The driver's and right front passenger's frontal airbags are designed to inflate in moderate to severe frontal or near-frontal crashes. But they are designed to inflate only if the impact exceeds a predetermined deployment threshold. Deployment thresholds take into account a variety of desired deployment and non-deployment events and are used to predict how severe a crash is likely to be in time for the airbags to inflate and help restrain the occupants. Whether your frontal airbags will or should deploy is not based on only how fast your vehicle is traveling. It depends largely on what you hit, the direction of the impact, and how quickly your vehicle slows down.
In addition, your vehicle has "dual stage" frontal airbags, which adjust the restraint according to crash severity. Your vehicle is equipped with electronic frontal sensors, which help the sensing system distinguish between a moderate frontal impact and a more severe frontal impact. For moderate frontal impacts, these airbags inflate at a level less than full deployment. For more severe frontal impacts, full deployment occurs.
Frontal airbags may inflate at different vehicle crash speeds. For example:
| • | If the vehicle hits a stationary object, the airbags could inflate at a different crash speed than if the vehicle hits a moving object. |
| • | If the vehicle hits an object that deforms, the airbags could inflate at a different crash speed than if the vehicle hits an object that does not deform. |
| • | If the vehicle hits a narrow object (like a pole), the airbags could inflate at a different crash speed than if the vehicle hits a wide object (like a wall). |
| • | If the vehicle goes into an object at an angle, the airbags could inflate at a different crash speed than if the vehicle goes straight into the object. |
Frontal airbags for the driver and right front passenger may also deploy if a serious impact occurs to the underside of your vehicle such as hitting a curb, falling into a deep hole, or landing hard. The frontal airbags (driver and right front passenger) are not intended to inflate during vehicle rollovers, rear impacts, or in many side impacts.
It is possible that, in a crash involving the front of your vehicle, only one of the two frontal airbags in your vehicle will deploy. This is rare, but it can happen in a crash just severe enough to make a frontal airbag inflate.
Side impact airbags are intended to inflate in moderate to severe side crashes. 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. Side impact airbags are not intended to inflate in frontal or near-frontal impacts, rollovers or in many rear impacts. Your vehicle has sensors which detect side impacts. These sensors signal the appropriate side airbag to inflate. A seat-mounted side impact airbag is intended to deploy on the side of the vehicle that is struck. A roof-mounted airbag is intended to deploy on the side of the vehicle that is struck. It is possible that, in a crash involving the rear side of your vehicle, that only the roof-mounted airbag will deploy.
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, vehicle speed, 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.
