Child safety
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 t he 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 child restraint and its "footprint ", the
size and shape of the bottom of the child re-
straint as it sits on the seat. The weight of a child
restraint and its "footprint" 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 being 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 control unit.
The electronic control unit 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 different for an adult who is properly
using the safety belt as compared to the tension
on the belt when it is used to attach a child re-
straint 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 weight to "de-
cide" , whether there is a child restraint with a
typical 1 year-old child on the front passenger
seat and whether or not the airbag must be
turned off.
170
· Child restraints and Advanced Airbags
Regardless of the child restraint that you use,
make sure that it has been certified to meet Safe-
ty Standards and has been certified 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-
tion on child safety and Advanced Airbags and
heed all of the applicable WARNINGS. Make cer-
tain that the child restraint is correctly recog-
nized 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 restraints have
been available over the years, new models are in-
troduced regularly incorporating new and im-
proved designs and older models are taken out of
production. Child restraints are not standardized.
Child restraints of the same type typically have
differen t weights and sizes and different 'foot-
prints,' the size and shape of the bottom of the
child restraint that sits on the seat, when they
are installed on a vehicle seat. These differences
make it virtually impossible to certify compliance
with the requirements for advanced airbags with
each and every child restraint that has ever been
sold in the past or will be sold over the course of
the useful life of your vehicle.
For this reason, the United States National High-
way Traffic Safety Administration has published a
list of specific type, makes and models of child
restraints that must be used to certify compli-
ance of the Advanced Airbag System in your vehi-
cle with the suppression requirements of Federal
Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208. These child
restraints are:
Subpart A - Car bed child restraints
Model Manufactured on or
after
Angel Guard Angel September 25, 2007
Ride AA2403FOF
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