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184
Airb a g sys tem
Child restraints on the front seat - some
important things to know
• Be sure to read the important information
and heed the WARNINGS for important de-
ta ils about ch ildren and Advanced Airbags
i=> page 203.
Even though your vehicle is equipped with an
Advanced Airbag System, make certain that
all children, especially those 12 years and
younger, a lways ride in the back seat properly
restra ined for their age and size. The airbag
on the passenger side makes the front seat a
potentially dangerous place for a child to ride .
The front seat is not the safest place fo r a
chi ld in a fo rward-facing chi ld safety seat. It
can be a very dangerous place for a n infan t or
a child in a rearward -facing seat.
The Advanced Airbag System in your veh icle
has been certified to comply with the require-
men t s of United States Federa l Moto r Vehicle
Safety Standard 208 as applicable at the time
your vehicle was manufact ured.
The Standa rd requires the fron t a irbag on t he
passenger side t o be tu rned off ("sup-
pressed") if a child up to about one yea r of
age restrained in one of the rear-facing or for-
ward-facing infant restraints listed in Federal
Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208 with which
the Advanced Airbag System in your vehicle
was certified has been installed on the front
passenger seat . For a listing of the child re-
straints that we re used to certify compliance
with the US Safety Sta ndard
c>
page 205.
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light in the in-
strument panel tells you when the front Ad-
vanced Airbag on the passenger side has been
turned off by t he e lectronic control unit.
Each t ime you tur n on the ignition, the PAS -
SENGER AIR BAG OFF light will come on for a
few seconds a nd:
- will stay on if the front passenger seat is not
occupied
- will stay on if there is a small child or child
restraint on the front passenger seat
- will go off if the front passenger seat is oc-
cupied by an adult as registere d by the
weight -sensing mat
r::!)
page 193, Monitor-
ing the Advanced Airbag System.
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on
when the control unit detects a tota l weight
on the front passenger seat that req uires the
front a irbag to be turned off .
If the total weight on the front passenge r
seat is more than that of a typica l 1 year -old
child but less than the weight of a small
adult, the front airbag on the passenger side
can deploy (the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on). If the PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF light does not come on, the
front a irbag on the passenger side has not
been tur ned off by the elect ronic con t rol unit
and can deploy if t he control unit se nses an
impact that meets the cond itions stored in its
memory .
For example, the airbag may deploy if:
- a small ch ild that is heav ier t han a typical 1
year-old ch ild is on the front passenger seat
(regard less of whethe r the child is in one of
the child safety seats listed
r::!)
page 205), or
- a child who has outgrown ch ild restraints is
on t he front passenger seat.
If the front passenger airbag is turned off, the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on in
the instrument cluster and stays on.
The front airbag on the passenger side may
not deploy (the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not illum inate and stay lit) even if a
small ad ult o r teenager, or a passenger who is
not sitt ing up right with their back against a
non- reclined ba ckrest wit h thei r feet on t he
vehicle floor in front of the sea t is on the front
passenge r seat
c::>
page 164, Proper sea ting
position for the driver.
If t he fron t passenger a irbag dep loys, the
Fede ra l Sta ndard req uires the airbag to meet
the "low risk" dep loyment criteria to red uce
the risk of injury t hrough interactio n wit h the
airbag. "Low risk" dep loyment occ urs in those
crashes that take place at lower dece lerat ions ..,_
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