1996 GMC Safari Owner's Manual - Page 35

I I Don't put anything on,or attach anythingto, the steering wheel or instrument panel. Also, don't put anything (such pets or objects) between any as occupant and the steering wheel instrument or panel. And don't hang anything from the assist handle on the passenger's sidethe instrument of panel. If something is between occupant and an an air bag, it could affect the performance the air of bag or worse, it could cause injury. 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 be higher. The air bag is not designed to inflatein rollovers, side impacts orrear impacts, because inflation would not help the occupant. In any particular crash,no one can say whether an air bag should have inflated simply because of the damage to avehicle or because of what the repair costs were. Inflation is determined by the angleof the impact and the vehicle's deceleration. Vehicle damage is onlv one indication of this. -- What makesan air bag inflate? In a frontal or near-frontal impact of sufficient severity, the air bag sensing system detects that the vehicle is sensing suddenly stopping as a result of a crash. The system triggers achemical reaction of the sodium azide sealed in the inflator. The reaction produces nitrogen gas, which inflates the air bag. The inflator, aifbag and related hardware are all part of the air bag modules packed inside the steering wheel and in the instrument p h e l in front of the right front passenger. When should an bag inflate? air The air bag'is designed to inflate in moderate to severe frontal ornear-frontal crashes. The air will inflate bag only if the impactspeed is above the system's designed "threshold level." If your vehicle goes straight into a wall that doesn't move or deform, the threshold level is about 11 to 16 mph (18 to 26 km/h). The threshold level so can vary, however, with specific vehicle design, that 1-27