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:

    How to Check
    Use a good quality pocket-type gage to check tire pressure. You cannot tell if your tires are properly inflated simply by looking at them. Radial tires may look properly inflated even when they’ ...

    All Vehicles
    WARNING! You can be injured and the vehicle could be damaged if you try to do service work on a vehicle without knowing enough about it. • Be sure you have sufficient knowledge, experience ...

    Vehicle Overview
    As the 2004 model year began, a midsize luxury sport utility vehicle dubbed Rainier joined the Rendezvous "crossover" model in Buick's lineup. Built with full-frame construction, the Rai ...