2005 Chevrolet Aveo Owner's Manual - Page 57

{CAUTION: If something is between an occupant and an airbag, the bag might not inflate properly or it might force the object into that person causing severe injury or even death. The path of an inflating airbag must be kept clear. Do not put anything between an occupant and an airbag, and do not attach or put anything on the steering wheel hub or on or near any other airbag covering. Whether your frontal airbags will or should deploy is not based on how fast your vehicle is traveling. It depends largely on what you hit, the direction of the impact and how quickly your vehicle slows down. If your vehicle goes straight into a wall that does not move or deform, the threshold level is about 9 to 14 mph (14 to 23 km/h). (The threshold level can vary, however, with specific vehicle design, so that it can be somewhat above or below this range.) Airbags may inflate at different crash speeds. For example: • If the vehicle hits a stationary object, the airbag could inflate at a different crash speed than if the object were moving. When Should an Airbag Inflate? The driver's and right front passenger's frontal airbags are designed to inflate in moderate to severe frontal or near-frontal crashes. But they are designed to inflate only if the impact exceeds a predetermined deployment threshold. Deployment thresholds take into account a variety of desired deployment and non-deployment events and are used to predict how severe a crash is likely to be in time for the airbags to inflate and help restrain the occupants. • If the object deforms, the airbag could inflate at a different crash speed than if the object does not deform. • If the vehicle hits a narrow object (like a pole) the airbag could inflate at a different crash speed than if the vehicle hits a wide object (like a wall). • If the vehicle goes into an object at an angle the airbag could inflate at a different crash speed than if the vehicle goes straight into the object. 1-51