CHEVROLET IMPALA 2007 9.G Manual PDF

Where Are the Airbags?
The driver’s frontal airbag is in the middle of the
steering wheel.The right front passenger’s frontal airbag is in the
instrument panel on the passenger’s side.
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If your vehicle has a roof-mounted side impact
airbag for the driver and the person seated directly
behind the driver, it is in the ceiling above the
side windows.If your vehicle has a roof-mounted side impact
airbag for the right front passenger and the person
seated directly behind that passenger, it is in
the ceiling above the side windows.
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{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 side impact
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.
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.
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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
12 to 16 mph (19 to 26 km/h), and the threshold
level for a full deployment is about 18 to 22 mph
(29 to 35.4 km/h). The threshold level can vary,
however, with specic vehicle design, so that it
can be somewhat above or below this range.
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 may or may not have side impact
airbags. SeeAirbag System on page 68.
Side impact airbags are intended to inate in
moderate to severe side crashes. A side impact
airbag will inate if the crash severity is above
the system’s designed threshold level. The
threshold level can vary with specic vehicle
design. Side impact airbags are not intended to
inate in frontal or near-frontal impacts, rollovers,
or rear impacts. Both side impact airbags will
deploy when either side is struck.
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 in frontal or near-frontal impacts.
For side impact airbags, ination is determined
by the location and severity of the impact.
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What Makes an Airbag Inate?
In an impact of sufficient severity, the airbag
sensing system detects that the vehicle is
in a crash. 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 side impact
airbags, there are also airbag modules in the
ceiling of the vehicle, near the side windows.
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.
Side impact airbags would not help you in many
types of collisions, including many frontal or
near frontal collisions, rollovers, 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 for
vehicles with side impact airbags.
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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
the airbag inated. Roof-mounted side impact
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, or the
garnish trim and ceiling of your 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. 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 turn on the hazard warning ashers when
the airbags inate. You can lock the doors again,
turn the interior lamps off, and turn the hazard
warning ashers off by using the controls for
those features.
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In many crashes severe enough to inate an
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 the 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 Recording
and Privacy on page 443andEvent Data
Recorders on page 443.
Let only qualied technicians work on the
airbag system. Improper service can mean
that your airbag system will not work properly.
See your dealer/retailer for service.
Passenger Sensing System
Your vehicle has a passenger sensing system.
The passenger airbag status indicator on the
instrument panel will be visible when you turn
your ignition key to RUN or START. The words
ON and OFF or the symbol for on and off,
will be visible during the system check.
If you use remote start to start your vehicle from
a distance, if your vehicle has this feature,
you may not see the system check. When the
system check is complete, either the word ON
or the word OFF, or the symbol for on or the
symbol for off will be visible. SeePassenger
Airbag Status Indicator on page 179.
United StatesCanada
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The passenger sensing system will turn off the
right front passenger’s frontal airbag under certain
conditions. The driver’s airbags are not part of
the passenger sensing system.
The passenger sensing system works with
sensors that are part of the right front passenger’s
seat and safety belt. The sensors are designed
to detect the presence of a properly seated
occupant and determine if the passenger’s frontal
airbag should be enabled (may inate) or not.
Accident statistics show that children are safer
if they are restrained in the rear rather than
the front seat. We recommend that child restraints
be secured in a rear seat, including an infant
riding in a rear-facing infant seat, a child riding
in a forward-facing child seat and an older
child riding in a booster seat.There is a label on your sun visor that says,
“Never put a rear-facing child seat in the front.”
This is because the risk to the rear-facing child is
so great if the airbag deploys. Never put a rear
facing child restraint in the right front passenger
seat unless the airbag is off. Here is why:
{CAUTION:
A child in a rear-facing child restraint
can be seriously injured or killed if the
right front passenger’s airbag inates.
This is because the back of the
rear-facing child restraint would be
very close to the inating airbag.
CAUTION: (Continued)
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CAUTION: (Continued)
Even though the passenger sensing
system is designed to turn off the
passenger’s frontal airbag if the system
detects a rear-facing child restraint, no
system is fail-safe, and no one can
guarantee that an airbag will not deploy
under some unusual circumstance, even
though it is turned off. We recommend
that rear-facing child restraints be secured
in the rear seat, even if the airbag is off.
If you need to secure a forward-facing
child restraint in the right front seat,
always move the front passenger seat
as far back as it will go. It is better to
secure the child restraint in a rear seat.The passenger sensing system is designed to turn
off the right front passenger’s frontal airbag if:
The right front passenger seat is unoccupied.
The system determines that an infant is
present in a rear-facing infant seat.
The system determines that a small child is
present in a forward-facing child restraint.
The system determines that a small child is
present in a booster seat.
A right front passenger takes his/her weight off
of the seat for a period of time.
The right front passenger seat is occupied by
a smaller person, such as a child who has
outgrown child restraints.
Or, if there is a critical problem with the airbag
system or the passenger sensing system
When the passenger’s frontal airbag has been
turned off by the passenger sensing system, the
off indicator on the instrument panel will light
and stay lit to remind you that the airbag is off.
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If a child restraint has been installed and the
on indicator is lit, turn the vehicle off. Remove
the child restraint from the vehicle and reinstall
the child restraint following the child restraint
manufacturer’s directions and refer toSecuring
a Child Restraint in the Right Front Seat Position
on page 64.
If, after reinstalling the child restraint and restarting
the vehicle, the on indicator is still lit, check to
make sure that the vehicle’s seatback is not
pressing the child restraint into the seat cushion.
If this happens, slightly recline the vehicle’s
seatback and adjust the seat cushion if possible.
Also make sure the child restraint is not trapped
under the vehicle head restraint. If this happens,
adjust the head restraint.
If the on indicator is still lit, secure the child in
the child restraint in a rear seat position in
the vehicle if one is available and check with
your dealer.The passenger sensing system is designed to
enable (may inate) the right front passenger’s
frontal airbag anytime the system senses
that a person of adult size is sitting properly in the
right front passenger’s seat. When the passenger
sensing system has allowed the airbag to be
enabled, the on indicator will light and stay lit to
remind you that the airbag is active.
For some children who have outgrown child
restraints and for very small adults, the passenger
sensing system may or may not turn off the
right front passenger’s frontal airbag, depending
upon the person’s seating posture and body
build. Everyone in your vehicle who has
outgrown child restraints should wear a safety
belt properly — whether or not there is an airbag
for that person.
If a person of adult-size is sitting in the right
front passenger’s seat, but the off indicator is lit,
it could be because that person is not sitting
properly in the seat. If this happens, turn
the vehicle off and ask the person to place the
seatback in the fully upright position, then sit
upright in the seat, centered on the seat cushion,
with the person’s legs comfortably extended.
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