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Side airbags
Description of side airbags
The airbag system can provide supplemental
protection to properly restrained front seat
occupants .
Fig. 12 6 Side airbag locat ion in t he driver's seat
The s ide a irbags are located in the sides of the
front sea t backrests ¢
fig. 126
facing the
doors. They are identified by the word "AIR-
BAG".
The s ide airbag system basically consists of:
- t he e lectronic control module and exter nal
s ide impact senso rs
- 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 monitored electron ically
to make certain that it is functioning properly
at all times . Each time you turn on the igni-
tion, the airbag system indicato r light will
come on fo r a few seconds (self diagnosti cs).
The s ide airbag system supplements the safe-
ty belts and can help to reduce the risk of in-
jury to the dr iver's and front passenger's up-
pe r torso and head injur ies on the side of the
veh icle tha t is st ruck in a side collision . The
airbag dep loys only in side impacts and only
when the vehicle acceleration registered by
the cont rol unit is high e nough . If t his rate is
be low the reference value programmed into
the control unit, the side airbags will not be
tr iggered, even though the car may be badly
damaged as a result of the collision . It is not
possible to def ine an a irbag tr igger ing range
A irba g sy stem
12 7
that will cove r every possib le ang le of impact,
since the circumstances will vary cons iderably
between one collision and another. Important
factors include, for examp le, the nature (hard
or soft) of the impacting object, the angle of
impact, vehicle speed, etc. ¢
page 128, Im -
portant safety instructions on the side airbag
system .
Aside from their normal safety function, safe-
ty belts work to help keep the drive r or front
passenger in position in t he event of a side
collision so that the side airbags ca n provide
protection .
The airbag system is
not
a substitute for your
safety belt . Rather, it is part of the overall oc-
cupant restra int system in your vehicle . Al-
ways remember that the side airbag system
can on ly help to pro t ect you if you are wearing
your safe ty be lt and wea ring it properly. This
is another reason why you should always wear
your safety be lts, not just because the law re-
quires you to do so ¢
page 102, Why safety
belts? .
It is important to remember that wh ile the
supplementa l side airbag system is designed
to reduce the likelihood of ser ious injuries,
other injur ies, for example, swelling, bru ising,
and minor abrasions can also be associated
with deployed side airbags . Remember too ,
side a irbags will deploy only once and only in
certain kinds of accidents - your safety belts
a re a lways the re to offer protection .
Vehicle damage, repair costs or even t he lack
of ve hicle damage are not necessa rily a n ind i-
cation of ove r-se nsitive or failed airbag activa-
t ion. In some col lis io ns, both front and side
airbags may inflate. Remember too, that air-
bags will deploy only once and on ly in ce rtain
kinds of collisions - yo ur safety belts are a l-
ways the re to offer protection in those acci-
dents in which airbags are not supposed to
deploy or when they have a lready deployed .
The side airbag system will not deploy:
- when the ignit ion is turned off
- in side collisions whe n t he accelera t ion
meas ured by t he sensor is too low
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