Vehicle seat assembly with air bag guide secured to an air bag

A vehicle seat assembly comprising:

• a frame;
• a seat pad adjacent the frame, the seat pad having a main body portion for supporting an occupant;
• a trim cover extending over at least a part of the seat pad, the trim cover having a release seam adjacent the seat pad;
• an air bag assembly mounted on the frame within the trim cover in a spaced relationship from the release seam, the air bag assembly including an inflator and a folded air bag that is inflatable by the inflator to unfold and project outwardly from the seat assembly through the release seam of the trim cover;
• and
• an air bag guide associating the air bag assembly with the release seam, the air bag guide comprising two panels made of a flexible material, each of the panels having a first end secured to the release seam and a second end, opposite the first end, secured to the air bag, wherein each of the panels has an intermediate portion extending between and connecting the first and second ends of the panel, with the second ends being spaced from each other, wherein the second ends of the panels are secured to opposite sides of the air bag, and wherein the trim cover comprises a front trim panel and a side trim panel connected to each other to form the release seam, the second ends of the two panels of the air bag guide being separate, and spaced, from each other such that the air bag guide does not have a portion extending between and connecting the second ends of the panels.