What Will You See After an
Airbag Inflates?
After the airbag inflates, it quickly deflates, so quickly
that some people may not even realize the airbag
inflated. Some components of the airbag module will 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 right front passenger’s frontal
airbag. For vehicles with side impact airbags, the ceiling
of your vehicle near the side windows will be hot. 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
deflated airbags. Airbag inflation 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 airbag inflates, 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
airbag inflates, 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 may have a feature that will automatically
unlock the doors, turn the interior dome lamp on
and flash the daytime running lights on and off when
the airbags inflate (if battery power is available). You can
lock the doors again and turn the interior lamps off by
using the door lock and interior lamp controls. You must
first, however, turn your ignition key to the following
ignition switch positions:
1. Turn the ignition key to OFF.
2. Turn the ignition key to RUN.
3. Turn the ignition key to OFF.
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