1995 Oldsmobile 88 Owner's Manual - Page 27

vehicle strikes something that will move or deform, such level as a parked car, the threshold will be higher. The air bag is not designed to inflate in rollovers, side impacts, or rear impacts,because inflation would not help the occupant. In any particular crash, one can say whetheran air no bag shouldhave inflated simply because of the damage to a vehicle or because of what the repair costs were. Inflation is determined by the angle of the impact and the vehicle's deceleration. Vehicle damage is only one indication of this. What makes an air bag inflate? When shouldan air bag inflate? The air bag is designed to inflate in moderate to severe frontal or near-frontal crashes.The air bag will inflate only if the impact speed is above the system'sdesigned "threshold level." If your vehiclegoes straight into a wall that doesn'tmove or deform, the threshold levelis about 9 to 15 mph (14 to 24 W). threshold level The can vary, however, with specific vehicle design, that so it can besomewhat~above below this range.I€your or In a frontal or near-frontal impact of sufficient severity, the air bag sensing system detects thatthe vehicle is suddenly stopping as a result a crash.The sensing of system triggers achemical reaction of the sodium azide sealed in the inflator.The reaction produces nitrogen gas, which-'jnflates thei bag. The inflator, air bag, and ar related hardware are all partof the airbag modules packed insidethe steering wheel and in the instrument panel in front of the right front passenger. 1-19