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{CAUTION:
Both frontal and side impact airbags in ate
with great force, faster than the blink of an
eye. If you are too close to an in ating airbag,
as you would be if you were leaning forward, it
could seriously injure you. Safety belts help
keep you in position for airbag in ation before
and during a crash. Always wear your safety
belt even with frontal airbags. The driver
should sit as far back as possible while still
maintaining control of the vehicle. Occupants
should not lean on or sleep against the door.
{CAUTION:
Anyone who is up against, or very close to,
any airbag when it in ates can be seriously
injured or killed. Airbags 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 airbag
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,
seeOlder Children on page 1-30orInfants and
Young Children on page 1-33.
There is an airbag
readiness light on the
instrument panel cluster,
which shows the airbag
symbol.
The system checks the airbag electrical system for
malfunctions. The light tells you if there is an electrical
problem. SeeAirbag Readiness Light on page 3-38
for more information.
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Where Are the Airbags?
The driver’s frontal airbag is in the middle of the
steering wheel.The front passenger’s frontal airbag is in the instrument
panel on the passenger’s side.
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The driver’s side impact airbag is in the side of the
driver’s seatback closest to the door.The right front passenger’s side impact airbag is in the
side of the passenger’s seatback closest to the door.
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The roof-mounted side impact airbag for the driver and
the passenger directly behind the driver is in the
ceiling above the side windows.The roof-mounted side impact airbag for the front
passenger and the passenger directly behind the front
passenger is in the ceiling above the side windows.
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{CAUTION:
If something is between an occupant and an
airbag, the airbag might not in ate properly or
it might force the object into that person
causing severe injury or even death. The path
of an in ating airbag must be kept clear. Do
not put anything between an occupant and an
airbag, and do not attach or put anything on
the steering wheel hub or on or near any other
airbag covering. Never secure anything to the
roof of your vehicle by routing the rope or
tie-down through any door or window opening.
If you do, the path of an in ating airbag will be
blocked. Do not let seat covers block the
in ation path of a side impact airbag. The path
of an in ating airbag must be kept clear.
When Should an Airbag In ate?
The driver’s and right front passenger’s frontal airbags
are designed to in ate in moderate to severe frontal or
near-frontal crashes. But they are designed to in ate only
if the impact exceeds a predetermined deployment
threshold. Deployment thresholds take into account a
variety of desired deployment and non-deployment
events and are used to predict how severe a crash is
likely to be in time for the airbags to in ate and help
restrain the occupants. Whether your frontal airbags will
or should deploy is not based on how fast your vehicle is
traveling. It depends largely on what you hit, the direction
of the impact and how quickly your vehicle slows down.
In addition, your vehicle has “dual stage” frontal airbags,
which adjust the restraint according to crash severity.
Your vehicle has electronic frontal sensors, which helps
the sensing system distinguish between a moderate
frontal impact and a more severe frontal impact. For
moderate frontal impacts, these airbags in ate 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 does not move or
deform, the threshold level for the reduced deployment is
about 12 to 16 mph (19 to 26 km/h), and the threshold
level for a full deployment is about 18 to 24 mph
(29 to 38.5 km/h). The threshold level can vary, however,
with speci c vehicle design, so that it can be somewhat
above or below this range.
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Frontal airbags may in ate at different crash speeds.
For example:
If the vehicle hits a stationary object, the airbags
could in ate at a different crash speed than if the
vehicle hits a moving object.
If the vehicle hits an object that deforms, the
airbags could in ate at a different crash speed than
if the vehicle hits an object does not deform.
If the vehicle hits a narrow object (like a pole) the
airbags could in ate at a different crash speed
than if the vehicle hits a wide object (like a wall).
If the vehicle goes into an object at an angle the
airbags could in ate at a different crash speed
than if the vehicle goes straight into the object.
The frontal airbags (driver and right front passenger) are
not intended to in ate during vehicle rollovers, rear
impacts, or in many side impacts.Seat-mounted side impact airbags are intended to
in ate in moderate to severe side crashes.
Seat-mounted side impact airbags are not intended to
in ate in frontal or near-frontal impacts, rollovers or rear
impacts. Roof-mounted side impact airbags are
“rollover capable” and are intended to in ate in moderate
to severe side crashes or during a rollover.
Roof-mounted side impact airbags are not intended to
in ate in frontal or near-frontal impacts or rear impacts.
A side impact airbag will in ate if the crash severity
is above the system’s designed “threshold level.” The
threshold level can vary with speci c vehicle design.
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 in ated simply because of the
damage to a vehicle or because of what the repair costs
were. For frontal airbags, in ation is determined by
what the vehicle hits, the angle of the impact, and how
quickly the vehicle slows down in frontal and
near-frontal impacts. For side impact airbags, in ation is
determined by the location and severity of the impact.
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What Makes an Airbag In ate?
In an impact of sufficient severity, the airbag sensing
system detects that the vehicle is in a crash. In the case
of a “rollover capable” roof-mounted side impact
airbag, the sensing system detects that the vehicle is
about to roll over. The sensing system triggers a release
of gas from the in ator, which in ates the airbag. The
in ator, airbag and related hardware are all part of
the airbag modules inside the steering wheel, instrument
panel, the side of the front seatbacks closest to the
door and the ceiling of the vehicle, near the side
windows.
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, rollovers, and rear
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 for the driver’s and right front
passenger’s frontal airbags, and only in moderate to
severe side collisions for side impact airbags.
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What Will You See After an
Airbag In ates?
After frontal airbags and seat-mounted side impact
airbags in ate, they quickly de ate, so quickly that
some people may not even realize an airbag in ated.
Roof-mounted side impact airbags are designed to
de ate more slowly and may still be at least partially
in ated minutes after the vehicle comes to rest.
Some components of the airbag module — the steering
wheel hub for the driver’s airbag, the instrument
panel for the right front passenger’s bag, the side of the
seatback closest to the door for the seat-mounted
side impact airbags, and the area along the ceiling of
your vehicle near the side windows for roof–mounted
side impact airbags — may 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 airbags.
Airbag in ation does not prevent the driver from seeing
out of the windshield or being able to steer the vehicle,
nor does it stop people from leaving the vehicle.
{CAUTION:
When an airbag 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
cannot get out of the vehicle after an airbag
in ates, then get fresh air by opening a
window or a door. If you experience breathing
problems following an airbag deployment, you
should seek medical attention.
Your vehicle has a feature that may automatically
unlock the doors, turn the interior lamps on, and turn
the hazard warning ashers on when the airbags in ate.
You can lock the doors, turn the interior lamps off,
and turn the hazard warning ashers off by using the
controls for those features.
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