2006 SAAB 9-3 steering

42 SafetyInflatable curtains, Sport Sedan
and SportCombi
The inflatable curtains, which protect the
head, are concealed along the lengths of
the headlining (all the way from front to rear
roof pillars).
The inflatable curtains inflate at the same
time as the side airbags in the front seats in
case of a side-on impact.
The inflatable curtains reduce the risk of
head injuries to the occupants of the car’s
outer seats. The inflatable curtains deploys
into the window area between the front and
rear roof pillars.
If the airbag system registers forces equiv-
alent to a high-speed frontal crash (Stage II
for the steering wheel and passenger
airbags), the inflatable curtains will also be
deployed.
WARNING
 Do not sit with your head resting
against the side window. The inflat-
able curtain is designed to inflate
between the window and the head.
Resting the head against the window
could prevent the inflatable curtain
from providing the intended
protection.
 Hang only light clothes from the hooks
on the rear seat courtesy handles. The
items of clothing must not contain
heavy or sharp objects. Do not use
wire coat hangers.
 Do not position a sun visor or similar
item in the area that would be filled by
the inflatable curtain.
 To reduce the risk of head injuries in
the event of a crash, the roof pillars
and headlining incorporate cushioning
material. Do not attach anything to the
car’s headlining, roof pillars or side
panels as this could prevent the side-
impact protection from providing the
intended protection.
 Do not stack loads so high that they
could encumber the inflatable curtain
in the event of a crash.
Inflated inflatable curtain, Sport Sedan
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43 Safety
For optimal protection, do not sit too close to
the door. Bear this in mind, for example, if
someone is sleeping in the car. The inflat-
able curtain comes down from the headlin-
ing and covers a large portion of the side
windows.
Airbag warning lamp What Will You See After an
Airbag Inflates?
After an airbag inflates, it quickly deflates,
so quickly that some people may not even
realize the airbag inflated. Some compo-
nents of the airbag module - the steering
wheel hub for the driver's frontal airbag, the
instrument panel for the right front passen-
ger's frontal airbag 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 deflated airbags. Airbag inflation does
not prevent the driver from seeing or being
able to steer the vehicle, nor does it stop
people from leaving the vehicle.
WARNING
 If the airbag readiness light stays on
after you start your vehicle, it means
the airbag system may not be working
properly. See page 87.
 The airbags in your vehicle may not
inflate in a crash, or they could even
inflate without a crash.
 To help avoid injury to yourself or
others, have your vehicle serviced
right away if the airbag readiness light
stays on after you start your vehicle.
Prohibited seating position93U S M 06.book Page 43 Friday, February 18, 2005 1:15 PM
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44 SafetyIn many crashes severe enough to inflate an
airbag, windshields are broken by vehicle
deformation. Additional windshield break-
age may also occur from the right front pas-
senger airbag.
 Airbags are designed to inflate only once.
After an airbag inflates, 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 is equipped with a crash
sensing and diagnostic module which
records information after a crash. See
Vehicle Data Collection and Event Data
Recorders on page 292. Let only qualified technicians work on
your airbag system. Improper service can
mean that your airbag system will not
work properly. See your dealer for
service.
Notice:
If you damage the covering for
the driver's or the right front passenger's
airbag, or the side impact airbag cover-
ing on the ceiling near the side windows,
the bag may not work properly. You may
have to replace the airbag module in the
steering wheel, both the airbag module
and the instrument panel for the right
front passenger's airbag, or side impact
airbag module and ceiling covering for
the roof-mounted side impact airbag. Do
not open or break the airbag coverings.
Servicing the airbag systemThe airbag system must be inspected as
part of the normal service program but oth-
erwise may be regarded as maintenance-
free.
WARNING
When an airbag inflates, 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 airbag inflates,
then get fresh air by opening a window or
a door. If you experience breathing prob-
lems following an airbag deployment, you
should seek medical attention.93U S M 06.book Page 44 Friday, February 18, 2005 1:15 PM
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45 Safety
Scrapping or working on airbag
and belt pretensionersFrequently asked questions on
function of the airbag
Do you still need to wear a safety belt if air-
bags are fitted?Yes, always! The airbag system compo-
nents merely supplement the car’s normal
safety system. Moreover, the front airbags
will only be actuated in a moderate to severe
frontal, or near-frontal crash, which means,
of course, that they provide no protection in
minor frontal crashes, major rear- or side-
crashes or if the car rolls over.
The safety belts help to reduce the sideway
movement of the body in a crash.
But they also ensure that, if a crash occurs
in which the airbags are inflated, the airbag
will make the optimum contact with the
occupant, i.e. square on from the front. If the
occupant meets the airbag in an offset posi-
tion, the protection afforded will be reduced.In addition, airbags provide no protection
against a secondary impact occurring in the
same incident. So there is no doubt about
the benefit of wearing safety belts at all
times.
Do not sit too close to the airbag: it needs
room to inflate.
The airbag inflates very quickly and power-
fully in order to protect an adult, before they
are thrown forward, in a serious frontal
crash.
How do I position the seat to leave room for
the airbag to inflate?Don’t have your seat too far forward.
Recline the seat back to increase the dis-
tance between you and the airbag. For short
drivers, special accessory pedal extensions
are available through your Saab dealer.
Airbags inflate extremely rapidly and with
great force – to be fast enough to protect an
adult in the seat.
WARNING
 Under no circumstances should any
modifications be made that affect the
steering wheel or the airbag’s electri-
cal circuitry.
 During any welding, both battery
cables must be disconnected and
covered.
 Before quick drying paint in the vicinity
of the electronic control module, the
module’s grounding points and wiring
must be covered.
 Airbags and safety belt pretensioners
must be deployed under controlled
conditions before the car is scrapped
or any of the system’s components are
removed. Airbags or belt pretension-
ers that have been deployed as a
result of a crash must be replaced by
new ones.
 Airbag-system components must
never be transferred for use in another
vehicle.
 All work involving the scrapping or
replacement of airbags or belt preten-
sioners must be carried out by autho-
rized personnel only.93U S M 06.book Page 45 Friday, February 18, 2005 1:15 PM
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46 SafetyWhen do the airbags in the steering wheel
and passenger side of the dash board
inflate? The airbag will only be inflated under certain
predetermined conditions in a moderate to
severe frontal, or near-frontal crash,
depending on such factors as the force and
angle of the impact, the speed of the car on
impact, and the resistance to deformation of
the impacting object.
The airbag can only be activated once in the
same incident.
Do not attempt to drive the car after an
airbag has been inflated, even if it is possi-
ble.What won’t trigger the airbag? The airbag will not be activated in all frontal
crashes. For instance, if the car has hit
something relatively soft and yielding (e.g. a
snow drift or a hedge) or a solid object at a
low impact speed, the airbag will not neces-
sarily be triggered.
How loud is the inflation? The noise of the inflation is certainly loud,
but it is of an very short duration and will not
damage your hearing. For a short time after-
wards you could experience a buzzing
noise in your ears.
Most people who have experienced it
cannot remember the noise of the inflation
at all – all they remember is the noise of the
crash. Can you still use a child seat in the front if a
passenger airbag is installed? Definitely not!
Children 12 and under or shorter than
55 inches (140 cm) can be killed by the air-
bag.
The back seat is the safest place for chil-
dren.
Never put a rear-facing child seat in the
front.
Sit as far back as possible from the airbag.
Always use seat belts and child restraints.
What should I do if the AIR-BAG warning
light comes on? If the warning light is on, it means that a fault
has been detected in the system. The
airbag cannot be relied on to operate as
intended and it might even be activated
erroneously. You should therefore take the
car to a workshop. We recommend that you
contact a Saab dealer as soon as possible.
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52 SecurityLocking/unlocking the carRemote locking and unlocking also control
the car alarm.
Remote locking
Press the button once:
Sport Sedan: all doors locked.
SportCombi: all doors and tailgate locked.
The hazard warning lights will flash once to
confirm.Remote unlocking
Pressing the button once: the driver´s
door is unlocked.
Pressin a second time:
Sport Sedan: the rest of the doors are
unlocked.
SportCombi: the rest of the doors and tail-
gate are unlocked.
The hazard warning lights will flash twice to
confirm.
Saab Information Display (SID), see
page 93.
Intermittent malfunctioning
Equipment in the vicinity of the car that uses
the same frequency as the remote control
may cause interference to the remote con-
trol signal. In this case, retry from another
angle and aim at the receiver located by the
steering wheel.If remote unlocking should fail to work
1 Remove the traditional key from the
remote control by pressing the emblem
on the reverse of the remote control.
(This key only fits the front left-hand
door.)
2 Unlock the door with the key.
The car alarm will be tripped. To silence the
alarm, insert the remote control into the igni-
tion switch.
WARNING
Leaving children or pets unattended in a
locked car is dangerous. It is also danger-
ous to leave children in a vehicle with the
ignition key. A child or others could be
badly injured or even killed.
Never lock anyone in the car.
Locking/unlocking the front left-hand door
with the traditional key1 Lock
2 Unlock
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53 Security
Locking a car with dead batteryThe steering wheel lock requires sufficient
battery voltage to lock and unlock. If the bat-
tery voltage drops below a certain level
while the remote control is in the ignition
switch, you will not be able to remove the
remote control.
If you must leave the car, proceed as
follows:
1 Lock the car by pressing down the lock
buttons on the doors.
2 Lock the front left door from outside with
the traditional key (see page 52). The
car is now locked but the car alarm will
remain inactive.
Trunk lid/TailgateOpening
Sport Sedan: The trunk lid is unlocked and
slightly opened when the button on the
remote control or on the inside of the driver’s
door is pressed once.
SportCombi: The tailgate is unlocked (not
opened) when the button on the remote
control or on the inside of the driver’s door
is pressed once.
The hazard warning lights will flash three
times to confirm.
Closing
Sport Sedan: The trunk lid is locked when
closed.
SportCombi: The tailgate is not locked
when closed. It is locked together with the
doors when button on the remote con-
trol is pressed once.
If the doors are locked when the trunk lid is
closed it is armed and the movement sensor
in the cabin will be armed.
Opening button on driver’s door
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103 Instruments and controls
High/low beamTo switch between high and low beam, pull
the control stalk all the way towards the
steering wheel. (Headlight switch must be
ON.)
The symbol on the main instrument
panel shows when the high beam is on.Headlight flasherTo flash your headlights, pull the control
stalk half-way towards the steering wheel.
The high beam will remain on until you
release the stalk.
Courtesy Headlamp FeatureA delay function allows the low beam head-
lights and back-up lights to remain on for
about 30 seconds after the driver’s door has
been closed.
To activate this function:
1 After turning off the engine, remove the
remote control.
2 Open the driver’s door.
3 Pull the control stalk all the way towards
the steering wheel.
The low beam headlights and reversing
lights will come on and remain on for
30 seconds when the door is closed.
Instrument lightingThe brightness of the instrument lighting
can be adjusted by pressing the button (+ or
- signs on the button above the NIGHT-
PANEL button).
Dipswitch1 Headlight flasher
2 High/low beam
Adjusting instrument illumination
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