2007 Saturn SKY Owner's Manual - Page 48

In any particular crash, no one can say whether an airbag should have inflated simply because of the damage to a vehicle or because of what the repair costs were. Inflation is determined by what the vehicle hits, the angle of the impact, and how quickly the vehicle slows down. But airbags would not help you in many types of collisions, including rollovers, rear impacts, and many side impacts, primarily because an occupant's motion is not toward those airbags. Airbags 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. What Makes an Airbag Inflate? In an impact of sufficient severity, the airbag sensing system detects that the vehicle is in a crash. The sensing system triggers a release of gas from the inflator, which inflates the airbag. The inflator, airbag, and related hardware are all part of the airbag modules inside the steering wheel and in the instrument panel in front of the right front passenger. What Will You See After an Airbag Inflates? After an airbag inflates, it quickly deflates, so quickly that some people may not even realize the airbag inflated. Some components of the airbag module - the steering wheel hub for the driver's airbag or the instrument panel for the right front passenger's airbag - may be hot for a short time. The parts of the airbag that come into contact with you may be warm, but not too hot to touch. There may be some smoke and dust coming from the vents in the deflated airbags. Airbag inflation does not prevent the driver from seeing out of the windshield or being able to steer the vehicle, nor does it prevent people from leaving the vehicle. How Does an Airbag Restrain? In moderate to severe frontal or near-frontal collisions, even belted occupants can contact the steering wheel or the instrument panel. The airbag supplements the protection provided by safety belts. Airbags distribute the force of the impact more evenly over the occupant's upper body, stopping the occupant more gradually. 48