1993 Buick Riviera Owner's Manual - Page 36

When is an airbag expected to inflate? The air bag is designed to inflate in moderate to severe will frontal or near-frontal crashes. The air bag only inflate if the velocityof the impact is above the designed threshold level. When impacting straight into a wall that does not move or deform, the threshold level most for GM vehicles is between9 and 14 mph. However, this velocity threshold depends on the vehicle design and may be several miles-per-hour faster or slower. In addition, this threshold velocity will be considerably as higher if the vehicle strikes an object such a parked on car which will move and deform impact. The air bag is also not designed to inflate rollovers, side impacts, in or rear impacts where the inflation would provide no occupant protection benefit. Where is the airbag? In any particular crash, determination of whether the the air bag should have inflated cannot be based solely on the level of damage on the vehicle(s). Inflation is determined by the angleof the impact and the vehicle's deceleration, of which vehicle damage is only one indication. Repair cost is not a good indicator of whether an air bag should have deployed.