Advanced technology -> Airbags for your BMW 7 Series 2001-2007

188nAirbags  
ATC  
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.  
ATC  
Because the inflation process must be  
virtually instantaneous, it is necessarily  
accompanied by a certain amount of ig-  
nition and inflation noise. The gas re-  
quired to inflate the airbags is not dan-  
gerous, and the smoke caused by it  
rapidly dissipates.  
Deceleration sensors continuously  
On vehicles with automatic transmis-  
sion Adaptive Transmission Control  
(ATC) uses a number of factors to cal-  
culate the maximally efficient gear. In  
this process it monitors your personal  
driving style, the situation in which you  
are driving, the condition of the road  
and the traffic conditions.  
monitor the physical forces acting upon  
the vehicle. In a severe frontal collision,  
the gas generators of the driver's airbag  
and the front passenger airbag are ig-  
nited. However, the passenger-side air-  
bag is only triggered if an additional  
sensor has recognized that the passen-  
ger seat is occupied.  
The entire process is completed within  
fractions of a second.  
ATC recognizes your personal driving  
style from the positions and movements  
of the gas pedal, declaration when  
braking and lateral acceleration through  
curves. Four shift characteristics – from  
comfort-oriented to performance-ori-  
ented – are available for selection by  
ATC.  
In the event of a severe side impact, the  
head protection and side airbags in the  
front and/or rear* are triggered.  
Online Edition for Part No. 01 41 0 004 597 - © 08/99 BMW Group