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Airbag System
Your vehicle has a frontal airbag for the driver and a
frontal airbag for the right front passenger. Your vehicle
may also have side impact airbags. Side impact
airbags are available for the driver and right front
passenger.
If your vehicle has a side impact airbag for the driver
and/or the right front passenger, the words AIR BAG will
appear on the airbag covering on the side of the
seatback closest to the door.Frontal airbags are designed to help reduce the risk of
injury from the force of an in ating frontal airbag.
But these airbags must in ate very quickly to do their
job and comply with federal regulations.
Here are the most important things to know about the
airbag system:
{CAUTION:
You can be severely injured or killed in a crash
if you are not wearing your safety belt — even
if you have airbags. Wearing your safety belt
during a crash helps reduce your chance of
hitting things inside the vehicle or being
ejected from it. Airbags are designed to work
with safety belts but do not replace them.
CAUTION: (Continued)
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CAUTION: (Continued)
Frontal airbags for the driver and right front
passenger are designed to deploy in moderate
to severe frontal and near frontal crashes.
They are not designed to in ate in rollover,
rear or low-speed frontal crashes, or in many
side crashes. And, for some unrestrained
occupants, frontal airbags may provide less
protection in frontal crashes than more
forceful airbags have provided in the past.
Side impact airbags for the driver and right
front passenger are designed to in ate in
moderate to severe crashes where something
hits the side of your vehicle. They are not
designed to in ate in frontal, in rollover or in
rear crashes.
Everyone in your vehicle should wear a safety
belt properly — whether or not there is an
airbag for that person.
{CAUTION:
Both frontal and side impact airbags in ate
with great force, faster than the blink of an
eye. If you are too close to an in ating airbag,
as you would be if you were leaning forward, it
could seriously injure you. Safety belts help
keep you in position for airbag in ation before
and during a crash. Always wear your safety
belt, even with frontal airbags. The driver
should sit as far back as possible while still
maintaining control of the vehicle. Front
occupants should not lean on or sleep against
the door.
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{CAUTION:
Anyone who is up against, or very close to,
any airbag when it in ates can be seriously
injured or killed. Airbags 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 airbag
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,
seeOlder Children on page 1-42orInfants and
Young Children on page 1-45.
There is an airbag
readiness light on the
instrument panel cluster,
which shows the airbag
symbol.The system checks the airbag electrical system for
malfunctions. The light tells you if there is an electrical
problem. SeeAirbag Readiness Light on page 3-34
for more information.
Where Are the Airbags?
The driver’s frontal airbag is in the middle of the
steering wheel.
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The right front passenger’s frontal airbag is in the
instrument panel on the passenger’s side.If your vehicle has one, the driver’s side impact airbag
is in the side of the driver’s seatback closest to the door.
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If your vehicle has one, the right front passenger’s side
impact airbag is in the side of the passenger’s
seatback closest to the door.
{CAUTION:
If something is between an occupant and an
airbag, the airbag might not in ate properly or
it might force the object into that person
causing severe injury or even death. The path
of an in ating airbag must be kept clear. Do
not put anything between an occupant and an
airbag, and do not attach or put anything on
the steering wheel hub or on or near any other
airbag covering. Do not let seat covers block
the in ation path of a side impact airbag.
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When Should an Airbag In ate?
The driver’s and right front passenger’s frontal airbags
are designed to in ate in moderate to severe frontal
or near-frontal crashes. But they are designed to in ate
only if the impact exceeds a predetermined deployment
threshold. Deployment thresholds take into account
a variety of desired deployment and non-deployment
events and are used to predict how severe a crash
is likely to be in time for the airbags to in ate and help
restrain the occupants. Whether your frontal airbags
will or should deploy is not based on how fast your
vehicle is traveling. It depends largely on what you hit,
the direction of the impact and how quickly your
vehicle slows down.
In addition, your vehicle has “dual stage” frontal airbags,
which adjust the restraint according to crash severity.
For moderate frontal impacts, these airbags in ate at a
level less than full deployment. Your vehicle is
equipped with electronic frontal sensors, which help the
sensing system distinguish between a moderate
frontal impact and a more severe frontal impact.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 12 to 18 mph
(19 to 29 km/h), and the threshold level for a full
deployment is about 18 to 25 mph (29 to 40.2 km/h).
(The threshold level can vary, however, with speci c
vehicle design, so that it can be somewhat above
or below this range.)
Airbags may in ate at different crash speeds. For
example:
If the vehicle hits a stationary object, the airbag
could in ate at a different crash speed than if
the object were moving.
If the object deforms, the airbag could in ate at a
different crash speed than if the object does not
deform.
If the vehicle hits a narrow object (like a pole) the
airbag could in ate at a different crash speed
than if the vehicle hits a wide object (like a wall).
If the vehicle goes into an object at an angle the
airbag could in ate at a different crash speed
than if the vehicle goes straight into the object.
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The frontal airbags (driver and right front passenger) are
not intended to in ate during vehicle rollovers, rear
impacts, or in many side impacts because in ation
would not likely help the occupants.
Your vehicle may or may not have a side impact airbag.
SeeAirbag System on page 1-72. Side impact airbags
are designed to in ate in moderate to severe side
crashes. A side impact airbag will in ate if the crash
severity is above the system’s designed “threshold
level.” The threshold level can vary with speci c vehicle
design. Side impact airbags are not designed to
in ate in frontal or near-frontal impacts, rollovers or rear
impacts, because in ation would not likely help the
occupant. A side impact airbag will only deploy on the
side of the vehicle that is struck.
In any particular crash, no one can say whether an
airbag should have in ated simply because of the
damage to a vehicle or because of what the repair costs
were. For frontal airbags, in ation is determined by
the angle of the impact and how quickly the vehicle
slows down in frontal and near-frontal impacts. For side
impact airbags, in ation is determined by the location
and severity of the impact.What Makes an Airbag In ate?
In an impact of sufficient severity, the airbag sensing
system detects that the vehicle is in a crash. For both
frontal and side impact airbags, the sensing system
triggers a release of gas from the in ator, which in ates
the airbag. The in ator, the airbag and related hardware
are all part of the airbag modules. Frontal airbag modules
are located inside the steering wheel and instrument
panel. For vehicles with side impact airbags, the airbag
modules are located in the seatback closest to the
driver’s and/or right front passenger’s door.
How Does an Airbag 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 airbag supplements the protection
provided by safety belts. Airbags distribute the force of
the impact more evenly over the occupant’s upper body,
stopping the occupant more gradually. But the frontal
airbags 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
airbag. Side impact airbags would not help you in many
types of collisions, including frontal or near frontal
collisions, rollovers, and rear impacts, primarily because
an occupant’s motion is not toward those airbags.
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Airbags 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 airbags, and only in
moderate to severe side collisions for vehicles with a
driver’s and right front passenger’s side impact airbag.
What Will You See After an Airbag
In ates?
After the airbag in ates, it quickly de ates, so quickly
that some people may not even realize the airbag
in ated. Some components of the airbag module will be
hot for a short time. These components include the
steering wheel hub for the driver’s frontal airbag and the
instrument panel for the right front passenger’s frontal
airbag. For vehicles with side impact airbags, the side of
the seatback closest to the driver’s and/or right front
passenger’s door will be hot. 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 de ated airbags.
Airbag in ation does not prevent the driver from seeing
or being able to steer the vehicle, nor does it stop
people from leaving the vehicle.
{CAUTION:
When an airbag in ates, 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
cannot get out of the vehicle after an airbag
in ates, then get fresh air by opening a
window or a door. If you experience breathing
problems following an airbag deployment, you
should seek medical attention.
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