2006 CHEVROLET CORVETTE airbag

Airbag System
Your vehicle has a frontal airbag for the driver and a
frontal airbag for the passenger. Your vehicle may also
have a side impact airbag for the driver, and a side
impact airbag for the passenger.
If your vehicle has a side impact airbag for the driver
and/or right front passenger, the word AIRBAG will
appear on the airbag covering on the side of the
seatback closest to the door.
Frontal airbags are designed to help reduce the risk of
injury from the force of an inating frontal airbag. But
these airbags must inate very quickly to do their job
and comply with federal regulations.Here are the most important things to know about the
airbag system:
{CAUTION:
You can be severely injured or killed in a crash
if you are not wearing your safety belt — even
if you have airbags. Wearing your safety belt
during a crash helps reduce your chance of
hitting things inside the vehicle or being ejected
from it.Airbags are “supplemental restraints”
to the safety belts. Airbags are designed to work
with safety belts but do not replace them.
Frontal airbags for the driver and right front
passenger are designed to deploy in moderate
to severe frontal and near frontal crashes.
They are not designed to inate in rollover,
rear crashes, or in many side crashes.
CAUTION: (Continued)
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CAUTION: (Continued)
And, for some unrestrained occupants, frontal
airbags may provide less protection in frontal
crashes than more forceful airbags have
provided in the past.
Side impact airbags are designed to inate 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
airbag for that person.
{CAUTION:
Both frontal and side impact airbags inate
with great force, faster than the blink of an
eye. If you are too close to an inating airbag,
as you would be if you were leaning forward,
it could seriously injure you. Safety belts help
keep you in position for airbag ination 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.
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{CAUTION:
Anyone who is up against, or very close to,
any airbag when it inates 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 1-22andInfants
and Young Children on page 1-25.
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 3-34
for more information.
Where Are the Airbags?
The driver’s frontal airbag is in the middle of the
steering wheel.
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The passenger’s frontal airbag is in the instrument panel
on the passenger’s side.If your vehicle has a side impact airbag for the driver, it is
in the side of the driver’s seatback closest to the door.
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If your vehicle has a side impact airbag for the right
front passenger, it is in the side of the passenger’s
seatback closest to the door.
{CAUTION:
If something is between an occupant and an
airbag, the airbag might not inate properly
or it might force the object into that person
causing severe injury or even death. The path
of an inating 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. Do not let seat covers block
the ination path of a side impact airbag.
When Should an Airbag Inate?
The driver’s and passenger’s frontal airbags are designed
to inate in moderate to severe frontal or near-frontal
crashes. But they are designed to inate 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 inate and help restrain the occupants.
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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 is equipped with electronic frontal sensors
which help the sensing system distinguish between a
moderate frontal impact and a more severe frontal
impact. For moderate frontal impacts, these airbags
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 does not move or deform, the threshold level for
the reduced deployment is about 10 to 12 mph
(16 to 19.3 km/h), and the threshold level for a full
deployment is about 18 to 21 mph (28.9 to 33.8 km/h).
The threshold level can vary, however, with specic
vehicle design, so that it can be somewhat above or
below this range.
Frontal airbags may inate at different crash speeds.
For example:
If the vehicle hits a stationary object, the airbags
could inate at a different crash speed than if the
vehicle hits a moving object.
If the vehicle hits an object that deforms, the
airbags could inate at a different crash speed than
if the vehicle hits an object that does not deform.
If the vehicle hits a narrow object (like a pole) the
airbags could inate 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 inate at a different crash speed
than if the vehicle goes straight into the object.
The frontal airbags (driver and passenger) are not
intended to inate during vehicle rollovers, rear impacts,
or in many side impacts.
Your vehicle may or may not have side impact airbags.
SeeAirbag System on page 1-40for more information.
Side impact airbags are intended to inate in moderate to
severe side crashes. A side impact airbag 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 airbags are not intended to inate 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 inated simply because of the damage to a
vehicle or because of what the repair costs were. For
frontal airbags, ination 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, ination is determined by the location and
severity of the impact.
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What Makes an Airbag Inate?
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 inator, which
inates the airbag. The inator, 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, 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.
What Will You See After an
Airbag Inates?
After the airbag inates, it quickly deates, so quickly
that some people may not even realize the airbag
inated. Some components of the airbag module may
be hot for a short time. These components include
the steering wheel hub for the driver’s frontal airbag
and the instrument panel for the passenger’s frontal
airbag. For vehicles with side impact airbags, the side of
the seatback closest to the driver’s and/or passenger’s
door may be hot. The parts of the airbag 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 deated airbags. Airbag ination 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.
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{CAUTION:
When an airbag inates, 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 inates,
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.In many crashes severe enough to inate an airbag,
windshields are broken by vehicle deformation.
Additional windshield breakage may also occur
from the passenger’s airbag.Airbags are designed to inate only once. After an
airbag inates, you will need some new parts for
your airbag system. If you do not get them, the airbag
system will not be there to help protect you in another
crash. A new system will include airbag modules and
possibly other parts. The service manual for your
vehicle covers the need to replace other parts.
Your vehicle is equipped with a crash sensing and
diagnostic module which records information after a
crash. SeeVehicle Data Collection and Event Data
Recorders on page 7-9.
Let only qualied technicians work on your airbag
system. Improper service can mean that an
airbag system will not work properly. See your
dealer for service.
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