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Airb a g syste m
More important things to know about front
airbags
Fig.
11 7 Inflated front airbags
Safety belts are important to help keep front
seat occupants in the proper seated position so
that airbags can unfold properly and provide sup-
plemental protection in a frontal collision.
The front airbags are designed to provide addi-
tional protection for the chest and face of the
driver and the front seat passenger when:
- safety belts are worn properly,
- the seats have been positioned so that the oc-
cupant is properly seated as far as possible
from the airbag,
- and the head restra ints have bee n properly ad-
justed.
Because airbags inflate in the blink of an eye with
great force, things you have on your lap or have
placed on the seat could become dangerous pro-
jectiles , and be pushed into you if the airbag in-
flates.
When an airbag deploys, fine dust is released.
This is normal and is not caused by a fire in the
veh icle. This dust is made up mostly of a powder
used to lubricate the airbags as they deploy . It
could irritate skin.
It is important to remember that while the sup -
plemental a irbag system is designed to reduce
the likel ihood of serious injur ies, other injuries,
for example swel ling, bruising and minor abra-
sions, can a lso happen when airbags inflate. Air-
bags do not protect the arms or the lower parts
of the body. Front airbags only supplement the
three po int safety belts in some frontal collisions
126
in which the vehicle decele ration is high enough
to deploy the airbags.
Front airbags will not deploy:
- if the igni t ion is sw itched off when a crash oc-
curs,
- in side collisions,
- in rear-end collisions,
- in rollovers,
- when the crash deceleration measured by the
airbag system is less than the minimum thresh-
old needed for airbag deployment as registered
by the electronic control un it .
The f ront passenge r ai rbag w ill also not
deploy:
- when the front passenger seat is not occupied,
- when the weight on the front passenger seat as
sensed by the Advanced Airbag System indi-
cates that the front a irbag on the passenger
side has to be turned off by the electron ic con-
trol unit (the PASS ENGER AIR BAG OFF light
comes on and stays on).
A
WARNING
Sitt ing in the wrong posit ion can increase the
risk of serious injury in crashes .
- To reduce the risk of injury when the airbags
inflate, the drive r and passengers must al-
ways sit in an upright posit ion, must not
lean against or place any part of their body
too close to the area where the airbags are
located.
- Occupants who are unbe lted, out of posit ion
or too close to the airbag can be seriously
injured by an airbag as it unfolds with great
force in the blink of an eye
Q
page
118.
A
WARNING
A child in a rearward-facing child safety seat
installed on the front passenger seat will be
seriously inju red and can be killed if the front
airbag inflates - even with an Advanced Airbag
Syst em.
- The inflating airbag will hit the ch ild safety
seat o r infant ca rrie r with great force and
will smash the child safety seat and child
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