1998 GMC Sonoma Owner's Manual - Page 38

How does an air bag restrain? moderate to severe frontalor near-frontal collisions, even belted occupants can contact the steering wheelor the instrument panel. Air bags supplement the protection provided by safety belts. Air bags distribute the force of the impact more evenly over the occupant's upper body, stopping the occupant more gradually. But air bags would not help you in many types of collisions, including rollovers, rear impacts and side impacts, primarily because an occupant's motion isnot toward those a r bags. Air i bags should never be regarded as anything more than a supplement to safety belts, and then only in moderate to severe frontal or near-frontal collisions. When an air bag inflates, there dust in the is air. This dust could cause breathing problems for people with a history of asthma or other breathing trouble.To avoid this, everyone in the vehicle should get out as soon as it is safeto do so. If you have breathing problems but can't get out of the vehicle after an air bag inflates, then get fresh air by opening a window or door. 0 What will you see after an air bag inflates? After an air bag inflates,it quickly deflates,so quickly that air some people may not even realize the bag inflated. Some componentsof the air bag module -- the steering wheel hub for the driver's air bag, or the instrument panel -for the right front passenger's bag will be hot for a short time. The parts of the bag that come into contact with you may be warm, but not too hot to touch. There will be some smoke and dust comingfrom vents in the deflated air bags. Air bag inflation doesn't prevent the driver from seeing or from being able to steer the vehicle, nor does it stop people from leaving the vehicle. Air bags are designed to inflate only once. After they inflate, you'll need some new parts for your air bag system. If you don't get them,the air bag system won't be there to help protect you in another crash. A new system will include airbag modules and possibly other parts. The servicemanual for your vehicle covers the need to replace other parts. Your vehicle is equipped with a diagnostic module, which records information about the air bag system. The module records information about the readiness of the system, when the sensors are activated and driver's safety belt usage at deployment. 1-24