What Makes an Airbag Inflate?

In a deployment event, the sensing system sends an electrical signal triggering a release of gas from the inflator. Gas from the inflator fills the airbag causing the bag to break out of the cover and deploy. The inflator, the airbag, and related hardware are all part of the airbag module.

Frontal airbag modules are located inside the steering wheel and instrument panel. For vehicles with seat-mounted side impact airbags, there are airbag modules in the side of the front seatbacks closest to the door. For vehicles with roof-rail airbags, there are airbag modules in the ceiling of the vehicle, near the side windows that have occupant seating positions.

    See also:

    Retained Accessory Power (RAP)
    These vehicle accessories may be used for up to 10 minutes after the engine is turned off: Audio System Power Windows Sunroof The power windows and sunroof will continue to work for up to ...

    Driving On Grades
    Reduce speed and shift to a lower gear before you start down a long or steep downgrade. If you don’t shift down, you might have to use your brakes so much that they would get hot and no longer w ...

    When Should an Airbag Inflate?
    Frontal airbags are designed to inflate in moderate to severe frontal or near frontal crashes to help reduce the potential for severe injuries, mainly to the driver's or front outboard passe ...