2011 Chevrolet Cruze Owner's Manual - Page 79

Seats and Restraints 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 seat-mounted side impact and roof-rail airbags, deployment is determined by the location and severity of the side impact. In a rollover event, roof‐rail airbag deployment is determined by the direction of the roll. Frontal airbag modules are located inside the steering wheel and instrument panel. For vehicles with knee airbags, there are airbag modules below the steering column and below the glove box. For vehicles with seat-mounted side impact airbags, there are airbag modules in the side of the seatbacks closest to the door. For vehicles with roof-rail airbags, there are airbag modules in the ceiling of the vehicle, near the side windows that have occupant seating positions. 3-31 Airbags supplement the protection provided by safety belts. Frontal airbags with knee airbags distribute the force of the impact more evenly over the occupant's body, stopping the occupant more gradually. Seat-mounted side impact and roof-rail airbags distribute the force of the impact more evenly over the occupant's upper body. Rollover capable roof‐rail airbags are designed to help contain the head an chest of occupants in the outboard seating positions in the first and second rows. The rollover capable roof‐rail airbags are designed to help reduce the risk of full or partial ejection in rollover events, although no system can prevent all such ejections. But airbags would not help in many types of collisions, primarily because the occupant's motion is not toward those airbags. See When Should an Airbag Inflate? on page 3‑29 for more information. What Makes an Airbag Inflate? In a deployment event, the sensing system sends an electrical signal triggering a release of gas from the inflator. Gas from the inflator fills the airbag causing the bag to break out of the cover and deploy. The inflator, the airbag, and related hardware are all part of the airbag module. How Does an Airbag Restrain? In moderate to severe frontal or near frontal collisions, even belted occupants can contact the steering wheel or the instrument panel. In moderate to severe side collisions, even belted occupants can contact the inside of the vehicle.