Pontiac 2002 Grand Prix User Manual download pdf (Page 31)

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When should an air bag inflate?

An air bag is designed to inflate in a moderate to severe

frontal or near

-frontal crash. 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 12 to 18 mph (19 to 29 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, rear

impacts, or in many side 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 how quickly the vehicle slows down

in frontal or near

-frontal impacts.

What makes an air bag inflate?

In an impact of sufficient severity, the air bag sensing

system detects that the vehicle is in a crash. The sensing

system triggers a release of gas from the inflator, which

inflates the air bag. The inflator, air bag and related

hardware are all part of the air bag modules inside the

steering wheel and in the instrument panel in front of the

right front passenger.

How does an air bag restrain?

In moderate to severe frontal or near

-frontal collisions,

even belted occupants can contact the steering wheel or

the instrument panel. Air bags supplement the protection

provided by safety belts. Air bags distribute the force of

the impact more evenly over the occupant’s upper body,

stopping the occupant more gradually. But air bags

would not help you in many types of collisions,

including rollovers, rear impacts and many side impacts,

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.

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Pontiac 2002 Grand Prix User Manual Page 31

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