2006 CADILLAC STS Owners Manual

{CAUTION:
Both frontal and side impact airbags inate
with great force, faster than the blink of an
eye. If you are too close to an inating airbag,
as you would be if you were leaning forward,
it could seriously injure you. Safety belts help
keep you in position for airbag ination 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.
{CAUTION:
Anyone who is up against, or very close to,
any airbag when it inates 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 1-26orInfants and
Young Children on page 1-29.
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 3-60
for more information.
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Where Are the Airbags?
The driver’s frontal airbag is in the middle of the
steering wheel.The right front passenger’s frontal airbag is in the
instrument panel on the passenger’s side.
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The seat-mounted side impact airbag for the driver is
in the side of the driver’s seatback closest to the door.The seat-mounted side impact airbag for the right front
passenger is in the side of the passenger’s seatback
closest to the door.
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The roof-mounted side impact airbag for the driver and
the person seated directly behind the driver is in the
ceiling above the side windows.The roof-mounted side impact airbag for the right front
passenger and the person seated directly behind
that passenger is in the ceiling above the side windows.
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{CAUTION:
If something is between an occupant and an
airbag, the airbag might not inate properly
or it might force the object into that person
causing severe injury or even death. The path
of an inating 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. Never secure anything to the
roof of your vehicle by routing the rope or
tie-down through any door or window opening.
If you do, the path of an inating airbag will
be blocked. Do not let seat covers block the
ination path of a side impact airbag. The path
of an inating airbag must be kept clear.
When Should an Airbag Inate?
The driver’s and right front passenger’s frontal airbags
are designed to inate in moderate to severe frontal
or near-frontal crashes. But they are designed to inate
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 inate 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 has electronic frontal sensors, which helps
the sensing system distinguish between a moderate
frontal impact and a more severe frontal impact. For
moderate frontal impacts, these airbags inate at a level
less than full deployment.
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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 16 mph
(19 to 26 km/h), and the threshold level for a full
deployment is about 18 to 24 mph (28.5 to 38.5 km/h).
The threshold level can vary, however, with specic
vehicle design, so that it can be somewhat above or
below this range.
Frontal airbags may inate at different crash speeds.
For example:
If the vehicle hits a stationary object, the airbags
could inate at a different crash speed than if the
vehicle hits a moving object.
If the vehicle hits an object that deforms, the
airbags could inate at a different crash speed than
if the vehicle hits an object that does not deform.
If the vehicle hits a narrow object (like a pole) the
airbags could inate 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
airbags could inate at a different crash speed
than if the vehicle goes straight into the object.The frontal airbags (driver and right front passenger)
are not intended to inate during vehicle rollovers, rear
impacts, or in many side impacts.
The side impact airbags are intended to inate in
moderate to severe side crashes. A side impact airbag
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 airbags are not
intended to inate in frontal or near-frontal impacts,
rollovers or rear impacts. A side impact airbag is intended
to deploy on the side of the vehicle that is struck.
In any particular crash, no one can say whether an airbag
should have inated simply because of the damage to a
vehicle or because of what the repair costs were. For
frontal airbags, ination is determined by what the vehicle
hits, the angle of the impact, and how quickly the vehicle
slows down in frontal and near-frontal impacts. For side
impact airbags, ination is determined by the location and
severity of the impact.
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What Makes an Airbag Inate?
In an impact of sufficient severity, the airbag sensing
system detects that the vehicle is in a crash. The
sensing system triggers a release of gas from the
inator, which inates the airbag. The inator, airbag
and related hardware are all part of the airbag modules
inside the steering wheel, instrument panel, the side
of the front seatbacks closest to the door and 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. Side impact airbags would not
help you in many types of collisions, including many
frontal or near frontal collisions, rollovers, 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 for side impact
airbags.
What Will You See After an Airbag
Inates?
After the frontal and seat-mounted side impact airbags
inate, they quickly deate, so quickly that some people
may not even realize the airbags inated. Roof-mounted
side impact airbags are designed to deate more slowly
and may still be at least partially inated minutes after
the vehicle comes to rest. Some components of the
airbag module — the steering wheel hub for the
driver’s airbag, the instrument panel for the right front
passenger’s bag, the side of the seatback closest to the
door for the seat-mounted side impact airbags and the
area along the ceiling of your vehicle near the side
windows — may be hot for a short time. The parts of
the airbag that come into contact with you may be warm,
but not too hot to touch.
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There will be some smoke and dust coming from the
vents in the deated airbags. Airbag ination does
not prevent the driver from seeing out of the windshield
or being able to steer the vehicle, nor does it stop people
from leaving the vehicle.
{CAUTION:
When an airbag 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 cannot
get out of the vehicle after an airbag inates,
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.
Your vehicle has a feature that may automatically unlock
the doors, turn the interior lamps on, turn the hazard
warning ashers on, and turn off the climate control
system when the airbags inate.You can lock the doors, turn the interior lamps off, turn
the hazard warning ashers off, and turn the climate
control system on by using the controls for those
features.
In many crashes severe enough to inate the airbag,
windshields are broken by vehicle deformation.
Additional windshield breakage may also occur from
the right front passenger airbag.Airbags are designed to inate only once. After
an airbag inates, you will need some new parts
for your airbag system. If you do not get them, the
airbag system will not be there to help protect
you in another crash. A new system will include
airbag modules and possibly other parts. The
service manual for your vehicle covers the need
to replace other parts.
Your vehicle has a crash sensing and diagnostic
module which records information after a crash.
SeeVehicle Data Collection and Event Data
Recorders on page 7-8.
Let only qualied technicians work on your airbag
system. Improper service can mean that an
airbag system will not work properly. See your
dealer for service.
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