2006 BMW 650I COUPE deactivate passenger airbag

Transporting children safely
56
Transporting children safely
The right place for children
Do not leave children unattended in the
vehicle; otherwise, they could endanger
themselves and other persons, e.g. by opening
the doors.<
In principle, all seats in your BMW are suitable,
with the exception of the driver's seat, for
mounting universal child restraint systems for
all age classes approved for the respective age
group.
Children always in back
Accident research shows that the safest place
for children is in the back.
Children younger than 13 years of age or
under 5 ft/150 cm in height must be trans-
ported in back, seated in child restraint systems
which correspond to the age, weight and height
of the child. Otherwise there is an increased
danger of injury in an accident.<
Children 13 years of age or older must wear a
safety belt as soon as a suitable child restraint
system can no longer be used due to their age,
size and weight.
All rear seat positions in your vehicle comply
with the recommendations of the standard
SAE J1819 for the safe securing of child
restraint systems in motor vehicles.
Exception for front passenger seat
Should it be necessary to use a child-
restraint system on the front passenger
seat, the front, knee and side airbag on the pas-
senger side must be deactivated. Otherwise,
there is an increased risk of injury for the child
if the airbags are triggered, even with a child-
restraint system. Your BMW center will be glad
to advise you.<
For more information on automatic deactivation
of the front passenger airbags, refer to page91.
Installing child-restraint
systems
Follow child-restraint system manufac-
turer's instructions for the selection,
installation and use of child restraint systems.
Otherwise the degree of protection they offer
may be reduced.<
Commercially available child restraint systems
are designed to be secured with a lap belt or
with the lap belt section of a three-point belt.
Incorrectly or improperly installed child restraint
systems can increase the risk of injury for chil-
dren. Always follow the instructions for install-
ing the system exactly.
On front passenger seat
Before installing a child restraint system
in the front passenger seat, make sure
that the front, knee and side airbag on the front
passenger side are deactivated. Otherwise
there is an increased risk of injury if the airbags
are triggered.<
Seat height
Before mounting a universal child-restraint sys-
tem, move the front passenger seat into the
highest position to achieve the best possible
belt routing. Do not change this seat height.
Child seat security
All rear safety belts and the safety belt for the
front passenger can be locked against pulling
out to secure child restraint systems.

Controls
91Reference
At a glance
Driving tips
Communications
Navigation
Entertainment
Mobility
Protective action
To ensure that the safety systems con-
tinue to provide optimized protection,
please follow the adjustment instructions on
page47.<
The front airbags help protect the driver and
front passenger by responding to frontal
impacts in which safety belts alone cannot pro-
vide adequate restraint. When needed, the
head and side airbags help provide protection in
the event of a side impact. The relevant side air-
bag supports the side upper body area. The
head airbag supports the head. The knee airbag
protects the legs from colliding with the cockpit.
The airbags are deliberately not triggered in
every impact situation, e. g. less severe acci-
dents or rear-end collisions.
For details on the correct seat position, refer to
page47.
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 airbag retention
system from the vehicle. Do not modify or
tamper with either the wiring or the individual
components in the airbag system.This category
includes the upholstery in the center of the
steering wheel, on the instrument panel, the
side trim panels on the doors and on the Coupe,
the roof pillars along with the sides of the head-
liner. Do not attempt to remove or dismantle the
steering wheel.
Do not touch the individual components
directly after the system has been triggered,
because there is a danger of burns.
In the event of malfunctions, deactivation, or
triggering of the airbag restraint system, have
the testing, repair, removal, and disposal of air-
bag generators carried out only by a BMW cen-
ter or a workshop that works according to BMW
repair procedures with appropriately trained
personnel and has the required explosives
licenses. Unprofessional attempts to service
the system could lead to failure in an emer-
gency or undesired airbag activation, either of
which could result in personal injury. also provided on the sun visors.
Automatic deactivation of front
passenger airbags
The occupation of the seat is detected by eval-
uating the impression on the occupied seat sur-
face of the front passenger seat. The system
correspondingly activates or deactivates the
front, knee and side airbag on the front passen-
ger side.
The current status of the front passenger
airbag, i.e. deactivated or activated, is
indicated by the indicator lamp over the interior
rearview mirror, refer to Operating state of front
passenger airbags below.<
Before transporting a child in the front
passenger seat, read the safety informa-
tion and follow the instructions under Trans-
porting children safely, refer to page56.
The front, knee and side airbag on the front pas-
senger side can be deactivated for teenagers
and adults in certain seat positions; the indica-
tor lamp for the front passenger airbags lights
up when this occurs. In these cases, change the
seat position so that the front passenger air-
bags are activated and the indicator lamp goes
out. If the desired status cannot be produced by
changing the seat position, transport the corre-
sponding person in the rear seat.
Do not fit seat covers, seat cushion padding,
beaded mats or other items onto the front pas-
senger seat unless they are specifically recom-
mended by BMW. Do not place objects under
the seat which could press against the seat
from below. Otherwise a correct evaluation of
the occupied seat surface cannot be ensured.<

Technology for comfort, convenience and safety
92
Operating state of front passenger
airbags
The illustration here shows a possible arrange-
ment in the Coupe. With some vehicle equip-
ment packages or in the Convertible, the
arrangement of the switches and indicator
lamps may differ somewhat.
The indicator lamp for the front passenger air-
bags indicates the operating status of the front,
knee and side airbag on the front passenger
side depending on whether the seat is occu-
pied. The indicator lamp shows whether the
front passenger airbags are activated or deacti-
vated.
>The indicator lamp lights up when a child in
a child restraint system intended for the
purpose is properly detected on the seat.
The front, knee and side airbag on the front
passenger side are deactivated.
>The indicator lamp does not light up when,
for example, a correctly seated person of
sufficient height is detected on the seat.
The front, knee and side airbag on the front
passenger side are activated.
>The indicator lamp does not light up when
the seat is empty.
But the front, knee and side airbag on the
front passenger side are still deactivated.
Operational readiness of airbag system
With the ignition lock at radio readiness or
higher, refer to page58, the warning lamp lights
up briefly, indicating the operational readiness
of the entire airbag system and the safety belt
tensioners.
Airbag system malfunction
>Warning lamp does not light up as of radio
readiness.
>Warning lamp lights up continuously.
Have the airbag system checked immedi-
ately in case of a malfunction; otherwise,
there is a danger that the airbag system may not
respond in the expected manner in an accident
despite an impact of corresponding intensity.<
Convertible: rollover
protection system
The rollover protection system is automatically
activated in the event of an accident or a critical
driving situation, extreme inclination on the lon-
gitudinal or transverse axis, or loss of ground
contact. The rollover bars located behind the
rear head restraints are deployed within frac-
tions of a second.
As a supplement to the rollover bar integrated
into the windshield frame, the rollover protec-
tion system ensures that all vehicle occupants
have the necessary headroom.
Always keep the path of movement of the
rollover protection system clear.
In less severe accidents, you are protected by
the fastened safety belt and, depending on the
severity of the accident, the belt tensioner and
the multistage airbag restraint system.<