1994 Cadillac Seville Owner's Manual - Page 49

What makes an air bag inflate? In a frontal or near-frontal impact of sufficient severity,the air bag sensing system detects that the vehicle is suddenly stopping asresult of a a crash.The sensing system triggers a chemical reaction of the sodium azide sealed in the inflator. The reaction produces nitrogen gas, which inflates a clothbag. The inflator, cloth bag, and related hardware are all part of the air bag inflator modules packed inside steering wheel and the in the instrument panel in front of the passenger. How does an air bag restrain? In moderate tosevere frontal or near-frontal collieions, evenbelted occupants can contact the steering wheel or theinstrument panel. The air bag supplements the protection provided by safety belts. Air bags distribute the force of the impact more evenly overthe occupant's upper body, stoppingthe occupant more gradually. Butair bags wouldnot provide protection in many types of collisions, including rollovers and rear and side impacts, primarily becausean occupant's motion is not toward the air bag. Air bags should never regarded as anythingmore be than a supplement to safety belt protection in moderate to severe frontal and near-frontal collisions. What will you see after an air inflation? bag After the air bag has inflated, it willthen quickly deflate. This occursso quickly that some people may not even realize that theair bag inflated. Some components of the air bag module in steering wheel hub for the the driver's air bag or theinstrument panel for the passenger's bag may be hot for a short time, but the portion of the bag that comes into contact with you willnot be hot to the touch. There will be small amounts of smoke and dust coming from vents inthe deflated air bags. The air bag will not impede the driver's vision ability to steer thevehicle, nor will it or hinder the occupants from exiting the vehicle. 36