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Advanced Airbags and the weight-sensing
mat in the front seat
The Advanced Airbag System in your vehicle de -
tects the presence of an infant or child in a child
restraint on the front passenger seat using the
weight-sensing mat in the seat cushion and the
sensor below the safety belt latch on the front
passenger seat that measures the tension on the
safety belt .
The weight-sensing mat measures total weight
of the child and the child safety seat and a child
blanket on the front passenger seat. The weight
on the front passenger seat is related to the de-
sign of the chi ld restraint and its "footprint", the
size and shape of the bottom of the chi ld re-
stra int as it sits on the seat. The weight of a child
restraint and its "footp rint" vary for different
kinds of child restraints and for the different
models of the same kind of child restraint of-
fered by child restraint manufacturers.
The weight ranges for the individual types,
makes and models of child restraints that the
NHTSA has specified in the Safety Standard to-
gether with the weight ranges of typical infants
and typical 1 year-old child have been stored in
the control unit of the Advanced Airbag System .
When a child restraint is be ing used on the front
passenger seat with a typical 1 year-old child, the
Advanced Airbag System compares the weight
measured by the weight sensing mat with the in-
formation stored in the electronic contro l unit.
The electronic control un it also registers the ten-
sion on the front passenger safety belt . The ten-
sion on the safety belt for the front passenger
seat will be d ifferent fo r an ad ult who is properly
using the safety belt as compared to the tension
on the belt when it is used to attach a chi ld re-
straint to the seat. The sensor below the latch for
the safety belt for the front seat passenger
measures the tens ion on the belt. The input from
this sensor is then used with the weight to "de-
cide", whether there is a child restraint w ith a
typical 1 year-old child on the front passenger
seat and whet her or not the a irbag must be
turned off.
Ch ild safety
Child restraints and Advanced Airbags
Regardless of the ch ild restraint that you use,
make sure tha t it has been cer t ified to mee t Safe-
ty Standards and has been cert ified by its manu-
facturer for use with an airbag. Always be sure
that the child restraint is properly installed at
one of the rear seating positions. If in exception-
al circumstances you must use it on the front
passenger seat, carefully read all of the informa-
t ion on child safety and Advanced Airbags and
heed all of the applicable WARNINGS. Make cer-
ta in that the ch ild restraint is correctly recog-
nized by the weight-sensing mat ins ide the front
passenge r seat, that the front passenge r 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 avai lab le over the years, new models are in-
t roduced regu larly incorporating new and im-
proved designs and older models are taken out of
production. Child restraints are not standardized.
Child restra ints of the same type typically have
different weights and sizes and different 'foot-
pr ints,' the size and shape of the bottom of the
child rest raint that sits on the seat, when they
are installed on a vehicle seat. These d ifferences
make it virt ua lly impossib le to certify comp liance
wit h the requi rements for advanced a irbags w it h
each and every child restraint tha t has ever been
sold in the past or will be so ld over the course of
the usefu l life of your vehicle .
For t his reason, the Unit ed States Nation al High-
way Traffic Safety Administration has published a
list of specific type, makes and mode ls of chi ld
restraints that must be used to certify compli-
ance of the Advanced Airbag System in your vehi-
cle with the suppress ion requirements of Federal
Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208 . These child
restra ints are:
Subpart A - Car bed child rest raints
Model Manufactured on or
after
Angel Guard Angel September 2S, 2007
Ride AA2403FOF
139
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