CHEVROLET TAHOE 2007 3.G Owners Manual

CAUTION: (Continued)
They are not designed to inate in
rollover, rear crashes, or in many side
crashes. And, for some unrestrained
occupants, frontal airbags may provide
less protection in frontal crashes than
more forceful airbags have provided in
the past.
Roof-mounted rollover airbags are
designed to inate in moderate to severe
crashes where something hits the side of
your vehicle, during a vehicle rollover, or
in a severe frontal impact. They are not
designed to inate in rear crashes. If your
vehicle has roof-mounted airbags, they
are designed to provide both side impact
protection and rollover protection.
Everyone in your vehicle should wear a
safety belt properly — whether or not
there is an airbag for that person.
{CAUTION:
Both frontal and roof-mounted rollover
airbags inate with great force, faster than
the blink of an eye. If you are too close to
an inating airbag, as you would be if you
were leaning forward, it could seriously
injure you. Safety belts help keep you in
position for airbag ination before and
during a crash. Always wear your safety
belt even with frontal airbags. The driver
should sit as far back as possible while
still maintaining control of the vehicle.
Occupants should not lean on or sleep
against the door in the rst or second row
seats, or the rear windows in the third row
seat, if your vehicle has roof-mounted
rollover airbags.
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{CAUTION:
Anyone who is up against, or very close
to, any airbag when it inates can be
seriously injured or killed. Airbags plus
lap-shoulder belts offer the best
protection for adults, but not for young
children and infants. Neither the vehicle’s
safety belt system nor its airbag system is
designed for them. Young children and
infants need the protection that a child
restraint system can provide. Always
secure children properly in your vehicle.
To read how, seeOlder Children on
page 61orInfants and Young Children on
page 64.
Occupants should not lean on or sleep
against the door in the rst or second row
seats, or the rear windows in the third row
seat, if your vehicle has roof-mounted
rollover airbags.There is an airbag
readiness light on the
instrument panel cluster,
which shows the
airbag symbol.
The system checks the airbag electrical system for
malfunctions. The light tells you if there is an
electrical problem. SeeAirbag Readiness Light on
page 245for more information.
92

Where Are the Airbags?
The driver’s airbag is in the middle of the steering
wheel.The right front passenger’s airbag is in the
instrument panel on the passenger’s side.
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If your vehicle has a roof-mounted rollover airbag
for the driver and the person seated directly
behind the driver, it is located in the ceiling above
the side windows.If your vehicle has a roof-mounted rollover airbag
for the right front passenger and the person
directly behind that passenger, it is located in the
ceiling above the side windows.
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If your vehicle has a roof-mounted rollover airbag
and a third row passenger seat, the airbag is
located in the ceiling above the rear windows for
the outside passenger positions in the third row.
{CAUTION:
If something is between an occupant and
an airbag, the bag might not inate
properly or it might force the object into
that person causing severe injury or even
death. The path of an inating airbag must
be kept clear. Do not put anything
between an occupant and an airbag, and
do not attach or put anything on the
steering wheel hub or on or near any
other airbag covering. And, if your vehicle
has roof-mounted rollover airbags, never
secure anything to the roof of your
vehicle by routing the rope or tie down
through any door or window opening. If
you do, the path of an inating side
impact airbag will be blocked. The path of
an inating airbag must be kept clear.
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When Should an Airbag Inate?
The driver’s and right front passenger’s frontal
airbags are designed to inate in moderate to
severe frontal or near-frontal crashes. But they are
designed to inate 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 inate and help restrain the
occupants. Whether your frontal airbags will or
should deploy is not based on 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 has 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 inate at a level less
than full deployment. For more severe frontal
impacts, full deployment occurs. If the front of your
vehicle goes straight into a wall that does not
move or deform, the threshold level for the
reduced deployment is about 9 to 16 mph
(14 to 26 km/h), and the threshold level for a full
deployment is about 18 to 25 mph (29 to 40 km/h).
The threshold level can vary, however, with
specic vehicle design, so that it can be somewhat
above or below this range.
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Frontal airbags may inate at different crash
speeds. For example:
If the vehicle hits a stationary object, the
airbags could inate at a different crash speed
than if the vehicle hits a moving object.
If the vehicle hits an object that deforms, the
airbags could inate 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 inate 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 inate at a different crash
speed than if the vehicle goes straight into
the object.
Frontal airbags (driver and right front passenger)
are not intended to inate during vehicle
rollovers, rear impacts, or in many side impacts.Your vehicle has a seat position sensor which
enables the sensing system to monitor the
fore and aft position of the driver’s seat. Seat
position sensors provide information that is used
to determine if the airbags should deploy at a
reduced level or at full deployment.
Your vehicle may or may not have roof-mounted
rollover airbags and a rollover sensor. See
Airbag System on page 90. These “rollover
capable” airbags are intended to inate in
moderate to severe side crashes, during a rollover,
or in a severe frontal impact. A roof-mounted
rollover airbag will inate if the crash severity is
above the system’s designed “threshold level.” The
threshold level can vary with specic vehicle
design. Roof-mounted airbags are not intended to
inate in rear impacts. Both roof-mounted
rollover airbags will deploy when either side of the
vehicle is struck, during a rollover, or in a
severe frontal impact.
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In any particular crash, no one can say whether
an airbag should have inated simply because
of the damage to a vehicle or because of what the
repair costs were. For frontal airbags, ination is
determined by what the vehicle hits, the angle
of the impact, and how quickly the vehicle slows
down. For roof-mounted rollover airbags,
ination is determined by the location and severity
of the impact or a rollover event.
The airbag system is designed to work properly
under a wide range of conditions, including off-road
usage. Observe safe driving speeds, especially
on rough terrain. As always, wear your safety belt.
SeeOff-Road Driving on page 372for tips on
off-road driving.What Makes an Airbag Inate?
In an impact of sufficient severity, the airbag
sensing system detects that the vehicle is
in a crash. In the case of a roof-mounted rollover
airbag, the sensing system detects that the
vehicle is about to roll over or has been in a severe
frontal or side impact. The sensing system
triggers a release of gas from the inator, which
inates the airbag. The inator, airbag, and related
hardware are all part of the airbag modules
inside the steering wheel and in the instrument
panel in front of the right front passenger.
For vehicles with roof-mounted rollover airbags,
the airbag modules are located in the ceiling of the
vehicle, near the side windows.
If your vehicle has a third row seat with
roof-mounted rollover airbags, the airbag modules
are located inside the rear-most pillar trim and
above in the ceiling above the xed rear glass.
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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. Airbags distribute the force of the
impact more evenly over the occupant’s upper
body, stopping the occupant more gradually. But
the frontal airbags would not help you in many
types of collisions, including rollovers, rear
impacts, and many side impacts, primarily because
an occupant’s motion is not toward the airbag.
Roof-mounted rollover airbags would not help you
in many types of collisions, including many
frontal or near frontal collisions, and rear impacts.
Airbags should never be regarded as anything
more than a supplement to safety belts, and then
only in moderate to severe frontal or near-frontal
collisions for the driver’s and right front
passenger’s frontal airbags, and only in moderate
to severe side collisions or rollovers for vehicles
with roof-mounted rollover airbags.
What Will You See After an Airbag
Inates?
After a frontal airbag inates, it quickly deates, so
quickly that some people may not even realize
an airbag inated. Roof-mounted rollover airbags
may still be at least partially inated minutes
after the vehicle comes to rest. Some components
of the airbag module — the steering wheel hub
for the driver’s airbag, the instrument panel for the
right front passenger’s airbag, and the area
along the ceiling of the vehicle near the side
windows for vehicles with roof–mounted side
impact airbags — may be hot for a short time. The
parts of the airbag that come into contact with
you may be warm, but not too hot to touch. There
may be some smoke and dust coming from the
vents in the deated airbags.
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Airbag ination does not prevent the driver from
seeing out of the windshield or being able to steer
the vehicle, nor does it prevent people from
leaving the vehicle.
{CAUTION:
When an airbag inates, there may be
dust in the air. This dust could cause
breathing problems for people with a
history of asthma or other breathing
trouble. To avoid this, everyone in the
vehicle should get out as soon as it is
safe to do so. If you have breathing
problems but cannot get out of the vehicle
after an airbag inates, then get fresh air
by opening a window or a door. If you
experience breathing problems following
an airbag deployment, you should seek
medical attention.Your vehicle has a feature that may automatically
unlock the doors, turn the interior lamps on, and
ash the hazard warning ashers when the airbags
inate. You can lock the doors again, turn the
interior lamps off, and turn off the hazard warning
ashers by using the controls for those features.
In many crashes severe enough to inate the
airbag, windshields are broken by vehicle
deformation. Additional windshield breakage may
also occur from the right front passenger airbag.
Airbags are designed to inate only once. After
an airbag inates, you will need some new
parts for your airbag system. If you do not get
them, the airbag system will not be there to help
protect you in another crash. A new system will
include airbag modules and possibly other
parts. The service manual for your vehicle
covers the need to replace other parts.
Your vehicle has a crash sensing and
diagnostic module which records information
after a crash. SeeVehicle Data Collection and
Event Data Recorders on page 609.
Let only qualied technicians work on the
airbag system. Improper service can mean that
an airbag system will not work properly. See
your dealer for service.
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