Skoda Octavia Owner's Manual page 173

The load of the occupants is cushioned when plunging into the fully inflated air-
bag and the risk of injury to the entire upper body (chest, stomach and pelvis) is
reduced on the side facing the door.
WARNING
Observe the following instructions for the proper seated position.
Your head should never be positioned in the deployment area of the side
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airbag. You might suffer severe injuries in the event of an accident. This ap-
plies in particular to children who are transported without using a suitable
child safety seat » page 179, Child safety and side airbag.
There must not be any further persons, animals as well as objects posi-
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tioned between the occupants and the deployment area of the airbag. No ac-
cessories, such as cup holders, should be attached to the doors.
If children adopt an incorrect seated position when travelling, they may be
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exposed to an increased risk of injury in the event of an accident. This can re-
sult in serious injuries » page 177, Child seat.
WARNING
The airbag control unit operates with pressure sensors located in the front
doors. For this reason no adjustments must be carried out to the doors and
door panels (e.g. additional installation of loudspeakers). Resulting damages
can have a negative affect on the operation of the airbag system. All work on
the front doors and their panels must only be carried out by a ŠKODA special-
ist garage. The following guidelines must be observed.
Never drive with removed inner door panels.
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Never drive, if parts of the inner door panel have been removed and the re-
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maining openings have not been properly sealed.
Never drive, if the loudspeakers in the doors have been removed, only if the
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loudspeaker openings have been properly sealed.
Always make sure that the openings are covered or filled, if additional loud-
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speakers or other equipment parts are installed in the inner door panels.
Always have work completed by a ŠKODA Partner or a competent ŠKODA
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specialist garage.
WARNING
Only hang light items of clothing on the hooks fitted in the vehicle. Never
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leave any heavy or sharp-edged objects in the pockets of the items of cloth-
ing.
Ensure that there are no excessive forces, such as violent knocks, kicks etc.,
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impact on the backrests of the seats otherwise the system may be damaged.
The side airbags would not be deployed in such a case!
Any seat or protective covers which you fit to the driver or front passenger
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seats must only be of the type expressly authorized by ŠKODA. In view of the
fact that the airbag inflates out of the backrest of the seat, use of non-ap-
proved seat or protective covers would considerably impair the protective
function of the side airbag.
Any damage to the original seat covers in the area of the side airbag module
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must be repaired without delay by your ŠKODA specialist garage.
The airbag modules in the front seats must not display any damage, cracks
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or deep scratches. It is not permissible to use force in order to open the mod-
ules.
Head airbags
Fig. 163 Location of the head airbag/gas-filled head airbag
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First read and observe the introductory information given on page 168.
In the event of a severe side collision, the head airbag system offers additional
protection for the head and neck area of passengers.
The head airbags are positioned above the doors on both sides in the interior of
the car » Fig. 163 – .
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171
Airbag system