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The side airbag system supplements
the safety
be lts and can he lp to reduce the risk of injury to
the dr iver's and front passenger's
upper torso
and head injuries on the side of the vehicle that is
struck in a side collision. The airbag deploys in
side impacts and only when the vehicle accelera -
tion registered by the control unit is high enough .
If th is rate is below the reference value program-
med into the control unit, the side airbags will
not be triggered , even though t he car may be
badly damaged as a result of the collision.
It
is
not possib le to define an airbag triggering range
that will cover every possible angle of impact,
since the circumstances will vary considerab ly be -
tween one coll is ion and another. Important fac-
tors include, for example, the nature (hard or
soft) of the impact ing object, the angle of im-
pact, vehicle speed, etc.
9
page 120, Important
safety instructions on the side airbag system.
Aside from their normal safety function, safety
be lts work to help keep the driver or front pas -
senger in pos it ion in the event of a s ide collision
so that the s ide a irbags can provide protect ion.
The airbag system is
not
a substitute for your
safety belt . Rather, it is part of the overall occu -
pant restrai nt system in your vehicle . Always re-
member that th e side airbag system can only
he lp t o protect you if yo u a re wear ing your safety
be lt and wearing it properly. This is ano t her rea-
son why you shou ld always wear your sa fety
be lts, not just because the law requires you to do
so
9
page 95, General notes .
It
is impor t ant to remember tha t while the sup -
plemental side a irbag sys t em is designed to re-
duce the likelihood of serious injuries, other inju-
ries, for examp le, swe lling, bruising, and minor
abrasions can also be associated with deployed
side airbags. Remember too, side airbags will de-
ploy only once and only in certa in kinds of acci-
dents - your safety belts are a lways there to offer
protection.
Vehicle damage, repair costs or even the lack of
vehicle damage are not necessarily an indication
of over -sens itive or fa iled a irbag activa t ion . In
some coll isions, both front and side airbags may
inflate. Remember too, that airbags will deploy
only once and only in certain kinds of collisions -
Ai r b ag sy stem
you r safety belts are always the re to offer protec-
tion in those accidents in which airbags are not
supposed to deploy or when they have a lready
deployed.
The side airbag system w ill not deploy:
- when the ignit io n is tu rned off
- in side collisions whe n the accelera t ion meas-
ured by t he sensor is too low
- in re a r-end collisions
- in rollovers .
In some types of accidents the front airbags and
s ide airbags may be triggered together.
A
WARNING
-
- Safety belts and the airbag system will only
provide p rotection when occupants are in
the proper seating position ~
page 120.
- If the ai rbag ind icator light comes on when
the vehicle is be ing used, have the system
inspected immed iate ly by your autho rized
Aud i dea le r. The a irbag may not wo rk prop-
erly when the vehicle acceleration in a side
coll ision is high enough t o activate the air-
bag .
How supplemental side airbags work
Side airbags deploy instantly and can help re-
duce the risk of upper torso injuries for occu-
pants who ore properly restrained.
Fig. 122
Inflated side airbags on left side of vehicle
When the system is triggered, the a irbag is filled
with propellant gas and breaks through a seam in
the seat s urface area mark ed "AI RBAG" . It ex-
pands be tween the side t rim panel a nd the pas-
senger. In order to help provide t his addi t ional
.,.
119
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