2003 BMW M3 CONVERTIBLE Owner's Manual

57 Passenger safety systems
Airbags1Front airbags on the driver and pas-
senger sides
2Side airbags on the driver and pas-
senger sides – front and rear*Protective effectThe front airbags protect the driver and
passenger in the event of a head-on
collision where the protection provided
by the safety belt alone would not be
adequate. The side airbags help pro-
vide protection in the event of a colli-
sion from the side. Each of the side air-
bags is designed to help support the
seat occupant's upper body.
For information on the correct sitting
position, refer to page 48.
The side airbags in the rear pas-
senger area* of your vehicle may
already have been deactivated either at
the time of manufacture or by a BMW
center. You may have them activated if
you desire to do so. Please contact
your BMW center for additional infor-
mation.<
The airbags will not be triggered in
the event of a minor accident, cer-
tain vehicle rollover situations or colli-
sions from the rear.<
Do not apply adhesive materials to
the cover panels of the airbags,
cover them or modify them in any other
way. Do not attempt to remove the air-
bag restraint system from the vehicle. In
the event of a malfunction, deactivation
or triggered activation – as a response
to an accident – of the airbag restraint
system, consult your BMW center for
inspection, repair or disassembly. Mod-
ifications may not be made on either
the wiring or the individual components
in the airbag system. This includes the
upholstered covers on the steering
wheel, the instrument panel, the side
trim panels of the doors and front roof
pillars and on the sides of the front
headliner. Do not attempt to remove or
dismantle the steering wheel. Unpro-
fessional attempts to service the sys-
tem could lead to failure in an emer-
gency or undesired airbag activation,
either of which could result in personal
injury. Do not touch the individual com-
ponents directly after the system has
been triggered, as otherwise there is a
danger of burns.<
At all times, occupants should sit
upright and be properly restrained
– infants and small children in appropri-
ate child-restraint systems; larger chil-
dren and adults using the safety belts.
Never let an occupant's head rest near
or on a side airbag because the inflating
airbag could cause a serious or fatal
injury. Please note that the word Airbag
imprinted on the door trim panel indi-
cates the airbag's location.
Accident research shows that the saf-
est place for children in an automobile
is in the rear seat. However, a child sit-
ting in the rear seat and not properly
restrained may place his or her head on
or near the side airbag, if so equipped.
For example, a child – even though
belted – may fall asleep with his or her
head against the side airbag. It may be
difficult for a driver to ensure that chil-
dren in the rear seat will remain prop-
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58
erly positioned at all times and not
place their heads on or near the side
airbag. Therefore, we recommend that
the rear seat side airbags, if provided,
be deactivated if you plan to transport
children in the rear seat.
The rear seat side airbags may already
have been deactivated, either at the
time of manufacture or by a BMW cen-
ter. Labels in the door opening should
indicate the status of your rear-seat
side airbags. If you are uncertain of
their status, or wish to have the airbags
activated or deactivated, please con-
tact your BMW center.<
Even when all these guidelines are
observed, there is still a small residual
risk of injuries to the face, hands and
arms occurring from airbag deployment
in isolated instances.
The ignition and inflation noise may
provoke a mild temporary hearing loss
in extremely sensitive individuals.
Airbag warning information is also pro-
vided on the sun visors.This is the right way a child should sit in
a child-restraint when rear side airbags,
see arrow, are provided.
This is the right way a larger child
should sit wearing the seat belt when
rear side airbags, see arrow, are pro-
vided.Indicator lamp
The indicator lamp indicates the
operational status of the airbag
system when the ignition key is
in position 1 or higher.
System operational:
>The indicator lamp comes on briefly
when the ignition key is turned to
position 1 or higher.
System malfunction:
>Indicator lamp does not come on or
>indicator lamp lights up continuously.
Airbags
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59
If there is a system malfunction, there is
a risk that the airbags will not be trig-
gered within their normal response
range, even if the level of impact would
normally have triggered them.
Have your BMW center inspect the sys-
tem immediately.
Transporting children safely
Leave the rear safety belts in the
holders if they are not needed to
avoid unwanted movement from the
safety belts at high speeds.<
Commercially available child seats
complying with the legal standard are
designed to be secured with a seat belt
or with the seat belt portion of a combi-
nation lap/shoulder belt. Improperly or
inadequately installed restraint sys-
tems can increase the risk of injury to
children. Always read and follow the
instructions that come with the system.
Child-restraint system with tether
strapIf you use a child-restraint system with
a tether strap, two additional tether
anchorage points have been provided –
refer to the arrows in the illustration.
Airbags
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60
Depending on the location selected for
seating in the rear passenger area,
attach the tether strap to the corre-
sponding anchorage point to secure the
child-restraint system, as shown in the
illustration.
1. Open the convertible top compart-
ment lid, refer to page41
2. Lift the headrest and pass the tether
strap between the headrest and the
seat back. It is recommended that
you return the head restraint back to
its lowest possible position
3. Adjust the tether strap according to
the child-restraint manufacturer's
instructions
4. Close the convertible top compart-
ment panel.
It is recommended to cover the child-
restraint attaching clip with a soft mate-
rial to prevent damage to the stored
soft top.
Should a hard top be installed, the
fitting of child harness tether
strap/s – if child seat is required – is
necessary before installation of the
hard top.<
Before installing any child-
restraint device or child seat,
please read the following:
Never install a rearward-facing child-
restraint system in the front passenger
seat of this vehicle.
Your vehicle is equipped with an airbag
supplemental restraint system for the
front passenger. Because the backrest
on any rear-facing child-restraint sys-
tem – of the kind designed for infants
under 1 year and 20 lbs/9 kg – would
be within the airbag's deployment
range, you should never mount such a
device in the front passenger seat, as
the impact of the airbag against the
child-restraint's backrest could lead to
serious or fatal injuries.
If it is necessary for a child – not an
infant – to ride in the front seat, certain
precautions should be taken. First,
move the passenger seat as far away
from the instrument panel as possible.
This important precaution is intended to
maximize the distance between the air-
bag and the child. Older children
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61
should be tightly secured with the
safety belt after they have outgrown a
booster seat that is appropriate for their
age, height, and weight.
Younger children should be secured in
an appropriate forward-facing child-
restraint system that has first been
properly secured with a safety belt.
Never install a rearward-facing child-
restraint system in the front passenger
seat.
We strongly urge you to carefully read
and comply with the instructions for
installation and use provided by the
child-restraint's manufacturer whenever
you use such a device.
Do not attempt to modify child-restraint
systems. If you do this, the protection
provided by these systems could be
impaired.
Be sure that all occupants – of all ages –
remain properly and securely restrained
at all times.<
All rear seating positions in your vehicle
meet the recommendations of
SAE J1819, an industry-recommended
practice for securing child-restraint sys-
tems in motor vehicles.
Securing child-restraint systemAll of the rear belt retractors and the
front passenger's safety belt can be
locked for mounting and securing child-
restraint systems.
A label with the appropriate instructions
for this is located in the immediate
vicinity of the buckle latch of each
safety belt.To lock the safety beltExtract the entire length of the belt from
the inertia reel mechanism. Allow the
reel to retract the belt somewhat and
engage the buckle, then tighten the belt
against the child-restraint system. The
retraction mechanism is now locked.
The belt cannot be extracted further.
Always observe the installation instruc-
tions provided by the manufacturer of
the child-restraint system.To unlock the safety belt Release the safety belt, remove the
child seat and retract the safety belt to
its end position on the belt retractor.
Transporting children safely
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62
LATCH child-restraint mounting
systemLATCH: Lower Anchors and Tether for
CHildren
Canadian models only:
The LATCH anchorage points are iden-
tified by buttons.
The left and right rear seats are both
equipped with a LATCH child-restraint
mounting system.
The anchorage points for the LATCH
child-restraint system installation are
located behind the upholstery at the
positions indicated by the arrows.
Carefully slide the brackets through the
gaps in the upholstery at the indicated
locations.
Always follow all manufacturer's
instructions and observe all safety
precautions when installing the LATCH
child-restraint mounting system.
Leave the rear safety belts in the hold-
ers if they are not needed to avoid
unwanted movement from the safety
belts at high speeds.<
To prevent damage to the upholstery,
you can purchase an insertion aid* from
your BMW center.
Firmly press the insertion aid into the
gap between the seat cushion and
backrest, continuing until the two
guides snap into place on the LATCH
brackets in the seat.
The illustration is an example showing
the anchorages for a LATCH child-
restraint system on the right rear seat.
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63
Rollover protection system In the event of an accident or some
other critical driving situation – extreme
tilting in the longitudinal or transverse
axis, loss of contact with the ground –
the rollover protection system will be
automatically activated. The protective
bars located in the rear head restraints
extend within fractions of a second.
In addition to the integrated rollover bar
in the windshield frame, the rollover
protection system affords all the vehicle
occupants necessary headroom.
Always keep the travel path for the
rollover protection system free
and clear. Under no circumstances
should you cover the head restraints.
In the event of less serious accidents,
the safety belt will protect you and,
depending on the severity of the acci-
dent, so will the safety belt tensioner
and the multi-stage airbag restraint sys-
tem as well.<
If, after being automatically triggered,
the protective function is not needed,
then the rollover protection system can
be lowered back into place. No special
tool is needed for this.
1. Using a screwdriver from the on-
board tool kit, remove the cover
panel; to do this, position the screw-
driver under the notch – see arrow
2. Pull up on the lever toward the front
of the vehicle – see arrow – and keep
it in this position
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64
3. Keep pressing down on the protec-
tive bar from on top – see arrow 1 –
until you hear it click into place
4. Put the cover panel back in place
and press down firmly
5. Push the back panel of the head
restraint closed – see arrow 2.
Do the same for the second protective
bar. If you are not familiar with any of
the procedures, consult your BMW
center.
Have the rollover protection system
checked out by your BMW center after
it has been inadvertently triggered.
Do not move the convertible top
under any circumstances if the
rollover protection system has
extended.
Do not use the rear head restraints as
storage shelves.
Absolutely no modifications are to be
made to any of the rollover protection
system's individual components or any
of its wiring.
Only your BMW center is to carry out
any work on the rollover protection sys-
tem.
Work done on the system that is carried
out improperly could lead to failure in
an emergency or accidental airbag acti-
vation.
Regarding having the system checked
to ensure long-term operation: be scru-
pulous in adhering to the Service Inter-
val Display for maintenance intervals.
Every two years at the latest, the roll-
over protection system must be
inspected by a BMW center.<
Rollover protection system
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