What makes an airbag inflate – CHEVROLET 2011 Camaro User Manual
Page 74
Black plate (28,1)
Chevrolet Camaro Owner Manual - 2011
3-28
Seats and Restraints
Your vehicle has seat-mounted side
impact airbags. Your vehicle may
or may not have roof-rail airbags.
See Airbag System on page 3‑23.
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 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.
A seat-mounted side impact airbag
is intended to deploy on the side of
the vehicle that is struck. Roof-rail
airbags are intended to deploy on
both sides in some high threshold
frontal impacts.
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.
What Makes an Airbag
Inflate?
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 door. For vehicles with roof-rail
airbags, there are airbag modules in
the ceiling of the vehicle, near the
side windows that have occupant
seating positions.