2007 Chevrolet Avalanche Owner's Manual - Page 77
2007 Chevrolet Avalanche Manual
Page 77 highlights
The frontal airbags (driver and right front passenger) are not intended to inflate during vehicle rollovers, rear impacts, or in many side impacts. Your vehicle has a seat position sensor which enables the sensing system to monitor the fore and aft position of the driver's seat. Seat position sensors provide information that is used to determine if the airbags should deploy at a reduced level or at full deployment. Your vehicle may or may not have a roof-mounted rollover airbags and a rollover sensor. See Airbag System on page 70. These "rollover capable" airbags are intended to inflate in moderate to severe side crashes, during a rollover, or in a severe frontal impact. A roof-mounted rollover airbag will inflate if the crash severity is above the system's designed "threshold level." The threshold level can vary with specific vehicle design. Roof-mounted airbags are not intended to inflate in rear impacts. Both roof-mounted rollover airbags will deploy when either side of the vehicle is struck or during a rollover, or in a severe frontal impact. In any particular crash, no one can say whether an airbag should have inflated simply because of the damage to a vehicle or because of what the repair costs were. For frontal airbags, inflation is determined by what the vehicle hits, the angle of the impact, and how quickly the vehicle slows down. For roof-mounted rollover airbags, inflation is determined by the location and severity of the impact or a rollover event. The airbag system is designed to work properly under a wide range of conditions, including off-road usage. Observe safe driving speeds, especially on rough terrain. As always, wear your safety belt. See Off-Road Driving on page 373 for tips on off-road driving. 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. 77