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Side airbags
Description
of side airbags
The airbag system can provide supplemental protection
to properly restrained front seat occupants .
Fig. 1 14 Side airbag
locati on in t he driver's
seat
The side airbags are located in the sides of the front seat backrests
=> fig. 1 14 facing the doors. They are identified by the word
"AIRBAG" .
The side air bag syst em basically consists of:
•
the e lectronic control module and external side impact sensors
• the two side airbags located in the sides of the front backrests
•
the a irbag warning light in the instrument cluster.
The airbag system is mon itored electronically to make certain that it
is fun ction ing properly at all times. Each time you turn on the igni-
tion, the airbag system indicator light w ill come on for a few seconds
(self diagnosti cs).
The side a irbag system supplements
the safety belts and can help to
reduce the risk of injury to the driver's and front passenger's upper
torso on the side of the vehicle that is struck in a side collision. The
airbag deploys only in side impacts and only when the vehicle acceler-
at ion registered by t he control unit is high eno ugh . If this rate is
below the reference value programmed into the control unit, the side
Safety first
Vehicle OP-eration
A irbag system
airbags will not be tr iggered, even though the car may be badly
damaged as a resu lt of the coll ision. It is not poss ible to define an
airbag tr iggering range that w ill cover every possible angle of impact,
since the circumstances will vary considerably between one collision
and another . Important factors include, for example , the nature
(hard or soft) of the impacting object, the ang le of impact, vehicle
speed, etc. => page 146, "Important safety instructions on t he side
airbag system".
Aside from the ir normal safety fu nction, safe ty belts work to help
keep the driver or front passenger in pos ition in the event of a side
collision so that the side airbags can provide protection.
The a irbag system is
not
a substitute for your safety belt. Rather, it is
part of the overall occupant restraint system in your vehicle. Always
remember that the s ide airbag system can on ly help t o protect you if
you are wearing your safety belt and wearing it properly. This is
another reason why you s hou ld always wear your safety belts, not just
because the law requires you to do so ~ page 117, "General notes".
It is impor t ant to remember that while the supp lemental side airbag
system is desig ned to reduce the likelihood of serious injuries, ot her
injuries, for examp le, swelling, bruising, and m inor abrasions can
also be assoc iated 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 indication of over-sensit ive or failed a irbag act iva-
tion . In some collis ions, both front and side airbags may inflate.
Remember too, that ai rbags will deploy only once and only in certain
kinds of coll isions - your safety belts are always there to offer protec-
tion in those accidents in which airbags are not supposed to dep loy or
when they have already deployed.
The s id e a irbag
sy s tem
w ill not deploy:
• when the ignition is turned off
•
in side collisions when the acceleration measured by the sensor is
too~w
~
Vehicle care
Do-it-yourselt service
iTechnical data
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