Fiat SEDICI Owner's Handbook Manual page 53

Side air bags and side curtain air bags will
probably not inflate
Side air bags and side curtain air bags are
designed to inflate in severe side impact
collisions. They are not designed to inflate
in frontal or rear collisions, rollovers or
minor side collisions, since they would of-
fer no protection in those types of acci-
dents. Remember, since an air bag deploys
only one time during an accident, seat
belts are needed to restrain occupants
from further movements during the acci-
dent.
Therefore, an air bag is NOT a substitute
for seat belts. To maximize your protec-
tion, ALWAYS WEAR YOUR SEAT
BELTS. Be aware that no system can pre-
vent all possible injuries that may occur in
an accident.
WARNING
An air bag supplements, or
adds to, the crash protection
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offered by seat belts. The driver and
all passengers must be properly re-
strained by wearing seat belts at all
times, whether or not an air bag is
mounted at their seating position, to
minimize the risk of severe injury or
death in the event of a crash.
HOW THE SYSTEM WORKS
In a frontal collision, the crash sensors will
detect rapid deceleration, and if the con-
troller judges that the deceleration rep-
resents a severe frontal crash, the con-
troller will trigger the inflators. If your ve-
hicle is equipped with side air bags and side
curtain air bags, crash sensors will detect
a side collision, and if the controller judges
that the side collision is severe enough, it
will trigger a side inflator. The inflators in-
flate the appropriate air bags with nitro-
gen or argon gas. The inflated air bags pro-
vide a cushion for your head (front air bags
and side curtain air bags only) and upper
body. The air bag inflates and deflates so
quickly that you may not even realize that
it has activated. The air bag will neither
hinder your view nor make it harder to
exit the vehicle.
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