1998 GMC Savana Van Owner's Manual - Page 38

If something is between occupant and an air an bag, the bag might not inflate properly or it might forcethe object into that person. The path of an inflating air bag must be kept clear. Don't put anything between an occupant and an air bag, and don't attach or anything on the put steering wheel hub or on or nearany other air bag covering. And don't hang anything from the assist handle on the passenger's sideof the instrument panel. is about 1 1 to 16 mph (18 to 26 km/h). The threshold level can vary, however, with specific vehicle design,so that 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 airbag is not designed to inflate in rollovers, side impacts or rear impacts, because inflation would not help the occupant. In any particularcrash, no one can say whether an air bag should have inflated simply because of the damage to a vehicle or because of what the repaircosts were. Inflation is determined by theangle of the impact and how quickly the vehicleslows down in frontal or near-frontal impacts. What makes an airbag inflate? When shouldan airbag inflate? An air bag is designed to inflate in a moderate to severe frontal or near-frontal crash. The air bag will inflate only if the impact speed is above the system's designed "threshold level." If your vehicle goes straightinto a wall that doesn't move or deform, the threshold level In an impact of sufficient severity, the air bag sensing system detects that the vehicleis in a crash.The sensing system triggers a releaseof gas from the inflator, which inflates the air bag. The inflator, air bag and related hardware are all part of the air bag modules inside the steering wheel andin the instrument panel in front of the right front passenger. 1-30