Don’t put anything on, or attach anything to, the
steering
wheel or instrument panel. Also, don’t
put anything (such as pets or objects) between
any occupant and the steering wheel or
instrument panel. If something is between an
occupant and an air bag, it could affect the
performance of the air bag
--
or
worse,
it
could
cause injury.
When
should
an air bag inflate?
The air bag
is
designed
to
inflate
in
moderate
to
severe
frontal or near-frontal crashes. The air bag will inflate
only
if
the impact speed is above the system’s designed
“threshold level.” If your vehicle goes straight into a
wall that doesn’t move or deform, the threshold level is
about
9
to
15
mph
(14
to
24
km/h).
The threshold level
can vary, however, with specific vehicle design,
so
that
it
can be somewhat above or below this range. If your
vehicle
strikes
something that will move or deform, such
as a parked car, the threshold level
will
be higher.
The air bag is not designed to inflate in rollovers, side
impacts or rear impacts, because inflation would not
help the occupant.
In any particular crash, no one can say whether
an
air
bag should have inflated simply because of the damage
to a vehicle or because
of
what the repair costs were.
Inflation is determined by the angle of the impact and
the vehicle’s deceleration. Vehicle damage is only one
indication
of
this.
The air bag system is designed to work properly under a
wide range
of
conditions, including off-road usage.
Observe safe driving speeds, especially on rough terrain.
As
always, wear your safety belt. See “Off-Road
Driving”
in
the Index for more tips on off-road driving.
What makes an air bag inflate?
In a frontal or near-frontal impact
of
sufficient severity,
the air bag sensing system detects that the vehicle
is
suddenly stopping as a result of a crash. The sensing
system signals the inflator to produce a gas that inflates
the air
bags. The inflator,
air
bag and related hardware
are
all part
of
the air bag modules packed inside the
steering wheel and in the instrument panel in front of the
right front passenger.
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