BAG OFF light comes on and stays on to tell
you when the front Advanced Airbag on the
passenger side has been turned
off
c:> page 157, Child restraints on the front seat
- some important things to know.
A WARNING
To reduce the risk of injury when an airbag
inflates, always wear safety belts properly .
- If you are unrestrained, leaning forward,
sitting sideways or out of position in any
way, your risk of injury is much higher.
- You will also receive serious injuries and
could even be killed if you are up against
the airbag or too close to it when it in-
flates - even with an Advanced Airbag
c:>page 156.
More important things to know about
front airbags
Fig. 180 Inflated front airbags
Safety belts are important to help keep front
seat occupants in the proper seated position
so that airbags can unfold properly and pro-
vide supplemental protection in a frontal col-
lision.
The front airbags are designed to provide ad-
ditional protection for the chest and face of
the driver and the front seat passenger when:
- safety belts are worn properly,
- the seats have been posit ioned so that the
occupant is properly seated as far as possi-
ble from the airbag,
- and the head restraints have been properly
adjusted.
Because airbags inflate in the blink of an eye
with great force, things you have on your lap
Airbag system 165
or have placed on the seat could become dan-
gerous projectiles, and be pushed into you if
the airbag inflates.
When an airbag deploys, fine dust is re leased.
This is normal and is not caused by a fire in
the vehicle. This dust is made up mostly of a
powder used to lubricate the airbags as they
deploy. It could irritate skin .
It is important to remember that while the
supplemental airbag system is designed to re-
duce the likelihood of serious injuries, other
injuries, for example swelling, bruising and
minor abrasions, can also happen when air-
bags inflate . Airbags do not protect the arms
or the lower parts of the body. Front a irbags
only supplement the three point safety belts
in some fronta l collisions in which the vehicle
deceleration is high enough to deploy the air-
bags.
Front airbags will not deploy:
- if the ignition is switched off when a crash
occurs,
- in side collisions,
- in rear-end collisions,
- in rollovers,
- when the crash deceleration measured by
the airbag system is less than the minimum
threshold needed for airbag deployment as
registered by the electronic control unit .
The front passenger airbag will also not
deploy:
- when the front passenger seat is not occu-
pied,
- when the weight on the front passenger
seat as sensed by the Advanced Airbag Sys-
tem indicates that the front airbag on the
passenger side has to be turned
off by the
electronic control unit (the
PASSENGER AIR
BAG OFF light comes on and stays on) .
A WARNING
Sitting in the wrong position can increase
the risk of serious injury in crashes.
- To reduce the risk of injury when the air-
bags inflate, the driver and passengers