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The frontal airbags (driver and right front passenger) are
not intended to inflate during vehicle rollovers, rear
impacts, or in many side impacts because inflation
would not likely help the occupants.
Your vehicle may or may not have a driver’s side impact
airbag. See Airbag System on page 1-49. A driver’s side
impact airbag is designed to inflate in moderate to severe
side crashes involving the driver’s door. A side impact
airbag will inflate if the crash severity is above the
system’s designed “threshold level.” The threshold level
can vary with specific vehicle design. A driver’s side
impact airbag is not designed to inflate in frontal or
near-frontal impacts, rollovers or rear impacts, because
inflation would not likely help the occupant.
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
the angle of the impact and how quickly the vehicle
slows down in frontal and near-frontal impacts. For side
impact airbags, inflation is determined by the location
and severity of the impact.
What Makes an Airbag Inflate?
In an impact of sufficient severity, the airbag sensing
system detects that the vehicle is in a crash. For
both the frontal and side impact airbags, the sensing
system triggers a release of gas from the inflator, which
inflates the airbag. The inflator, airbag and related
hardware are all part of the airbag modules. Frontal
airbag modules are located inside the steering
wheel and instrument panel. For vehicles with a driver’s
side impact airbag, the airbag modules are located in
the seatback closest to the driver’s door.
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