Maserati GRANCABRIO Owner's Manual page 35

Front airbags
The front airbags (driver's and
passenger's) are safety devices which
activate in the event of a head-on
collision.
It consists of an airbag that deploys
almost instantaneously and is
contained in a special housing:
- in the centre of the steering wheel
on the driver side;
- in the dashboard with a larger
cushion for the passenger.
The front airbags (driver's and
passenger's) are safety devices
designed to protect the occupants
in the event of head-on collisions of
medium-high severity. They act by
placing a cushion (airbag) between
the occupant and the steering wheel
or the dashboard.
In the event of a collision, an ECU
processes the deceleration signals
and activates, when necessary, airbag
deployment.
The airbag deploys almost
instantaneously, placing itself
between the front passengers
and potentially harmful parts of
the vehicle. The airbags defl ate
immediately afterwards.
In the event of a collision,
any occupants not wearing
their seat belt will be
thrown forward and will come into
contact with the airbag before it
is fully infl ated. This reduces the
protection level provided by the
airbag. The front airbags (driver's
and passenger's) are not a substitute
for the seat belts but rather act
in combination with them. As a
consequence, the seat belts must
always be worn as provided for by
applicable legislation in Europe and in
most non-European countries.
Remember that, in the
event of a violent impact,
the passengers on the rear
seats that are not wearing the seat
belts are not only subject to personal
injuries but they also represent a
danger for passengers sitting in the
front seats.
Never remove the steering
wheel. If necessary, this
operation should only be
performed by a Maserati Service
Network centre.
In the case of low-severity head on
collisions (in which the retaining
action of the seat belts provides
adequate protection), the airbags will
not be activated.
The airbags do not activate in the
event of rear and side collisions, as it
does not provide any supplementary
protection.
Therefore, in these cases, failure
of the airbag to deploy is not an
indication of a system malfunction.
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