Chevrolet Spark Owners Manual: 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 by distributing the force of the impact more evenly over the occupant's body.
Rollover capable roof-rail airbags are designed to help contain the head and chest of occupants in the outboard seating positions in the first and second rows. The rollover capable roof-rail airbags are designed to help reduce the risk of full or partial ejection in rollover events, although no system can prevent all such ejections.
But airbags would not help in many types of collisions, primarily because the occupant's motion is not toward those airbags. See When Should an Airbag Inflate? on page 3-22.
Airbags should never be regarded as anything more than a supplement to safety belts.
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 ...
What Will You See after an Airbag Inflates?
After the frontal airbags and seat-mounted side impact airbags inflate, they
quickly deflate, so quickly that some people may not even realize an airbag inflated.
Roof-rail airbags may still be at ...
Other materials:
General Information
Your vehicle is an important investment. This section describes the required
maintenance for the vehicle. Follow this schedule to help protect against major
repair expenses resulting from neglect or inadequate maintenance. It may also help
to maintain the value of the vehicle if it is sold. It ...
Instrument Panel
Air Vents on page 8-3.
Exterior Lamp Controls on page 6-1.
Horn on page 5-2.
Instrument Cluster on page 5-8.
Windshield Wiper/Washer on page 5-3.
Infotainment on page 7-1.
Information Display.
Hazard Warning Flashers on page 6-3.
Instrument Panel Illumination Control on page 6 ...
Air Vents
Adjustable air vents are in the center and on the side of the instrument panel.
Move the slats to change the direction of the airflow. The center air vent does
not close completely.
Press the cover of the side air vents to open. Turn open slats clockwise or counterclockwise
to direct a ...
