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Air Bag Basics
Air bags are supplemental restraints and are designed to work best in combination with safety belts.
Both frontal and side-impact air bags are designed to deploy in moderate to severe crashes.
Air bags reduce the chance that an occupant's upper body or head will strike the vehicle's interior during a crash.
To avoid an air bag-related injury, always ensure proper seating position.
Read your owner's manual for specific information about the air bags in your vehicle.
Crash Sensors
- The crash sensors' purpose is to measure how quickly the vehicle slows down in a frontal crash, or is crushed in a side-impact crash, and send those signals to the Electronic Control Unit (ECU).
- Crash sensors for frontal crashes can be located in the front of the vehicle near the engine or in the passenger compartment, sometimes in the ECU.
- Crash sensors for side-impact crashes can be located in the ECU, in the door, in the doorsill or in the pillar between the front and rear doors.
- Severe or panic braking alone cannot cause sufficient force to deploy an air bag.
Electronic Control Unit (ECU)
- The ECU acts like the brain of the air bag system; it receives signals from the various sensors and decides if and when each air bag should deploy.
- The ECU is typically located in the middle of the vehicle, where it is well protected.
- In advanced air bag systems, the ECU can also receive inputs from additional sensors that detect occupant weight, seating position, seat belt use and seat position to determine the force with which the frontal air bags should deploy.
Air Bag ON-OFF Switch
- Most vehicles without rear seats, or with small rear seats, such as pickup trucks or sports cars, have a passenger air bag ON-OFF switch as standard equipment.
- The purpose of the switch in the OFF position is to disable the passenger frontal air bag to transport, for example, a child age 12 or under in the right front seating position.
- Vehicles with enough space in the rear seat to accommodate a child safety seat are not allowed to have an ON-OFF switch as standard equipment.
- Consumers who wish to have an ON-OFF switch installed for either the driver or passenger frontal air bag must apply for an ON-OFF switch.
During a Deployment
- When there is a moderate to severe crash, a signal is sent from the Electronic Control Unit (ECU) to the inflator within the air bag module.
- An igniter in the inflator starts a chemical reaction that produces a gas that fully inflates the air bag within the blink of an eye, less than 1/20th of a second.
- The gas is typically nitrogen or argon and is harmless.
- Side-impact air bags inflate even more quickly since there is less space between the occupant and the striking object, such as another vehicle, a tree or a pole.
- Because air bags deploy very rapidly, serious or sometimes fatal injuries can occur if the occupant is too close to, or is in direct contact with, the air bag when it first begins to deploy.
- Nontoxic cornstarch or talcum powder is often used to aid air bag deployment. It is the "smoke" you may have seen released into a vehicle's interior in demonstrations.
After a Deployment
- The air bag automatically deflates as the gas escapes through vents in the fabric of the air bag. Air bags cannot smother you and don't restrict your movement after the crash.
- The whole process of air bag inflation and deflation occurs in less than one second.
- The powdery starch or talcum substance used to lubricate the air bag may initially contain small amounts of sodium hydroxide and may cause some temporary minor irritation to the eyes or throat.
- Other minor injuries can include abrasions from contact with the fabric of the air bag.
- Remember: Air bags cannot be reused—they are a single-use safety restraint.
- Do not drive your vehicle until the air bag has been replaced by an authorized repair center.
Air Bag Types
Frontal Air Bags
- During moderate to severe frontal crashes, frontal air bags inflate to prevent occupants from hitting the interior of the vehicle.
- Frontal air bags do not eliminate the need for safety belts.
- Occupants who are unbelted or out of position can be seriously injured or killed if they are too close to the air bag module when it deploys.
- Frontal air bags typically do not offer protection in rollovers, side-impact or rear-end crashes.
- Frontal air bags, either 1st or 2nd generation, also known as "depowered" air bags, have been standard equipment in all passenger cars since model year 1998 and all SUVs, pickup trucks and vans since model year 1999.
- Advanced frontal air bags
, or 3rd generation, are being phased into new model year 2004 vehicles. All light vehicles will have advanced frontal air bags by model year 2007.
Side-impact Air Bags (SAB)
- Side air bags (SABs) are inflatable devices that are designed to help protect your head and/or chest in the event of a serious crash involving the side of your vehicle. There are three main types of SABs: chest (or torso) SABs, head SABs and head/chest combination (or "combo") SABs.
- Chest (or torso) SABs
are mounted in the side of the seat or in the door and are designed to help protect an adult’s chest in a serious side-impact crash.
- Head SABs are usually mounted in the roof rail above the side windows and are designed to help protect an adult’s head in a side-impact crash. There are two types of head SABs: curtain SABs and tubular SABs. Typically, curtain SABs help protect both front and rear occupants in a side-impact crash; some may also provide protection from ejection if your car rolls over after being struck on the side.
- Head/chest combination ("combo") SABs are usually mounted in the side of the seat and are typically larger than chest (or torso) SABs. Combo SABs are designed to help protect both the head and chest of an adult.
- How they work: SABs inflate in a fraction of a second and are designed to help keep your head and/or chest from being hit by hard objects both inside and outside your vehicle in serious side-impact crashes. Sensors determine whether a crash is severe enough to inflate the SABs. Unlike frontal air bags, some of the side curtain air bags may stay inflated for several seconds during a crash for additional protection in the event of a rollover.
Vehicle can be equipped with both front and side air bags. Frontal air bags have been standard equipment in all passenger cars since model year 1998 and all SUV’s, pickups and vans since model year 1999. SABs are being offered as standard or optional equipment on many new passenger vehicles.
just-auto.com - Daily News
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