1997 Pontiac Firebird Owner's Manual - Page 31

Don't attach anything or put anything to, between, an occupant and an air bag. If something is between an occupant and an air bag, it the bag might not inflate properly ormight you force the object into and cause injury. The path of an inflating air must be kept clear, bag so don't attach or put anything on the steering wheel hub or on or near any air bag covering. it canbe somewhat above or below this range. If your vehicle strikes something that will move ordeform, such as a parked car, the threshold level will be higher. The air bag is not designed to inflate in rollovers, side impacts or rear impacts, because inflation would not help the occupant. In any particular crash, no one cansay whether an air bag should have inflatedsimply because of the damage to a vehicle or because of what the repaircosts were. Inflation is determined by the angleof the impact and how quickly the vehicle slows down in frontal or near-frontal impacts. When should an air bag inflate? An air bag is designed to inflate ina moderate to severe frontal or near-frontal crash. The air bag will inflate only if the impact speed is above the system's designed "threshold level." If your vehicle goes straight into a wall that doesn't move or deform, the threshold level is about 9 to 15 mph (14 to 24 krn/h). The threshold level can vary, however, with specific vehicle design, so that What makes an airbag inflate? In an impactof sufficient severity, the airbag sensing system detects that the vehicle is a crash. Thesensing in system triggers a release of gas from the inflator, which inflates the air bag. The inflator, air bag and related hardware areall part of the air bag modules inside the steering wheel and in the instrument panel in front of the right front passenger. 1-24