How Does an Airbag Restrain?

In moderate to severe frontal or near frontal collisions, even belted occupants can contact the steering wheel or the instrument panel. In moderate to severe side collisions, even belted occupants can contact the inside of the vehicle.

Airbags supplement the protection provided by safety belts by distributing the force of the impact more evenly over the occupant's body.

Rollover capable roof-rail airbags are designed to help contain the head and chest of occupants in the outboard seating positions in the first and second rows. The rollover capable roof-rail airbags are designed to help reduce the risk of full or partial ejection in rollover events, although no system can prevent all such ejections.

But airbags would not help in many types of collisions, primarily because the occupant's motion is not toward those airbags. See When Should an Airbag Inflate?  for more information.

Airbags should never be regarded as anything more than a supplement to safety belts.

    See also:

    Courtesy Transportation Program
    To enhance your ownership experience, we and our participating dealers are proud to offer Courtesy Transportation, a customer support program for vehicles with the New Vehicle Limited Warranty ( ...

    Tilt Wheel
    The steering wheel should be adjusted before you drive. The tilt lever is located to the left of the steering column, under the turn signal lever. It can be raised to the highest level to give ...

    When to Inspect the Engine Air Cleaner/Filter
    Inspect the air cleaner/filter at the scheduled maintenance intervals and replace it at the first oil change after each 80 000 km (50,000 mi) interval. See Maintenance Schedule for more inform ...