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caused by airbags when they inflate, particu -
larly when the occupant sitting next to it is
not seated properly. The s ide a irbag for the
front passenger seat can be used with proper -
ly installed chi ld res t raints. Please be sure to
read the important information and warnings
whenever us ing a child restraint in a veh icle :
Safety belts
c::;,
page 136,
Airbag system
c::;,
page 14 5,
Child safety ~
page 171.
The side airbag system basically consists of:
- the e lectronic control module and external
s ide impact sensors
- the two airbags located in the sides of the
front backrests and the two airbags* located
in the rear backrest
- the airbag warning light in the instrument
cluster.
The airbag system is monito red elect ron ically
to make certain that it is functioning properly
at all times. Each time you switch on the igni-
tion, the airbag system indicator light will
come on for a few seconds (self diagnostics) .
The side airbag system supplements
the safe-
ty belts and can help to reduce the risk of in-
jury to the driver's, front and rear passenger's
upper torso on t he side of the vehicle that is
struck in a side collision . The airbag deploys
only in side impac t s and on ly when the veh icle
acceleration registered by the control unit is
high enough . If t his rate is below the refer-
e nce va lue progr a mmed into the con t rol un it,
the side airbags will not be triggered, even
though t he car may be badly damaged as a re-
sult of the collision . It is not possible to de-
fine an a irbag trigger ing range that will cover
eve ry possible angle of impact, since the cir-
cumstances will vary considerably between
one collision and another . Important facto rs
include, for examp le, t he natu re (hard or soft)
of the impacting objec t , the ang le of impact ,
ve hicle speed, et c. ~
page 166, Impor t an t
safety instructions on the side airbag system.
Aside from the ir no rmal safety function, safe-
ty belts wor k to he lp keep the d river or front
passenger in posi ti on in the event of a side
A irbag sys tem
165
collision so that the side airbags can provide
protection.
The airbag system is
not
a substi t ute fo r your
saf ety belt . Rat her, it is part of the over all oc-
cupant restra int system in you r vehicle . Al-
ways remember that the side airbag system
can on ly help to protect you if you are wearing
your safety be lt and wearing it proper ly. This
is another reason why you should always wear
your safety be lts, not j ust because the law re-
quires you to do so c::;,
page 136, General
notes.
It is important to remember that wh ile the
suppleme nta l side airbag system is desig ned
to reduce the likelihood of ser ious injuries,
othe r injur ies, for exampl e, swelling, bru is ing ,
friction bur ns and m ino r abrasions can a lso be
associ ated wit h dep loyed side airbags. Re-
member t oo, sid e a irbags will dep loy o nly
once an d only in ce rtain kinds of accidents -
your safety be lts a re a lways there to offer pro-
tection .
Vehicle damage, repair costs or even the lack
of vehicle damage are not necessarily a n indi-
cation of ove r-sensitive or failed airbag activa-
tion. In some coll isions, both front and side
a irbags may inflate. Remember too, that air-
bags will deploy only once a nd only in certain
kinds of col lisions - you r safety belts a re a l-
ways t he re to offe r protection in those acc i-
dents in which a irbags are not supposed to
deploy or when t hey have a lready deployed .
The side airbag system will not deploy:
- when the ignit io n is switched off
- in side collisions whe n the acceleration
meas ured by t he sensor is too low
- in front-end collisions
- in rear -end collisions
- in rollove rs.
In some types of accidents the front airbags,
side cu rt ain airbags and s ide a irbags may be
t rigge red together.
.,,.
•
•
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