1998 Oldsmobile Achieva Owner's Manual - Page 33

In any particular crash,no one can say whether an air bag should have inflated simply because of the damage to a vehicle orbecause 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. Theinflator, air bag and related hardware are all part of the airbag modules inside the steering wheel and in the instrument panel in front of the right front passenger. 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 side impacts, primarily because an occupant's motion is not towardthose 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. What will you see after an air bag inflates? After an ar bag inflates, it quickly deflates,so quickly that i some people may not even realize thei bag inflated. ar Some components of the air bag module-- the steering wheel hub for the driver's air bag, the instrument panel or for the right front passenger's bag will be hot fora short -time. The parts of the bag that come into contact with you may be warm, but not too hot touch. There will be to some smoke and dust coming from vents in the deflated air bags. Air bag inflation doesn't prevent driver from the seeing or from being able to steer the vehicle, nor does it stop people from leaving the vehicle. 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 1-25