1998 Pontiac Bonneville Owner's Manual - Page 29

When should an air bag inflate? An air bag is designed to inflate inmoderate to severe a frontal or near-frontal crash. The air bag will inflate How does an airbag restrain? only if the impact speed is above the system's designed In moderateto severe frontal or near-frontal collisions, a "threshold level."If your vehicle goes straight into even belted occupantscan contact the steering wheel or is wall that doesn't move or deform, the threshold level Ar the instrument panel.i bags supplement the protection about 9 to 15 mph (14 to 24 km/h). The threshold level Air of provided by safety belts. bags distribute the force so can vary, however, with specific vehicle design, that the impact more evenly over the occupant's upper body, this it can be somewhat above or below range. If your stopping the occupant more gradually. But air bags vehicle strikes something that will move or deform, such would not help you many typesof collisions, in as a parked car, the threshold level will be higher. The rear impacts and side impacts, including rollovers, air bag is not designed to inflate in rollovers, side primarily because an occupant's motion not toward is impacts or rear impacts, because inflation would not those air bags. Air bags should never be regarded as help the occupant. anything morethan a supplement to safety belts, and then only in moderate severe frontal or near-frontal to an In any particular crash,no one can say whether air collisions. bag should have inflated simply because of the damage to a vehicle or because of what the repair costs were. What will you see after an air bag inflates? by Inflation is determined the angle of the impact and After an air bag inflates, it quickly deflates, so quickly how quickly the vehicle slows down frontal or in even that some people may not realize the air bag near-frontal impacts. inflated. Some componentsof the air bag module-- the What makes an air bag inflate? steering wheel hub the driver'sa r bag, or the for i In an impactof suEcient severity, the air bag sensing instrument panelfor the right front passenger's system detects that the vehicle is in a crash. The sensing bag -- will be hot for a short time. The parts of the system triggersa release of gas from the inflator, which bag that come into contact with you may be warm, inflates theair bag. The inflator, air bag and related but not too hot to touch. There will be some smoke and dust coming from vents the deflatedair bags. in hardware are all part the air bag modules inside the of steering wheel and the instrument panelin front of the in right front passenger. 1-22