Service manual
What makes an air bag inflate?
In a frontal impact
of
sufficient severity, sensors strategically located on
the vehicle detect that the vehicle
is
suddenly stopping as a result of
a
reaction
of
the sodium azide sealed
in
the inflator. The reaction produces
nitrogen gas, which inflates the cloth bag. The inflator, cloth bag, and
related hardware are all part of the air bag inflator module packed inside
the steering wheel.
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crash. These sensors complete an electrical circuit, triggering a chemical
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How
does an air bag restrain?
occupants can contact the steering wheel. The air bag supplements the
protection provided by safety belts. Air bags distribute the force of the
occupant more gradually. But air bags would not provide protection in
many types of collisions, including rollovers and rear and side impacts,
primarily because an occupant’s motion is not toward the air bag. Air
bags should never
be
regarded as anything more than a supplement to
safety belt protection in moderate to severe frontal and near-frontal
collisions.
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In moderate to severe frontal or near-frontal collisions, even belted
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impact more evenly over the occupant’s upper body, stopping the
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What
will
you
see
after an air bag inflation?
After the air bag has inflated, it
will
then quickly deflate. This occurs
so
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quickly that some people may not
even
realize that the air bag inflated.
The
air bag will
not
impede the driver’s vision
or
ability to steer
the
vehicle,
nor
will
it
hinder the occupants from exiting the vehicle. There
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will be small amounts
of
smoke coming from vents
in
the deflated air bag.
Some components
of
the air bag module in the steering wheel hub may
be hot for a short time, but the portion
of
the bag that comes into contact
with you will not be hot to the touch. The nitrogen gas used to inflate the
air bag
will
have vented into the passenger compartment, and the bag
will
be deflated within seconds after the collision. Nitrogen makes up about
80%
of
the air we breathe and
is
not
hazardous.
As
the nitrogen vents
compartment.
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from the bag, small particles are also vented into the passenger
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