Page 52 of 474
Airbag System
Your vehicle has a frontal airbag for the driver and
another frontal airbag for the right front passenger.
Your vehicle may also have roof-mounted airbags
designed for either side impact or rollover deployment.
Roof-mounted airbags are available for the driver
and the passenger seated directly behind the driver and
for the right front passenger and the passenger
seated directly behind that passenger.
If your vehicle has roof-mounted airbags, the words
AIR BAG will appear on the airbag covering on
the sidewall trim near the driver’s and right front
passenger’s window.
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 “supplemental
restraints” to the safety belts. All airbags are
designed to work with safety belts but do not
replace them.
Frontal airbags for the driver and right front
passenger are designed to deploy only in
moderate to severe frontal and near frontal
crashes. They are not designed to in ate in
CAUTION: (Continued)
1-46
Page 53 of 474
CAUTION: (Continued)
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.
The roof-mounted airbags are designed to
in ate only in moderate to severe crashes
where something hits the side of your vehicle.
They are not designed to in ate in frontal or in
rear crashes. If the vehicle is equipped with
rollover capable airbags, it has been designed
to deploy the roof-mounted airbags in the event
of a vehicle rollover. Everyone in your vehicle
should wear a safety belt properly — whether or
not there is an airbag for that person.
{CAUTION:
Both frontal and roof-mounted 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. Occupants
should not lean on or sleep against the door.
1-47
Page 54 of 474
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 airbag is in the middle of the steering wheel.
1-48
Page 55 of 474
The right front passenger’s airbag is in the instrument
panel on the passenger’s side.If your vehicle has a roof-mounted airbag for the driver
and the person seated directly behind the driver,
it is located in the ceiling above the side windows.
1-49
Page 56 of 474
If your vehicle has a roof-mounted airbag for the right
front passenger and the person directly behind that
passenger, it is located in the ceiling above the
side windows.
{CAUTION:
If something is between an occupant and an
airbag, the bag 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. And, if your vehicle has
roof-mounted airbags, 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 in ating side
impact airbag will be blocked. The path of an
in ating airbag must be kept clear.
1-50
Page 57 of 474
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.
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 moderate frontal impacts, these airbags
in ate 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 9 to 16 mph
(14 to 26 km/h), and the threshold level for a full
deployment is about 18 to 25 mph (29 to 40 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.
1-51
Page 58 of 474
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 roof-mounted
airbag and rollover sensor. SeeAirbag System
on page 1-46. These “rollover capable” airbags are
designed to in ate in moderate to severe side crashes
or during a rollover. 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, or
rear impacts, because in ation would not likely help
the occupant.
Your vehicle has seat position sensors which enable the
sensing system to monitor the position of the driver’s
seat and the right front passenger’s seat. Seat position
sensors provide information that is used to determine
if the airbags should deploy at a reduced level or
at full deployment.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.
The airbag system is designed to work properly under
a wide range of conditions, including off-road usage.
Observe safe driving speeds, especially on rough
terrain. As always, wear your safety belt. SeeOff-Road
Driving with Your Four-Wheel-Drive Vehicle on
page 4-16for tips on off-road driving.
1-52
Page 59 of 474
What Makes an Airbag In ate?
In an impact of sufficient severity, the airbag sensing
system detects that the vehicle is in a crash. In the
case of a “rollover capable” roof-mounted airbag,
the sensing system detects that the vehicle is about to
roll over. For both frontal and roof-mounted airbags,
the sensing system triggers a release of gas from the
in ator, which in ates the airbag. The in ator, airbag,
and related hardware are all part of the airbag modules
inside the steering wheel and in the instrument panel
in front of the right front passenger. For vehicles
with roof-mounted airbags, the airbag modules
are located in the ceiling of the vehicle, near the
side windows.
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. Roof-mounted airbags would not help you in
many types of collisions, including frontal or near frontal
collisions, and rear impacts, primarily because an
occupant’s motion is not toward those airbags. 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 or rollovers for the
roof-mounted airbags.
1-53
