Cadillac 2008 CTS - Manual (Page 65)

Thresholds can also vary with specific vehicle design.
Frontal airbags are not intended to inflate during vehicle
rollovers, rear impacts, or in many side impacts.
In addition, your vehicle has a dual-stage driver airbag.
Dual-stage airbags 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, dual-stage
airbags inflate at a level less than full deployment.
For more severe frontal impacts, full deployment occurs.
Your vehicle also has a dual-depth passenger airbag
that adjusts the restraint according to crash severity,
seat location, and safety belt status using electronic
frontal sensors and other special sensors which enable
the sensing system to monitor the position of the
front passenger seat. The passenger airbag inflates to a
reduced depth when the passenger seat is in a
forward position. For more rearward front seating
positions, the passenger airbag may inflate to an
increased depth (a full deployment), based on the crash
severity measured early in the event. (Always wear
your safety belt, even with frontal airbags.)
Your vehicle has seat position sensors which enables
the sensing system to monitor the position of the driver’s
and right front passenger’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 has seat-mounted side impact and roof-rail
airbags. See Airbag System on page 1-55. Seat-mounted
side impact and roof-rail airbags are intended to inflate in
moderate to severe side crashes. In addition, these
roof-rail airbags are intended to inflate in a severe frontal
impact. Seat-mounted side impact and roof-rail airbags
will inflate if the crash severity is above the system’s
designed threshold level. The threshold level can vary
with specific vehicle design.
Seat-mounted side impact airbags are not intended to
inflate in frontal impacts, near-frontal impacts, rollovers,
or rear impacts. Roof-rail airbags are not intended to
inflate in rollovers or rear impacts. A seat-mounted side
impact airbag is intended to deploy on the side of
the vehicle that is struck. Both roof-rail airbags will
deploy when either side of the vehicle is struck or in a
severe frontal impact.
In any particular crash, no one can say whether an airbag
should have inflated simply because of the damage to a
vehicle or because of what the repair costs were. For
frontal airbags, inflation is determined by what the vehicle
hits, the angle of the impact, and how quickly the vehicle
slows down. For seat-mounted side impact and roof-rail
airbags, deployment is determined by the location and
severity of the side impact.
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