Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine When should an air bag inflate?
The air bag is designed to inflate in moderate to severe
frontal or near-frontal crashes. 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 km/h). The threshold level
can vary, however, with specific vehicle design,
so that
it can be somewhat above or 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 rollovers, side
impacts, or rear impacts, because inflation would not
help the occupant.
It is possible that in a crash only one of the two air bags
in your Corvette will deploy.
This is rare, but can
happen in a crash just severe enough to make an air bag
inflate.
In any particular crash, no one can say whether an air
bag should have inflated simply because of the damage
to a vehicle or because of what the repair costs were.
Inflation is determined by the angle of the impact and
the vehicle’s deceleration. Vehicle damage is only one
indication of this.
What makes an air bag inflate?
In a frontal or near-frontal impact of sufficient severity,
the air bag sensing system detects that the vehicle is
suddenly stopping as a result
of a crash. The sensing
system triggers a chemical reaction of the sodium azide
sealed in the inflator. The reaction produces nitrogen
gas, which inflates the air bag. The inflator, air bag, and
related hardware are all part of the air bag modules
packed inside the steering wheel and in the instrument
panel in front of the passenger.
How does an air bag restrain?
In moderate to severe frontal or near-frontal collisions,
even belted occupants can contact the steering wheel or
the instrument panel. The air bag supplements the
protection provided by safety belts. Air bags distribute
the force of the impact more evenly over the occupant’s
upper body, stopping the occupant more gradually. But
air bags would not help you in many types of collisions,
including rollovers and rear and side impacts, primarily
because an occupant’s motion
is not toward the air bag.
Air bags 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.
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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine NOTICE:
If you need a new cap, be sure to get the right
type. Your dealer can get one for you. If you get
the wrong type, it may not fit or have proper
venting, and your fuel tank and emissions system
might be damaged.
Be careful not to spill gasoline. Clean gasoline from
painted surfaces as
soon as possible. See “Cleaning the
Outside of Your Corvette”
in the Index.
When you put the cap back on,
turn it to the right until
you hear at least three clicks.
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