1996 Chevrolet Corvette Owner's Manual - Page 31

.. I - ' , air bag is not designed to inflate in rollovers, side impacts or rear impacts, because inflation would not help the occupant. It is possible that in a crash only one of theair bags in two your Corvette will deploy. This is rare, butcan happen in a crash just severe enough to make air bag inflate. an Don't put anything or attach anything to, the on, 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 and an air bag, it could affect the performance of the air, bag or worse,it could cause injury. -9 In any particular crash, no one can say whether an air bag should have inflated simply because of the damage to a vehicle or because of what the repair costs were. Inflation is determined by the angle the impact and of the vehicle's deceleration. Vehicle damage is only one indication of this. What makes an bag inflate? air In a frontal or near-frontal impact of sufficient severity, the air bag sensing system detects that the vehicle is suddenly stopping as a result of a crash. The sensing system triggers a chemical reaction of the sodium azide sealed in the inflator. The reaction produces nitrogen gas, which inflates the air bag.The inflator, airbag and related hardware are all partof the air bag modules packed inside the steering wheel and in the instiument panel in front of the passenger. When shouldan air bag inflate? The airbag 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's designed "threshold level." Ifyour vehicle goes straight into a wall that doesn't move or deform, the threshold level is about 9 to 15 mph (14 to 24 km/h). The threshold level 'canvary, however, with specificvehicle design, so that it can be somewhat above orbelow this range. If your vehicle strikes something that will move or deform, such as a parked car, the threshold level will higher. The be