1995 Chevrolet Lumina Owner's Manual - Page 30

In any particular crash, no one can say whether an air bag should have inflated simply because the damage of to a vehicle or because of what the repair costs were. Inflation is determined by the angle the impact and of the vehicle's deceleration. Vehicle damage only one is indication of this. What makes an air bag inflate? In a frontal near-frontal impact of sufficient severity, or the air bag sensing system detects that the vehicle is suddenly stoppingas a resultof a crash. The sensing system triggers a chemical reaction the sodium azide of sealed in the inflator. The reaction produces nitrogen gas, which inflates the air bag. inflator, air bag, and The When should an air bag inflate? related hardware are all part the air bag modules of The air bag is designed to inflate in moderate to severe packed inside the steering wheel and in the instrument panel in frontof the right front passenger. frontal or near-frontal crashes. The air bag will inflate only if the impact speed above the system's designed is "threshold level." If your vehicle goes straight into a wall that doesn't move or deform, the threshold level is about 9 to 15 mph (14 to 24 kmh). The threshold level so can vary, however, with specific vehicle design, that it can be somewhat above or below this range. If your vehicle strikes something that will move or deform, such as a parked car, the threshold level will higher. The be air bag is not designedto inflate in rollovers, side impacts, or rear impacts, because inflation would not help the occupant. 1-20