1997 Pontiac Sunfire Owner's Manual - Page 34

I bag covering. If something is between an occupant and an air bag, thebag might not inflate properly it or might forcethe object into that person. path The of an inflating bag mustbe kept clear. Bon't air put anything between o'ccupant and air an an bag, and don't attach put anythingon the or steering wheel hub or on or near any other air it can be somewhat above OF below this range.If your vehicle strikes something that will move or deform, such as a parked car, the threshold level will be higher. The air bag is not designed to inflate in rdlovers, side impacts or rear impacts, because inflation wouldnot help theoccupant. In any particular crash, no one cansay whether anair bag should have inflatedsimply because of the damage to a vehicle or because of what the repair costs were. Inflation is determined by the angle of the impactand how quickly the vehicle slows down in frontal or near-frontal impacts. When should an airbag infaate? An air bag is designed to inflatein a moderate to severe frontal or near-frontal crash. Theair bag will inflate only if the impact speed is above the system's designed "threshold level." If your vehicle goes straight intoa wall that doesn'tmove or deform, the threshold level is about 9 to 15 mph (14 to 24 km/h). The threshold level can vary, however, with specific vehicle design, so that Wnat makesan air bag inflate? In an impact of sufficient severity, the airbag sensing system detects that the vehicle is a crash. The sensing in system triggers a release of gas fromthe inflator, which inflates the air bag. The inflator, air bag related and hardware are all part of the airbag modules insidethe steering wheel and in the instrument panelin front of the right front passenger. 1-26