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Seat position sensor(s) provide information that is used
to determine if the airbags should deploy at a reduced
level or at full deployment.
Your vehicle may or may not have seat-mounted side
impact airbags. See Airbag System on page 1-44.
Seat-mounted side impact airbags are intended to inflate
in moderate to severe side crashes. Seat-mounted
side impact airbags will inflate if the crash severity is
above the system’s designed threshold level. The
threshold level can vary with specific vehicle design.
Seat-mounted side impact airbags are not intended to
inflate in frontal impacts, near-frontal impacts, rollovers,
or rear impacts. A seat-mounted 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 inflated simply because of the
damage to a vehicle or because of what the repair costs
were. For seat-mounted side impact airbags, deployment
is determined by the location and severity of the side
impact.
What Makes an Airbag Inflate?
In a deployment event, the sensing system sends an
electrical signal triggering a release of gas from the
inflator. Gas from the inflator fills the airbag causing the
bag to break out of the cover and deploy. The inflator,
the airbag, and related hardware are all part of the airbag
module.
Frontal airbag modules are located inside the steering
wheel and instrument panel. For vehicles with
seat-mounted side impact airbags, there are airbag
modules in the side of the front 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.
Airbags supplement the protection provided by safety
belts. Frontal airbags distribute the force of the
impact more evenly over the occupant’s upper body,
stopping the occupant more gradually. Seat-mounted
side impact airbags distribute the force of the impact
more evenly over the occupant’s upper body.
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