1998 Ford Windstar Owner Guide 1st Printing - Page 170

RWARNING Do not attempt to service, repair, or modify the Air Bag Supplemental Restraint System or its fuses. See your Ford or Lincoln-Mercury dealer. If a collision occurs, the sensors sense the severity of the impact and activates the air bags if necessary. The air bag system is designed to deploy in frontal and front-angled collisions more severe than hitting a parked vehicle (of similar size and weight) head-on at about 28 mph (45 km/h). Because the system senses the crash severity rather than vehicle speed, some frontal collisions at speeds above 28 mph (45 km/h) will not inflate the air bag. When the sensors activate the system, the air bags inflate rapidly, filling with non-toxic nitrogen gas in a fraction of a second. Immediately after inflation, the air bags deflate by releasing the nitrogen gas through vent holes. The whole process takes place in a matter of seconds. RWARNING Several air bag system components get hot after inflation. Do not touch them after inflation. 170