Your vehicle also has a dual-depth passenger airbagthat adjusts the restraint according to crash severity,seat location, and safety belt status using electronicfrontal sensor(s) and other special sensors which enablethe sensing system to monitor the position of the frontpassenger seat. The passenger airbag inflates to areduced depth when the passenger seat is in a forwardposition. For more rearward front seating positions,the passenger airbag may inflate to an increased depth(a full deployment), based on safety belt status andthe crash severity measured early in the event. (Alwayswear your safety belt, even with frontal airbags.)Your vehicle has seat-mounted side impact airbags.Your vehicle may have roof-rail airbags. See AirbagSystem on page 1-55. Seat-mounted side impact androof-rail airbags are intended to inflate in moderateto severe side crashes. Seat-mounted side impact androof-rail airbags will inflate if the crash severity isabove the system’s designed threshold level. Thethreshold level can vary with specific vehicle design.Seat-mounted side impact and roof-rail airbags arenot intended to inflate in frontal impacts, near-frontalimpacts, rollovers, or rear impacts. A seat-mountedside impact airbag is intended to deploy on the side ofthe vehicle that is struck. Both roof-rail airbags willdeploy when either side of the vehicle is struck.In any particular crash, no one can say whether anairbag should have inflated simply because of thedamage to a vehicle or because of what the repair costswere. For frontal airbags, inflation is determined bywhat the vehicle hits, the angle of the impact, and howquickly the vehicle slows down. For seat-mountedside impact and roof-rail airbags, deployment isdetermined by the location and severity of the sideimpact.What Makes an Airbag Inflate?In a deployment event, the sensing system sends anelectrical signal triggering a release of gas from theinflator. Gas from the inflator fills the airbag causing thebag to break out of the cover and deploy. The inflator,the airbag, and related hardware are all part of the airbagmodule.Frontal airbag modules are located inside thesteering wheel and instrument panel. For vehicleswith seat-mounted side impact airbags, there are airbagmodules in the side of the front seatbacks closest to thedoor. For vehicles with roof-rail airbags, there are airbagmodules in the ceiling of the vehicle, near the sidewindows that have occupant seating positions.1-61
