BMW serie 3 sedan 2001 Manuale Utente

179

Index

Data

Technology

Repairs

Car care

Controls

Overview

Deceleration sensors continuously
monitor the acceleration forces acting
upon the vehicle. If, as the result of a
frontal collision, a deceleration is
reached at which the protection of the
safety belts alone is no longer
adequate, the gas generators of the
driver and passenger-front airbags are
ignited simultaneously. However, the
passenger-side airbag is only triggered
if an additional sensor has recognized
that the passenger seat is occupied.

In the event of a side collision, the head
protection and side airbags in the front
and rear

are triggered if necessary.

390de319

The airbags located under the marked
covers inflate and unfold in a matter of
a few milliseconds. In this process, they
tear through the designed separation
points of the upholstered covers or
press them out.

Because the inflation process must be
virtually instantaneous, it is necessarily
accompanied by a certain amount of
ignition and inflation noise. The gas
required to inflate the airbags is not
dangerous, and the smoke associated
with it dissipates.

The entire process is completed within
fractions of a second.

Airbags