Dodge 2004 Intrepid Owner's Manual page 34

34 THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE
WARNING!
Do not put anything on or around the front airbag
covers or attempt to manually open them. You
may damage the airbags and you could be injured
because the airbags are not there to protect you.
These protective covers are designed to open only
when the airbags are inflated.
If your vehicle is equipped with side airbags, do
not use accessory seat covers or place objects
between you and the side airbags; the perfor-
mance could be adversely affected and/or objects
could be pushed into you, causing serious injury.
If your vehicle is equipped with side airbags, do
not attach cup holders or any other objects on or
around the door. The inflating side airbag could
drive the objects into occupants, causing serious
injury.
Airbags inflate in moderate to high speed impacts. Along
with the seat belts, front airbags work with the instru-
ment panel knee bolsters to provide improved protection
for the driver and front passenger. Side airbags also work
with seat belts to improve occupant protection.
The seat belts are designed to protect you in many types
of collisions. The front airbags deploy only in moderate
to severe frontal collisions. In certain types of collisions,
both the front and side airbags may be triggered. But
even in collisions where the airbags work, you need the
seat belts to keep you in the right positon for the airbags
to protect you properly.
Here are some simple steps you can take to minimize
the risk of harm from a deploying airbag.
1. Children 12 years old and under should always ride
buckled up in the rear seat.
Infants in rear-facing child restraints (designed for chil-
dren up to 20 lbs. [9kg.] and at least one year old) should
NEVER ride in the front seat of a vehicle with a passen-
ger front airbag. An airbag deployment could cause
serious injury or death to an infant in that position.
Children that are not big enough to properly wear the
vehicle seat belt (see section on "Child Restraint") should