Filter
Top Products
Your vehicle may or may not have a side impact airbag.
See Airbag System on page 1-57. Side impact airbags
are intended to inflate in moderate to severe side
crashes. A side impact airbag will inflate if the crash
severity is above the system’s designed “threshold
level.” The threshold level can vary with specific vehicle
design. Side impact airbags are not intended to
inflate in frontal or near-frontal impacts, rollovers or rear
impacts. A side impact airbag is intended to deploy
on the side of the vehicle that is struck.
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. For frontal airbags, inflation is determined by
what the vehicle hits, the angle of the impact, and how
quickly the vehicle slows down. For side impact
airbags, inflation is determined by the location and
severity of the impact.
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, the airbag and related
hardware are all part of the airbag modules. Frontal
airbag modules are located inside the steering wheel and
instrument panel. For seating positions with side impact
airbags, there are also airbag modules in the side of the
seatbacks closest to the door.
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. In moderate to severe side
collisions, even belted occupants can contact the inside
of the vehicle. 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. But the frontal
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 the
airbag. Side impact airbags would not help you in many
types of collisions, including many frontal or near frontal
collisions, and rear impacts, primarily because an
occupant’s motion is not toward those airbags.
1-64