2004 CHEVROLET AVALANCHE Owners Manual

Air Bag Systems
This part explains the frontal and side impact air bag
systems.
Your vehicle has air bags – a frontal air bag for the
driver and another frontal air bag for the right front
passenger. Your vehicle may also have side impact air
bags. Side impact air bags are available for the
driver and right front passenger.
If your vehicle has a side impact air bag for the driver
and/or the right front passenger, the words AIR BAG will
appear on the air bag covering on the side of the
seatback closest to the door.
Frontal air bags are designed to help reduce the risk of
injury from the force of an inating frontal air bag.
But these air bags must inate very quickly to do their
job and comply with federal regulations.
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Here are the most important things to know about the
air bag systems:
{CAUTION:
You can be severely injured or killed in a crash
if you are not wearing your safety belt – even if
you have air bags. Wearing your safety belt
during a crash helps reduce your chance of
hitting things inside the vehicle or being
ejected from it. Air bags are designed to work
with safety belts but do not replace them.
Frontal air bags for the driver and right front
passenger are designed to deploy only in
moderate to severe frontal and near frontal
crashes. They are not designed to inate in
rollover, rear or low-speed frontal crashes, or in
many side crashes. And, for some unrestrained
CAUTION: (Continued)
CAUTION: (Continued)
occupants, frontal air bags may provide less
protection in frontal crashes than more
forceful air bags have provided in the past.
The side impact air bags for the driver and
right front passenger are designed to inate
only in moderate to severe crashes where
something hits the side of your vehicle.
They are not designed to inate in frontal,
in rollover or in rear crashes.
Everyone in your vehicle should wear a safety
belt properly – whether or not there is an air
bag for that person.
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{CAUTION:
Both frontal and side impact air bags inate
with great force, faster than the blink of an
eye. If you are too close to an inating air bag,
as you would be if you were leaning forward, it
could seriously injure you. Safety belts help
keep you in position for air bag ination before
and during a crash. Always wear your safety
belt, even with frontal air bags. The driver
should sit as far back as possible while still
maintaining control of the vehicle. Front
occupants should not lean on or sleep against
the door.
{CAUTION:
Anyone who is up against, or very close to,
any air bag when it inates can be seriously
injured or killed. Air bags plus lap-shoulder
belts offer the best protection for adults, but
not for young children and infants. Neither the
vehicle’s safety belt system nor its air bag
system is designed for them. Young children
and infants need the protection that a child
restraint system can provide. Always secure
children properly in your vehicle. To read how,
see the part of this manual called “Older
Children” or “Infants and Young Children.”
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There is an air bag
readiness light on the
instrument panel cluster,
which shows the air
bag symbol.
The system checks the air bag electrical system for
malfunctions. The light tells you if there is an electrical
problem. SeeAir Bag Readiness Light on page 3-36
for more information.Where Are the Air Bags?
The driver’s frontal air bag is in the middle of the
steering wheel.
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The right front passenger’s frontal air bag is in the
instrument panel on the passenger’s side.If your vehicle has one, the driver’s side impact air bag is
in the side of the driver’s seatback closest to the door.
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If your vehicle has one, the right front passenger’s side
impact air bag is in the side of the passenger’s
seatback closest to the door.
{CAUTION:
If something is between an occupant and an
air bag, the bag might not inate properly or it
might force the object into that person causing
severe injury or even death. The path of an
inating air bag must be kept clear. Do not put
anything between an occupant and an air bag,
and do not attach or put anything on the
steering wheel hub or on or near any other air
bag covering. Do not let seat covers block the
ination path of a side impact air bag.
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When Should an Air Bag Inate?
Frontal Air Bags
The driver’s and right front passenger’s frontal air bags
are designed to inate in moderate to severe frontal or
near-frontal crashes. But they are designed to inate only
if the impact speed is above the system’s designed
“threshold level.”
In addition, your vehicle has “dual stage” frontal air
bags, which adjust the amount of restraint according to
crash severity. For moderate frontal impacts, these
air bags inate at a level less than full deployment.
For more severe frontal impacts, full deployment occurs.
If the front of your vehicle goes straight into a wall
that doesn’t move or deform, the threshold level for
the reduced deployment is about 10 to 16 mph
(16 to 25 km/h), and the threshold level for a full
deployment is about 20 to 25 mph (32 to 40 km/h).
The threshold level can vary, however, with specic
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 driver’s and right front passenger’s frontal
air bags are not designed to inate in rollovers, rear
impacts, or in many side impacts because ination
would not help the occupant.
Seat Position Sensors
Vehicles with dual stage air bags are also equipped
with special sensors which enable the sensing system
to monitor the position of both the driver and passenger
front seats. The seat position sensor provides
information which is used to determine if the air bags
should deploy at a reduced level or at full deployment.
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Side Impact Air Bags
Your vehicle may or may not have a side impact air
bag. SeeAir Bag Systems on page 1-51. Side impact
air bags are designed to inate in moderate to severe
side crashes. A side impact air bag will inate if the
crash severity is above the system’s designed “threshold
level.” The threshold level can vary with specic
vehicle design. Side impact air bags are not designed to
inate in frontal or near-frontal impacts, rollovers or
rear impacts, because ination would not help the
occupant. A side impact air bag will only deploy on the
side of the vehicle that is struck.
Air Bag Systems
In any particular crash, no one can say whether an air
bag should have inated simply because of the damage
to a vehicle or because of what the repair costs were.
For frontal air bags, ination is determined by the angle
of the impact and how quickly the vehicle slows down
in frontal and near-frontal impacts. For side impact
air bags, ination is determined by the location
and severity of the impact.
The air bag system is designed to work properly under
a wide range of conditions, including off-road usage.
Observe safe driving speeds, especially on rough
terrain. As always, wear your safety belt. See Off-Road
Driving with Your Four-Wheel Drive Vehicle in the
Index for tips on off-road driving.
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