2013 Chevrolet Traverse Owner Manual - Page 81

Seats and Restraints 3-27 When Should an Airbag Inflate? The vehicle has frontal airbags, seat-mounted side impact airbags, and roof-rail airbags. The vehicle may have a front center airbag. See Airbag System on page 3‑23. These airbags are designed to inflate if the impact exceeds the specific airbag system's deployment threshold. Deployment thresholds are used to predict how severe a crash is likely to be in time for the airbag to inflate and help restrain the occupants. Deployment thresholds can vary with specific vehicle design. Frontal airbags are designed to inflate in moderate to severe frontal or near frontal crashes to help reduce the potential for severe injuries, mainly to the driver's or front outboard passenger's head and chest. Whether the frontal airbags will or should inflate is not based primarily on how fast the vehicle is traveling. It depends on what is hit, the direction of the impact, and how quickly the vehicle slows down. Frontal airbags may inflate at different crash speeds depending on whether the vehicle hits an object straight on or at an angle, and whether the object is fixed or moving, rigid or deformable, narrow or wide. Frontal airbags are not intended to inflate during vehicle rollovers, rear impacts, or many side impacts. In addition, the vehicle has dual-stage frontal airbags. Dual-stage airbags adjust the restraint according to crash severity. The vehicle has electronic frontal sensors, which help the sensing system distinguish between a moderate frontal impact and a more severe frontal impact. For moderate frontal impacts, dual-stage airbags inflate at a level less than full deployment. For more severe frontal impacts, full deployment occurs. The front center airbag, if equipped, seat-mounted side impact airbags, and roof-rail airbags are intended to inflate in moderate to severe side crashes depending on the location of the impact. A seat-mounted side impact airbag is intended to inflate on the side of the vehicle that is struck. The front center airbag, if equipped, and both roof-rail airbags are intended to inflate when either side of the vehicle is struck. In addition, the roof-rail airbags and the front center airbag, if equipped, are intended to inflate when the sensing system predicts that the vehicle is about to roll over on its side. The roof-rail airbags are also intended to inflate in a severe frontal impact. The front center airbag, if equipped, is not intended to inflate in frontal impacts, near frontal impacts, or rear impacts. Seat-mounted side impact airbags are not intended to inflate in frontal impacts, near frontal impacts, rollovers, rear impacts,