When Should an Airbag Inflate?
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.
Inaddition, your vehicle has “dual stage” frontal airbags,
whichadjust the restraint according to crash severity.
Yourvehicle is equipped with an electronic frontal sensor,
whichhelps the sensing system distinguish between a
moderatefrontal impact and a more severe frontal
impact.For moderate frontal impacts, these airbags
inflateat a level less than full deployment. For more
severefrontal impacts, full deployment occurs.
Ifthe front of your vehicle goes straight into a wall that
doesnot move or deform, the threshold level for the
reduceddeployment is about 12 to 18 mph (19 to
29km/h), and the threshold level for a full deployment is
about18 to 24 mph (29 to 38.5 km/h).(The threshold
levelcan vary, however, with specific vehicle design, so
thatit can be somewhat above or below this range.)
Airbags may inflate at differentcrash speeds. For
example:
•If the vehicle hits a stationary object, the airbag
could inflate at a different crash speed than if
the object were moving.
•If the object deforms, the airbag could inflate at a
different crash speed than if the object does not
deform.
•If the vehicle hits a narrow object (like a pole) the
airbag 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
airbag could inflate at a different crash speed
than if the vehicle goes straight into the object.
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