2004 SATURN ION Owners Manual

CAUTION: (Continued)
The roof-mounted side impact air bags are
designed to inate only in moderate to severe
crashes where something hits the side of your
vehicle. They are not designed to inate in
frontal, in rollover or in rear crashes. Everyone
in your vehicle should wear a safety belt
properly — whether or not there is an air bag
for that person.
{CAUTION:
Both frontal and side impact air bags inate
with great force, faster than the blink of an
eye. If you’re too close to an inating air bag,
as you would be if you were leaning forward,
it could seriously injure you. Safety belts help
keep you in position for air bag ination before
CAUTION: (Continued)
CAUTION: (Continued)
and during a crash. Always wear your safety
belt even with frontal air bags. The driver
should sit as far back as possible while still
maintaining control of the vehicle. Occupants
should not lean on or sleep against the door.
{CAUTION:
Anyone who is up against, or very close to,
any air bag when it inates can be seriously
injured or killed. Air bags plus lap-shoulder
belts offer the best protection for adults, but
not for young children and infants. Neither the
vehicle’s safety belt system nor its air bag
system is designed for them. Young children
and infants need the protection that a child
restraint system can provide. Always secure
children properly in your vehicle. To read how,
see the part of this manual called “Older
Children” or “Infants and Young Children.”
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There is an air bag
readiness light on the
instrument panel cluster,
which shows the air
bag symbol.
The system checks the air bag electrical system for
malfunctions. The light tells you if there is an electrical
problem. SeeAir Bag Readiness Light on page 3-30
for more information.Where Are the Air Bags?
The driver’s frontal air bag is in the middle of the
steering wheel.
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The right front passenger’s frontal air bag is in the
instrument panel on the passenger’s side.If your vehicle has a side impact air bag for the driver
and the person seated directly behind the driver, it is in
the ceiling above the side windows.
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If your vehicle has a side impact air bag for the right front
passenger and the person seated directly behind that
passenger, it is in the ceiling above the side windows.
{CAUTION:
If something is between an occupant and an
air bag, the bag might not inate properly or it
might force the object into that person causing
severe injury or even death. The path of an
inating air bag must be kept clear. Don’t put
anything between an occupant and an air bag,
and don’t attach or put anything on the
steering wheel hub or on or near any other air
bag covering. And, because your vehicle has
side impact air bags, never secure anything to
the roof of your vehicle by routing the rope or
tiedown through any door or window opening.
If you do, the path of an inating side impact
air bag will be blocked. The path of an inating
air bag must be kept clear.
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When Should an Air Bag Inate?
The driver’s and right front passenger’s frontal air bags
are designed to inate in moderate to severe frontal
or near-frontal crashes. But they are designed to
inate only if the impact speed is above the system’s
designed “threshold level.”
In addition, your vehicle has “dual stage” frontal air
bags, which adjust the amount of restraint according to
crash severity. For moderate frontal impacts, these
air bags inate at a level less than full deployment.
For more severe frontal impacts, full deployment occurs.
If the front of your vehicle goes straight into a wall
that does not move or deform, the threshold level
for the reduced deployment is about 16 to 20 mph
(26 to 32 km/h), and the threshold level for a full
deployment is 25 to 30 mph (40 to 48 hm/h).
The threshold level can vary, however, with specic
vehicle design, so that it can be somewhat above
or below this range. If your vehicle strikes something
that will move or deform, such as a parked car, the
threshold level with be higher.The driver’s and right front passenger’s frontal air bags
are not designed to inate in rollovers, rear impacts,
or in many side impacts because ination would not help
the occupant.
The side impact air bags are designed to inate in
moderate to severe side crashes. A side impact air bag
will inate if the crash severity is above the system’s
designed “threshold level.” The threshold level can vary
with specic vehicle design. Side impact air bags are
not designed to inate in frontal or near-frontal impacts,
rollovers or rear impacts, because ination would not
help the occupant. A side impact air bag will only deploy
on the side of the vehicle that is struck.
It is possible that, in a crash involving the front of your
vehicle, only one of the two frontal air bags in your vehicle
will deploy. This is rare, but it can happen in a crash just
severe enough to make a frontal air bag inate.
In any particular crash, no one can say whether an air
bag should have inated simply because of the damage
to a vehicle or because of what the repair costs were.
For frontal air bags, ination is determined by the angle
of the impact and how quickly the vehicle slows down
in frontal and near-frontal impacts. For side impact
air bags, ination is determined by the location
and severity of the impact.
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What Makes an Air Bag Inate?
In an impact of sufficient severity, the air bag sensing
system detects that the vehicle is in a crash. For both
frontal and side impact air bags, the sensing system
triggers a release of gas from the inator, which inates
the air bag. The inator, air bag, and related hardware
are all part of the air bag modules inside the steering
wheel and in the instrument panel in front of the
right front passenger. For vehicles with side impact air
bags, the air bag modules are located in the ceiling
of the vehicle, near the side windows.
How Does an Air Bag Restrain?
In moderate to severe frontal or near frontal collisions,
even belted occupants can contact the steering wheel
or the instrument panel. In moderate to severe side
collisions, even belted occupants can contact the inside
of the vehicle. The air bag supplements the protection
provided by safety belts. Air bags distribute the force of
the impact more evenly over the occupant’s upper
body, stopping the occupant more gradually. But the
frontal air bags would not help you in many types
of collisions, including rollovers, rear impacts, and many
side impacts, primarily because an occupant’s motion
is not toward the air bag. Side impact air bags would not
help you in many types of collisions, including frontalor near frontal collisions, rollovers, and rear impacts,
primarily because an occupant’s motion is not toward
those air bags. Air bags should never be regarded
as anything more than a supplement to safety belts, and
then only in moderate to severe frontal or near-frontal
collisions for the driver’s and right front passenger’s
frontal air bags, and only in moderate to severe
side collisions for vehicles with a driver’s and right front
passenger’s side impact air bag.
What Will You See After an
Air Bag Inates?
After an air bag inates, it quickly deates, so quickly that
some people may not even realize the air bag inated.
Some components of the air bag module — the steering
wheel hub for the driver’s air bag, the instrument panel for
the right front passenger’s bag or the ceiling of your
vehicle near the side windows — will be hot for a short
time. The parts of the bag that come into contact with you
may be warm, but not too hot to touch. There will be
some smoke and dust coming from the vents in the
deated air bags. Air bag ination doesn’t prevent the
driver from seeing or being able to steer the vehicle, nor
does it stop people from leaving the vehicle.
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{CAUTION:
When an air bag inates, there is dust in the
air. This dust could cause breathing problems
for people with a history of asthma or other
breathing trouble. To avoid this, everyone in
the vehicle should get out as soon as it is safe
to do so. If you have breathing problems but
can not get out of the vehicle after an air bag
inates, then get fresh air by opening a
window or a door. If you experience breathing
problems following an air bag deployment,
you should seek medical attention.
In many crashes severe enough to inate an air bag,
windshields are broken by vehicle deformation.
Additional windshield breakage may also occur from
the right front passenger air bag.
Air bags are designed to inate only once. After an
air bag inates, you’ll need some new parts for your
air bag system. If you don’t get them, the air bag
system won’t be there to help protect you in another
crash. A new system will include air bag modules
and possibly other parts. The service manual for your
vehicle covers the need to replace other parts.
Your vehicle is equipped with a crash sensing and
diagnostic module, which records information about
the air bag system. The module records information
about the readiness of the system, when the system
commands air bag ination and driver’s safety belt
usage at deployment.
Let only qualied technicians work on your air bag
system. Improper service can mean that your air bag
system won’t work properly. See your dealer for
service.
Notice:If you damage the covering for the driver’s
or the right front passenger’s air bag, or the side
impact air bag covering on the ceiling near the side
windows, the bag may not work properly. You may
have to replace the air bag module in the steering
wheel, both the air bag module and the instrument
panel for the right front passenger’s air bag, or
side impact air bag module and ceiling covering for
the roof-mounted side impact air bag. Do not
open or break the air bag coverings.
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Servicing Your Air Bag-Equipped
Vehicle
Air bags affect how your vehicle should be serviced.
There are air bag system parts in several places around
your vehicle. You don’t want the system to inate
while someone is working on your vehicle. Your retailer
and the Saturn Service Manual have information
about servicing your vehicle and the air bag systems.
To purchase a service manual, seeService Publications
Ordering Information on page 7-10.
{CAUTION:
For up to one minute after the ignition key is
turned off and the battery is disconnected,
an air bag can still inate during improper
service. You can be injured if you are close to
an air bag when it inates. Avoid wires
wrapped with yellow tape, yellow coverings, or
yellow connectors. They are probably part of
the air bag systems. Be sure to follow proper
service procedures, and make sure the person
performing work for you is qualied to do so.
Air bag systems do not need regular maintenance.
Adding Equipment to Your
Air Bag-Equipped Vehicle
Q:If I add a luggage carrier or sunroof to the roof
of my vehicle, will it keep the roof-mounted side
impact air bags from working properly?
A:As long as the luggage carrier or sunroof is
properly installed so that the vehicle’s basic
structure isn’t changed, it’s not likely to keep the
roof-mounted side impact air bags from working
properly in a crash.
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