Description & Operation

WARNING: To avoid injury from accidental air bag deployment, read and carefully follow all WARNINGS and AIR BAG SAFETY PRECAUTIONS .

The main components of the Air Bag System are the driver-side air bag module, SIR coil, passenger-side air bag module, Sensing and Diagnostic Module (SDM) and AIR BAG warning light. The driver-side air bag module and passenger-side air bag module are deployed by current supplied from SDM through squib circuits. The current ignites an ignition compound which causes the generation of a large quantity of nitrogen gas to rapidly inflate the air bags.

The SIR coil is combined with the combination switch assembly and is mounted on the steering column. It allows rotation of the steering wheel while maintaining continuous contact of the driver-side deployment loop to the driver-side air bag module. The Sensing and Diagnostic Module (SDM) functions to detect velocity changes as a result of frontal crash severe enough to warrant deployment. The SDM also performs malfunction monitoring of the Air Bag System, and provides malfunction diagnosis through use of a Tech 1 scan tool.