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 for the driver’s
and right front passenger’s frontal air bags, and only in
moderate to severe side collisions for the side impact
air bags.
What Will You See After an Air Bag
In ates?
After an air bag in ates, it quickly de ates, so quickly that
some people may not even realize the air bag in ated.
Some components of the air bag module — the steering
wheel hub for the driver’s air bag, the instrument panel for
the right front passenger’s bag or the ceiling of your
vehicle near the side windows — will be hot for a short
time. The parts of the bag that come into contact with you
may be warm, but not too hot to touch. There will be
some smoke and dust coming from the vents in the
de ated air bags. Air bag in ation does not prevent the
driver from seeing or being able to steer the vehicle, nor
does it stop people from leaving the vehicle.
{CAUTION:
When an air bag in ates, there is dust in the
air. This dust could cause breathing problems
for people with a history of asthma or other
breathing trouble. To avoid this, everyone in
the vehicle should get out as soon as it is safe
to do so. If you have breathing problems but
can not get out of the vehicle after an air bag
in ates, then get fresh air by opening a
window or a door. If you experience breathing
problems following an air bag deployment, you
should seek medical attention.
Your vehicle has a feature that will automatically unlock
the doors, turn the interior lamps on and ash the hazard
warning ashers when the air bag in ates (if battery
power is available). You can lock the doors again by
using the door lock. The interior lamps and hazard
warning ashers will deactivate after approximately
15 minutes.
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