Front Airbags - Fiat 500 Owner's Handbook Manual

AIRBAGS
The car is provided with front air bags for
the driver and the passenger, driver's
knees air bag and side bags - window bags.

FRONT AIRBAGS

The front airbags (driver's, passenger's,
driver's knees air bags) have been designed
to protect the occupants in the event of
head-on crashes of medium-high severity,
by placing the cushion between the occu-
pant and the steering wheel or dashboard.
Front air bags are designed to protect
car's occupants in front crashes and there-
fore non-activation in other types of col-
lisions (side collisions, rear shunts, roll-
overs, etc.) is not a system malfunction.
An electronic control unit will make the
bag inflate in the event of a frontal crash.
The bag will inflate instantaneously placing
itself between the front occupant's body
and the structures which could cause in-
jury. It will deflate immediately afterwards.
The front airbags (driver's, passenger's,
driver's knees air bags) are not a replace-
ment of but complementary to the belts,
which you are recommended to always
wear, as specified by law in Europe and
most non-European countries.
In the event of a collision, a person not
wearing a seat belt may be thrown forward
and come into contact with the bag before
it has fully opened. The protection offered
by the cushion is reduced in such a case.
Front air bags may not be activated in the
following situations:
❒ in collisions against highly deformable
objects not affecting the car front sur-
face (e.g. bumper collision against guard
rail, etc.);
❒ car penetration under other vehicles or
protective barriers (e.g. trucks or guard
rails);
they could not provide any additional pro-
tection compared with seat belts, so their
activation would be improper. No de-
ployment in such cases is consequently not
the sign of a fault.
WARNING
Do not apply stickers or oth-
er objects on the steering
wheel, on the dashboard in the pas-
senger side airbag area, on side up-
holstery on roof and on the seats. Do
not place objects (e.g. cell phones) on
the passenger side dashboard because
these could interfere with the correct
opening of the airbag and cause se-
vere injury to occupants.
The front airbags (driver's, passenger's,
driver's knees air bags) are designed and
calibrated to protect the front seat pas-
sengers who wear the safety belts.
Their volume at the moment of maximum
inflation fills most space between the
steering wheel and the driver, between
the lower post guard and the knees on
passenger side and between the dash-
board and the passenger.
The airbags are not deployed in the event
of front collisions of low severity (for
which the withholding action of the seat
belts is sufficient). Safety belts must always
be used. In the event of frontal crash they
ensure the correct positioning of the oc-
cupant.
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