Buick Encore: Airbag System / How Does an Airbag Restrain?

Buick Encore 2020-2026 Owner's Manual / Seats and Restraints / Airbag System / 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 seat 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?.

Airbags should never be regarded as anything more than a supplement to seat 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, knee (if equipped), and seat-mounted side impact airbags inflate, they quickly deflate, so quickly that some people may not even realize the airbags inflated...

Other information:

Buick Encore 2020-2026 Owner's Manual: Airbag Readiness Light

This light shows if there is an electrical problem with the airbag system. It is located in the instrument cluster. The system check includes the airbag sensor(s), the passenger sensing system (if equipped), the pretensioners, the airbag modules, the wiring, and the crash sensing and diagnostic module...

Buick Encore 2020-2026 Owner's Manual: Auxiliary Jack

This vehicle has an auxiliary input jack in the center console under the armrest. Possible auxiliary audio sources include: Laptop computer Audio music player This jack is not an audio output. Do not plug headphones into the auxiliary input jack...