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160
Airbag
system
Side airbags
Description of side airbags
The airbag system can provide supplemental
protection to properly restrained occupants .
Fig. 128
Side airbag locat ion in the driver's seat
The side airbags are located in the sides of the
front seat backrests ¢ fig. 128 and the rear
backrest facing the doors.
The side airbags installed for the front seating
positions have been designed and certified to
help reduce the risk of injury that can be
caused by airbags when they inflate, particu-
larly when the occupant sitting next to it is
not seated properly. The side airbag for the
front passenger seat can be used with proper-
ly installed child restraints. Please be sure to
read the important information and warnings
whenever us ing a child restraint in a vehicle :
Safety belts c::>page 131, Airbag system
c::> page 140, Child safety ¢ page 166.
The side airbag system basically consists of:
- the electronic control module and external
side impact sensors
- the two airbags located in the sides of the
front backrests and the two airbags* located
in the rear backrest
- the airbag warning light in the instrument
cluster.
The airbag system is monitored electron ica lly
to make certain that it is functioning properly
at all times. Each time you switch on the igni-
tion, the airbag system indicator light will
come on for a few seconds (self diagnostics) .
The side airbag system supplements
the safe-
ty belts and can help to reduce the risk of in-
jury to the driver's, front and rear passenger's
upper torso on the side of the vehicle that is
struck in a side collision. The airbag dep loys
only in side impacts and only when the vehicle
accelerat ion reg istered by the control unit is
high enough. If th is rate is be low the refer -
ence value programmed into the control unit,
the side airbags will not be triggered, even
though the car may be bad ly damaged as a re-
sult of the collision.
It
is not possible to de-
fine an airbag triggering range that will cover
every possible ang le of impact, since the cir-
cumstances will vary considerably between
one collis ion and another. Important factors
include, for example, the nature (hard or soft)
of the impacting object , the angle of impact,
vehicle speed, etc. ¢ page 161, Important
safety instructions on the side airbag system .
Aside from their normal safety function, safe-
ty belts work to help keep the driver or front
passenger in position in the event of a side
collision so that the side airbags ca n provide
protection.
The airbag system is not a substitute for your
safety belt . Rather, it is part of the overall oc-
cupant restraint system in your vehicle. Al-
ways reme mber that the side ai rbag system
can on ly help to prote ct you if you are wearing
your safe t y belt and wearing it properly. This
is another reason why you should always wear
your safety belts, not just because t he law re-
quires you to do so c::> page 131, General
notes.
It
is important to remember that while the
supplementa l side airbag system is designed
to reduce the likelihood of serious injuries,
other injuries, for example, swelling, bru is ing,
friction burns and m inor abrasions can a lso be
associated w ith deployed side airbags . Re-
member too, side a irbags w ill deploy only
once and on ly in certain kinds of accidents -
you r safety belts are always the re to offer pro-
tection.
Vehicle damage, repair costs or even the lack
of vehicle damage are not necessarily an indi-
cation of ove r-sensitive or failed airbag act iva-
tion. In some coll isions, both front and side
lill>
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