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Child Safety
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and for the different models of the same kind of child restraint
offered by child restraint manufactu rers .
The weight ranges for the individual types, makes and models of ch ild
restraints that the NHTSA has specified in the Safety Standard
together w ith the weight ranges of typica l infants and typical 1 year-
old child have been stored in the control unit of the Advanced Airbag
System. When a chi ld restraint is being used on the front passenger
seat with a typical 1 year-old chi ld, the Advanced Airbag System
compares the we ight measured by the weight sens ing mat with the
information stored in the electronic control unit .
The electronic control unit also registers the tension on the front
passenger safety be lt . The tension on the safety belt fo r the front
passenger seat will be different for an adult who is properly using the
safety belt as compared 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 sensor is then used with the we ight to
"decide", whether there is a child restraint with a typica l 1 yea r-o ld
child on the front passenger seat and whether or not the airbag must
be turned off . •
Child restraints
and Advanced
Airbags
Regardless 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 manufacturer for use with an
airbag . Always be sure that the child restraint is properly installed at
one of the rear seating positions. If in exceptional circumstances you
must use it on the front passenger seat, carefully read all of the infor-
mation on child safety and Advanced Airbags and heed a ll of the
applicable WARNINGS. Make certain that the child restraint is
correctly recognized by the weight-sensing
mat inside the front
passenger seat, that the front passenger airbag is turned off and that
the airbag status is always correctly signaled by the
PASSENGER AIR
BAG OFF
light.
Many types and models of child restra ints have been available over
the years, new mode ls are introduced regularly inco rporating new
and improved designs and older models are taken out of production .
Child restraints are not standardized.
Child restraints of the same
type typ ically have different weights and sizes and different 'foot-
prints,' the size and shape of the bottom of the chi ld restraint that
sits on the seat, whe n they are installed on a vehicle seat. These
differences make it virtually impossible to certify compliance with
the requirements for advanced airbags w it h each and every child
restraint that has ever been sold in the past or w ill be sold over the
course of the usef ul life of your vehicle.
For this reason, the United States National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration has published a list of specific type, makes and
mode ls of child restraints that must be used to cert ify comp liance of
the Advanced Airbag System in your vehicle with the suppression
requirements
of Fede ra l Motor Vehicle Safety Standa rd 208. These
child restraints are:
A . Car beds, manufactured
on or after September
1,
2004:
•
Cosco Dream Ride 02-719
B.
Rear facing
child
restraint
systems,
manufactured
on or after
September
1, 2004:
(When the restraint system comes equipped with a removable base,
compliance has to be certified w ith or w ithout the base).
•
Britax Handle with Care 191
•
Century Assura 4553
•
Century Smart Fit 4543
•
Cosco Arriva 02727
•
Evenflo Discovery Adjust Right 212
•
Evenflo First Choice 204
•
Graco Infant 8457
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