1996 Pontiac Grand Am Owner's Manual - Page 31

- I Don't put anything on, attach anything to, the or steering wheel or instrument panel. Also, don't put anything (such pets or objects) between as any occupant and the steering wheel or instrument panel. If something is between an occupant andan air bag, itcould-affectthe performance of the air bag or worse,it could cause injury. vehicle strikes something that will move or deform, such as a parked car, the threshold level will higher. The be 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, no can say whetheran air one bag shouldhave inflated simply because the damage of to a vehicle or because what the repair costs were. 6f Inflation is determined by the angle ,of the impact and the vehicle's deceleration. Vehicle damage is only one indication of this. What makesan air bag inflate? When should an air bag inflate? The air bagis 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's designed "threkhold level."If your vehicle goes straight into a wall that doesn't move or deform, the threshold level is about 9 to 16 mph(14 to 26 km/h). The threshold level so can vary, however, with specific vehicle design, that it can be somewhat above below this range.If your or In a frontal or near-frontal impactof sufficient severity, the air bag sensing system detects that vehicle is the suddenly stopping as result of a crash. The sensing a system triggers a chemical reaction the sodium azide of sealed in the inflator. The reaction produces nitrogen ar gas, which inflates the i bag. The inflator, air bag and part related hardware are all of the air bag modules packed insidethe steering wheel and in instrument the panel in front the rightfront passenger. of