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seat. The weight of a child restraint and its
"footprint" vary for different kinds of chi ld re-
straints and for the different models of the
same kind of child restraint offered by child
restra int manufacturers.
The weight ranges for the individual types,
makes and mode ls of ch ild restra ints that the
NHTSA has specified in the Safety Standard
together with the we ight ranges of typical in-
fants and typical 1 year -old child have been
stored in the control unit of the Advanced Air-
bag System . When a chi ld restraint is being
used on the front passenge r seat with a typi-
cal 1 year -old ch ild, the Advanced Airbag Sys-
tem compares the we ight measured by the
weight sensing mat with the information stor-
ed in the electronic control unit.
The electron ic contro l unit al so registers the
tension on the front passenger safety be lt.
The tension on the safety be lt for the front
passenger seat will be different for an adult
who is properly using the safety belt as com-
pared to the tension on the be lt when it is
used to attach a child restraint to the seat.
The sensor below the latch for the safety belt
for the front seat passenger measures the
tension on the belt . The input from this sen-
sor is t hen used with the we ight to "decide",
whether there is a ch ild restraint with a typ ical
1 year-o ld child on the front passenger seat
and whether or not the airbag must be turned
off.
Child restraints and Advanced Airbags
Regard less of the child restraint that you use,
make sure that it has been certified to meet
United States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety
Standards and has been certified by its manu-
facturer for use with an airbag . Always be sure
that the chi ld restraint is properly instal led at
one of the rear seat ing pos itions . If in excep-
tional circumstances you must use it on the
front passenger seat, carefu lly read all of the
information on child safety and Advanced Air-
bags and heed a ll of the app licable WARN-
INGS. Make certain that the child restraint is
correctly recognized by the weight-sensing
Child Sa f et y
135
mat inside the front passenger seat, that the
front passenger airbag is turned off and that
the a irbag status is always correct ly signaled
by the PAS SENGER AIR BAG OFF light.
Many types and models of child restraints
have been available over t he years, new mod-
els are introduced regu larly incorporating new
and improved des igns and o lder models are
taken out of product ion. Child restraints are
not standard ized . Child restraints of the same
type typ ically have d ifferent weights and sizes
and different 'footpr ints,' the size and shape
of the bottom of the ch ild restrai nt t hat sits
o n the seat, when they a re insta lled on a veh i-
cle seat. These diffe rences make it virtually
impossible to certify compliance with the re-
quirements for advanced airbags with each
and every ch ild restraint that has ever been
sold in the past or will be sold over the course
of the useful life of your veh icle.
For this reason, the United States National
Highway Traffic Safety Adm inistrat ion has
published a list of spec ific type, makes and
models of child restraints that must be used
to certify comp liance of the Advanced Airbag
System in your veh icle with the suppression
requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety
Standa rd 208. These chi ld restraints are :
Subpart A - Car bed child restraints
Model
Angel Guard Angel
Ride AA2403FOF
Manufactured on or
after
September 25, 2007
Subpart B - Rear-facing child restraints
Model
Manufactu red on or
after
Century SmartF it
December 1, 1999
4543
Cosco Arriva
September 25, 2007
22-013PAW and base
22-999WHO
Evenflo Discovery Ad- December 1, 1999
just Right 212
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