Pontiac 2003 Aztek - What will You See after an Airbag Inflates

primarily because an occupant’s motion is not toward
those air bags. Air bags should never be regarded
as anything more than a supplement
to safety belts, and
then only in moderate
to severe frontal or near-frontal
collisions for the driver’s and right front passenger’s
frontal air bags, and only in moderate
to severe
side collisions for vehicle’s with a driver’s and right front
passenger’s side impact air bag.
What Will You See After an Air Bag
Inflates?
After the air bag inflates, it quickly deflates, so quickly
that some people may not even realize the air bag
inflated. Some components of the air bag module will be
hot for a short time. These components include the
steering wheel hub for the driver’s frontal air bag and the
instrument panel for the right front passenger’s frontal
air bag. For vehicles with side impact air bags, the side
of the seatback closest to the driver’s and/or right
front passenger’s door 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 air bags. Air
bag inflation doesn’t prevent the driver from seeing or
being able
to steer the vehicle, nor does it stop
people from leaving the vehicle.
V en air bag inf es, 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’t get out of the vehicle after an air bag
inflates, then get fresh air by opening a
window or
a door.
I
In many crashes severe enough to inflate an air bag,
windshields are broken by vehicle deformation.
Additional windshield breakage may also occur from the
right front passenger air bag.
Air bags are designed to inflate only once. After an
air bag inflates, you’ll need some new parts for
your air bag system. If you don’t get them, the air
bag system won’t be there to help protect you
in another crash.
A new system will include air bag
modules and possibly other parts. The service
manual for your vehicle covers the need to replace
other parts.
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