2013 Chevrolet Camaro Owner Manual - Page 69

Seats and Restraints Frontal airbags are not intended to inflate during vehicle rollovers, rear impacts, or many side impacts. In addition, the vehicle has dual-stage frontal airbags. Dual-stage airbags adjust the restraint according to crash severity. The vehicle has electronic frontal sensors, which help the sensing system distinguish between a moderate frontal impact and a more severe frontal impact. For moderate frontal impacts, dual-stage airbags inflate at a level less than full deployment. For more severe frontal impacts, full deployment occurs. The vehicle has a seat position sensor which enables the sensing system to monitor the position of the driver seat. The seat position sensor provides information that is used to determine if the airbag(s) should deploy at a reduced level or at full deployment. The vehicle has seat-mounted side impact airbags. The vehicle may or may not have roof-rail airbags. See Airbag System on page 3‑16. Seat-mounted side impact and roof-rail airbags are intended to inflate in moderate to severe side crashes. In addition, these roof‐rail airbags are intended to inflate during a rollover or in a severe frontal impact. Seat-mounted side impact and roof-rail airbags will inflate if the crash severity is above the system's designed threshold level. The threshold level can vary with specific vehicle design. Seat-mounted side impact airbags are not intended to inflate in frontal impacts, near frontal impacts, rollovers, or rear impacts. A seat-mounted side impact airbag is intended to deploy on the side of the vehicle that is struck. Both roof-rail airbags will deploy when either side of the vehicle is struck, or if the sensing system predicts that the vehicle is about to roll over, or in a severe frontal impact. In any particular crash, no one can say whether an airbag should have inflated simply because of the 3-21 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. In a rollover event, both roof‐rail airbags will deploy. 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.