2012 Acura MDX Owner's Manual - Page 37

Additional Information About Your Airbags How Your Front Airbags Work During a frontal crash, your seat belt restrains your lower body and torso, and the front airbag helps protect your head and chest. Although both airbags normally inflate within a split second of each other, it is possible for only one airbag to deploy. This can happen if the severity of a collision is at the margin, or threshold, that determines whether or not the airbags will deploy. In such cases, the seat belt will provide sufficient protection, and the supplemental protection offered by the airbag would be minimal. Only the driver's airbag will deploy if there is no passenger in the front seat, or if the advanced airbag system has turned the passenger's airbag off (see page 37). If you ever have a moderate to severe frontal collision, sensors will detect the vehicle's rapid deceleration. If the rate of deceleration is high enough, the control unit will inflate the driver's and front passenger's airbags, at the time and with the force needed. After inflating, the front airbags immediately deflate, so they won't interfere with the driver's visibility, or the ability to steer or operate other controls. 30