JOBNAME: 1st Edition PAGE: 60 SESS: 2 OUTPUT: Tue Jul 24 09:46:13 2007
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.
Your vehicle has seat-mounted side impact and
roof-rail airbags. See Airbag System on page 59.
Seat-mounted side impact and roof-rail airbags are
intended to inflate in moderate to severe side crashes.
In addition, these roof-rail airbags are intended to
inflate during a rollover or in a severe frontal impact.
Seat-mounted side impact and roof-rail airbags will
inflate if the crash severity is above the system’s
designed threshold level. The threshold level can vary
with specific vehicle design.
Seat-mounted side impact airbags are not intended to
inflate in frontal impacts, near-frontal impacts, rollovers,
or rear impacts. Roof-rail airbags are not intended to
inflate in rear impacts. A seat-mounted side impact
airbag is intended to deploy on the side of the vehicle
that is struck. Both roof-rail airbags will deploy when
either side of the vehicle is struck, or if the sensing
system predicts that the vehicle is about to roll over, or
in a severe frontal impact.
In any particular crash, no one can say whether an
airbag should have inflated simply because of the
damage to a vehicle or because of what the repair costs
were. For frontal airbags, inflation is determined by
what the vehicle hits, the angle of the impact, and how
quickly the vehicle slows down. For seat-mounted
side impact and roof-rail airbags, deployment is
determined by the location and severity of the side
impact. In a rollover event, roof-rail airbag deployment is
determined by the direction of the roll.
What Makes an Airbag Inflate?
OIE-ID = 1825332 Owner = tackle01 LMD = 03-aug-2006 LMB = tackle01
In a deployment event, the sensing system sends
an electrical signal triggering a release of gas from the
inflator. Gas from the inflator fills the airbag causing
the bag to break out of the cover and deploy. The
inflator, the airbag, and related hardware are all part of
the airbag module.
Frontal airbag modules are located inside the steering
wheel and instrument panel. For vehicles with
seat-mounted side impact airbags, there are airbag
modules in the side of the front seatbacks closest to the
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2008 - Saturn VUE Owner Manual (July 23, 2007)