2005 Chevrolet Astro Owner's Manual - Page 73
2005 Chevrolet Astro Manual
Page 73 highlights
Whether your frontal airbags will or should deploy is not based on how fast your vehicle is traveling. It depends largely on what you hit, the direction of the impact and how quickly your vehicle slows down. If the front of your vehicle goes straight into a wall that does not move or deform, the threshold level is about 9 to 16 mph (14 to 26 km/h). (The threshold level can vary, however, with specific vehicle design, so that it can be somewhat above or below this range.) Airbags may inflate at different crash speeds. For example: The frontal airbags (driver and right front passenger) are not intended to inflate during vehicle rollovers, rear impacts, or in many side impacts because inflation would not likely help the occupants. In any particular crash, no one can say whether an airbag 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 of the impact and how quickly the vehicle slows down in frontal or near-frontal impacts. • If the vehicle hits a stationary object, the airbag could inflate at a different crash speed than if the object were moving. What Makes an Airbag Inflate? In an impact of sufficient severity, the airbag sensing system detects that the vehicle is in a crash. The sensing system triggers a release of gas from the inflator, which inflates the airbag. The inflator, airbag, and related hardware are all part of the airbag modules inside the steering wheel and in the instrument panel in front of the right front passenger. • If the object deforms, the airbag could inflate at a different crash speed than if the object does not deform. • If the vehicle hits a narrow object (like a pole), the airbag could inflate at a different crash speed than if the vehicle hits a wide object (like a wall). • If the vehicle goes into an object at an angle, the airbag could inflate at a different crash speed than if the vehicle goes straight into the object. 1-67
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