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Side airbags
Description of side airbags
The airbag system can provide supplemental protection
to properly restra ined front seat occupants.
Fig. 10 3 Side airbag
locat ion
in t he drive r's
seat
The side airbags are located in the sides of the front seat backrests
=> fig. 103 facing the doors. They are identified by the word
"AIRBAG".
The side airbag system basically consists of:
• the electronic control module a nd exte rna l side impact sensors
• the two side airbags located in the sides of the front backrests
• the a irbag wa rn ing light in t he instr ument cluster.
The airbag system is monitored electronically to make certa in that it
is funct ion ing properly at all t imes. Eac h time you turn o n the igni-
tion, the airbag system indicator light will come on for a few seconds
(self diagnos t ics).
The side airbag system supp lemen t s t he safety belts and can he lp to
reduce the risk of injury to the driver's and front passenger's upper
t orso o n the side of the vehicle t hat is st ruck in a side collision . The
airbag deploys only in side impacts and only when the veh icle acceler-
ation regis t ered by the cont rol unit is hig h eno ugh . If th is rate is
below the reference value programmed into the control u nit, t he side
airbags will not be triggered, even thoug h the car may be badly
da maged as a resu lt of the collision.
It is not possi ble t o d efine an
airbag trigger ing range that will cover every possible ang le of impact,
since the circumstances will vary considerab ly between one coll ision
and another . Important factors include, for example, the nature
(hard or soft) of the impacting object, t he angle of impact, vehicle
speed, etc.=::>
page 139, "Impo rtant safety ins t ruc t ions o n the side
airbag system".
Aside from t he ir normal safety fu nction, safe t y be lts wor k to he lp
keep the driver or front passenger in posit ion in the event of a side
collision so that the side airbags can provide protect io n.
The a irbag system is
not a subs t itute for your safety belt. Rather, it is
part of the overall occupant restraint system in your vehicle. Always
remembe r that t he s ide airbag system ca n only help to protect you if
you are wearing your safety belt and wearing it properly. This is
another reaso n why you should always we ar your safety bel t s, not jus t
because the law requires you to do so =>
page 111, "Why safety
be lts ?'' .
It is im portant to remember tha t whi le the supp le m ental side airbag
system is desig ned to red uce the likelihood of se rious injur ies, ot her
injuries, fo r example , swe lling, br uising, and minor abras ions can
also be assoc iated with dep loyed side airbags . Remember too, side
airbags will deploy only o nce and only in certa in kinds of acc idents -
your safety belts are a lways there to offer protection.
Vehicle damage, repair costs o r even the lack of vehicle damage a re
no t necessarily an ind ication of over-sensitive or failed airbag activa-
t ion. In some collisions, both front an d side airbags may inflate .
Remembe r too, that airbags will de ploy on ly once a nd only in certa in
kinds of collisions - yo ur safety belts are always there to offer protec-
tion in those accide nts in which airbags are not supposed to dep loy o r
when they have already dep loyed.
The side a irbag system will not deploy:
• when the ign ition is turned off
• in side collisions when t he accelerat ion measured by t he sensor is
t oo low .,_
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