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Airbag System
Your vehicle has an airbag for the driver in the
middle of the steering wheel. If it says AIR BAG
on the instrument panel in front of the right
front passenger’s seat, your vehicle has an
airbag for the right front passenger.
If there is not a right front passenger’s seat,
your vehicle has an airbag for the driver only.
Airbags are designed to supplement the protection
provided by safety belts. Even though today’s
airbags are also designed to help reduce the risk
of injury from the force of an inflating bag, all
airbags must inflate very quickly to do their job.
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
CAUTION: (Continued)
CAUTION: (Continued)
reduce your chance of hitting things inside
the vehicle or being ejected from it. Airbags
are “supplemental restraints” to the safety
belts. All airbags are designed to work
with safety belts, but do not replace them.
{CAUTION:
Airbags are designed to deploy in
moderate to severe frontal and near frontal
crashes. They are not designed to in ate
in rollover, rear crashes, or in many side
crashes. And, for some unrestrained
occupants, airbags may provide less
protection in frontal crashes than more
forceful airbags have provided in the past.
Everyone in your vehicle should wear a
safety belt properly — whether or not there
is an airbag for that person.
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{CAUTION:
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 before and during a crash.
Always wear your safety belt, even with
airbags. The driver should sit as far
back as possible while still maintaining
control of the vehicle.If your vehicle has an airbag for the right front
passenger, read the following:{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 41andInfants and
Young Children on page 44.
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There is an airbag
readiness light on
the instrument panel,
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 169for more information.Where Are the Airbags?
The driver’s airbag is in the middle of the
steering wheel.
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If your vehicle has one, the right front passenger’s
airbag is in the instrument panel on the
passenger’s side.
{CAUTION:
If something is between an occupant
and an airbag, the bag 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.
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When Should an Airbag In ate?
The driver’s and right front passenger’s frontal
airbags are designed to inflate in moderate
to severe frontal or near-frontal crashes. But
they are designed to inflate 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 inflate
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.Frontal airbags may inflate at different crash
speeds. For example:•If the vehicle hits a stationary object, the
airbags could inflate at a different crash
speed than if the vehicle hits a moving
object.
•If the vehicle hits an object that deforms,
the airbags could inflate 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 inflate 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 inflate at a different crash
speed than if the vehicle goes straight into
the object.
Frontal airbags (driver and right front passenger)
are not intended to inflate during vehicle
rollovers, rear impacts, or in many side impacts.
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In any particular crash, no one can say whether
an airbag should have inflated simply because
of the damage to a vehicle or because of what
the repair costs were. Inflation is determined
by what the vehicle hits, the angle of the impact,
and how quickly the vehicle slows down in front
or near-frontal impacts.
If the GVWR (Gross Vehicle Weight Rating) of
your vehicle is 8,500 lb (3 855 kg) or above, your
vehicle has single stage airbags. If the GVWR
is below 8,500 lb (3 855 kg), your vehicle has dual
stage airbags. You can find the GVWR on the
certification label on the rear edge of the driver’s
door. SeeLoading Your Vehicle on page 261
for more information.
Single Stage Airbags
If your vehicle has frontal airbags with single stage
deployment and your vehicle goes straight into
a wall that does not move or deform, the threshold
level is about 9 to 16 mph (14 to 26 km/h). The
threshold level can vary, however, with specific
vehicle design, so that it can be somewhat above
or below this range.
Dual Stage Airbags
If your vehicle has frontal airbags with dual stage
deployment, the restraint will adjust according
to the crash severity. Your vehicle has electronic
frontal sensors which helps the sensing system
distinguish between a moderate and a more
severe frontal impact. For moderate frontal
impacts, these airbags inflate 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 25 mph (29 to 40 km/h).
The threshold level can vary, however, with
specific vehicle design, so that it can be somewhat
above or below this range.
Vehicles with dual stage airbags also have
sensors which enable the sensing system to
monitor the position of both the driver and
passenger front seats. The seat position sensors
provide information which is used to determine
if the airbags should deploy at a reduced level
or at full deployment.
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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. The sensing system triggers a release
of gas from the inflator, which inflates the airbag.
The inflator, airbag, and related hardware are all
part of the airbag modules inside the steering
wheel and in the instrument panel in front of the
right front passenger.
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.
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 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 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.
What Will You See After an
Airbag In ates?
After an airbag inflates, it quickly deflates, so
quickly that some people may not even realize the
airbag inflated. Some components of the airbag
module — the steering wheel hub for the driver’s
airbag or the instrument panel for the right
front passenger’s bag — may be hot for a short
time. The parts of the airbag that come into contact
with you may be warm, but not too hot to touch.
There may be some smoke and dust coming from
the vents in the deflated airbags. Airbag inflation
does not prevent the driver from seeing out of
the windshield or being able to steer the vehicle,
nor does it prevent people from leaving the vehicle.
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{CAUTION:
When an airbag in ates, there may be
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 flashers on when the
airbags inflate. You can lock the doors again, turn
the interior lamps off, and turn the hazard warning
flashers off by using the controls for those features.In many crashes severe enough to inflate an airbag,
windshields are broken by vehicle deformation.
Additional windshield breakage may also occur
from the right front passenger airbag.•Airbags are designed to inflate only once.
After they inflate, you will need some new parts
for the 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 has a crash sensing and
diagnostic module which records information
after a crash. SeeVehicle Data Recording
and Privacy on page 441andEvent Data
Recorders on page 442.
•Let only qualified technicians work on the
airbag system. Improper service can mean
that an airbag system will not work properly.
See your dealer/retailer for service.
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