3-18 Seats and Restraints
Driver Side Shown, Passenger
Side Similar
The driver and front outboard
passenger seat-mounted side
impact airbags are in the side of
the seatbacks closest to the door.
{
WARNING
If something is between an
occupant and an airbag, the
airbag might not inflate properly
or it might force the object into
(Continued)
WARNING (Continued)
that person causing severe injury
or even death. The path of an
inflating 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.
Do not use seat accessories that
block the inflation path of a
seat-mounted side impact airbag.
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
front outboard 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 the frontal airbags will or
should deploy is not based primarily
on how fast the vehicle is traveling.
It depends on what is hit, the
direction of the impact, and how
quickly the vehicle slows down.
Frontal airbags may inflate at
different crash speeds depending on
whether the vehicle hits an object
straight on or at an angle, and
whether the object is fixed or
moving, rigid or deformable,
narrow or wide.
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.
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