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When Should an Airbag Inflate?
Frontal airbags are designed to inflate in moderate
to severe frontal or near-frontal crashes to help
reduce the potential for severe injuries mainly
to the driver’s or right front passenger’s head and
chest. However, they are only designed to
inflate if the impact exceeds a predetermined
deployment threshold. Deployment thresholds 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.
Thresholds can also vary with specific vehicle
design.
Frontal airbags are not intended to inflate during
vehicle rollovers, rear impacts, or in many
side impacts.
In addition, your vehicle has dual-stage frontal
airbags. Dual-stage airbags adjust the restraint
according to crash severity. Your vehicle has
electronic frontal sensors, which help the sensing
system distinguish between a moderate frontal
impact and a more severe frontal impact. For
moderate frontal impacts, dual-stage airbags inflate
at a level less than full deployment. For more
severe frontal impacts, full deployment occurs.
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