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160
Airbag
syst em
Side airbags
Description of side airbags
The airbag system can provide supplemental
protection to properly restrained occupants .
Fig. 146
Side airbag locat ion in the driver's seat
The side airbags are located in the sides of the
front sea t backrests
~
fig. 146.
They are iden-
tified by the word "AIRBAG" .
The side airbag syste m basically cons ists of :
- the electronic control module and external
s ide impact sensors
- the two side airbags located in the sides of
the front backrests
- the airbag warning light in the instrument
cluster.
The airbag system is monitored electronically
to make certain that it is functioning properly
at all times. Each time you turn on the igni-
tion, the airbag system indicator light will
come on for a few seconds (self diagnostics) .
The s ide airbag system supplements the safe-
ty belts and can help to reduce the risk of in-
jury to the driver's and front passenger's up-
per torso on the side of the vehicle that is
struck in a side col lision . The airbag deploys
on ly in side impacts and on ly when the veh icle
acceleration registered by the control unit is
high eno ugh . If this rate is below the refer-
ence value programmed into the control un it,
the side airbags will not be triggered,
even
though the car may be badly damaged as a re-
sult of the collision. It is not possible to de -
fine an airbag trigger ing range that will
cover
every
possible angle of impact, since the cir-
cumstances will
vary
considerably between
one collision and another. Important factors
include, for example, the nature (hard or soft)
of the impacting object, the angle of impact,
vehicle speed, etc .
Q
page 161, Important
safety instructions on the side airbag system .
Aside from their normal safety function, safe-
ty belts work to help keep the dr iver or front
passenger in position in the event of a side
collision so that the side airbags can provide
protection .
The airbag system is
not
a substitute for your
safety belt . Rather, it is part of the overa ll oc-
cupant restraint system in your vehicle . Al-
ways remember that the side airbag system
can only help to protect you if you are wea ring
your safety belt and wearing it properly . This
is anothe r reason why you should always wear
yo ur safety be lts, not j ust because the law re-
quires you to do so ~
page 134, General
notes .
It is important to remembe r that while the
supplementa l side airbag system is designed
to reduce the likelihood of serious injuries,
other injuries, for example, swelling, bruising ,
and minor abrasions can also be associated
with deployed side airbags. Remember too,
s ide airbags will deploy only once and only in
certain kinds of accidents - your safety belts
are always there to offer protection .
Vehicle damage, repair costs or even the lack
of vehicle damage are not necessarily an indi-
cation of over-sensitive or failed airbag activa-
t ion . In some coll is ions, both front and side
airbags may inflate . Remember too, that air-
bags will deploy only once and only in certain
kinds of collisions - your safety belts are a l-
ways there to offer protection in those acci-
dents in which airbags are not supposed to
deploy or when they have a lready deployed.
The side airbag system will not deploy:
- when the ignit ion is turned off
- in side collisions when the acceleration
measured by the sensor is too low
- in front -end collisions
- in rear-end collisions
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