick Park Avenue Owner's Manual - Page 38

How The Air Bag System Works 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 awall that does not move or deform,the threshold level for most GM vehicles is between 9 and 14 mph. 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. , Where is the air bag? The driver's airbag is in the middle of the steering wheel. In any particular crash, the determinationof 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 angleof 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.