2006 SAAB 9-5 warning

30 Safety
WARNING
 Even if the car is equipped with AIR-
BAG, safety belts must still always be
worn by all occupants.
 Note that because an airbag inflates
and deflates extremely rapidly, it will
not provide protection against a
second impact occurring in the same
incident. Always use your safety belt.
Always sit with the whole of your back
in contact with the backrest of the seat,
and with your seat as far back as is
practical. Otherwise you will be thrown
back against the backrest when the
airbag inflates which could cause you
injury or death. The airbag needs
room in which to inflate.
Never attach anything to the steering
wheel or passenger side of the instru-
ment panel, as this could result in
injury if the airbag should inflate. The
same applies to anything you might
have in your mouth, such as a pipe, for
instance.
 Some components of the airbag will
be warm for a short time. In some cir-
cumstances the airbag can cause
minor burns or abrasions to the body
when the airbag inflates/deflates.
 To reduce the risk of head injuries in
the event of a crash, the headliner and
pillar trims incorporate energy absorb-
ing material. These areas must not be
modified in any way. Work on these
areas must only be carried out by an
authorized Saab dealer.
 Fumes are generated by the chemical
reaction that inflates the airbag.
Because the dust/fumes can, in cer-
tain cases, cause irritation to the skin,
the following measures should be
taken:
Skin surfaces that show signs of irrita-
tion should be washed with clean
water and a mild soap as soon as pos-
sible.
In the event of eye irritation, flush the
eyes thoroughly with clean water for at
least 20 minutes.
In case of persistent irritation, consult
a doctor.
Never rest your hands or forearms on
the steering-wheel center padding.
 If the AIR BAG warning light does not
extinguish after the car has been
started, or comes on or flashes while
driving, have the car checked immedi-
ately by a workshop. We recommend
that you contact an authorized Saab
dealer. The warning light could signify
that the airbags may not inflate in a
crash, or they could even inflate with-
out a crash. See page 61.
IB420
Passenger airbag and driver’s airbag both
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32 SafetyFront passenger seat The airbags are interconnected and have a
common warning light. The passenger
airbag module is housed in the fascia above
the glove compartment and is marked ”SRS
AIRBAG”. (SRS = Supplementary Restraint
System.)
Both airbags will be inflated in the event of a
moderate to severe frontal, or near-frontal
crash, even if the passenger seat is unoccu-
pied.
WARNING
Never secure a rear-facing child seat in
the right front seat of a car equipped with
a passenger airbag. Inflation of the airbag
in the event of a crash could seriously
injure or kill a child.
WARNING
 DEATH or SERIOUS
INJURY can occur.
 Children 12 and under or
shorter than 55 inches
(140 cm) can be killed by
the airbag.
 The BACK SEAT is the SAFEST place
for children.
 NEVER put a rear-facing child seat in
the front.
 Sit as far back as possible from the air-
bag.
 ALWAYS use SAFETY BELTS and
CHILD RESTRAINTS.
Never allow a child to stand in front of
the seat or to sit on the lap of a
front-seat passenger. Serious injury or
death could result if the airbag is
inflated in a crash.
 The glove compartment must be
closed while travelling. An open glove
compartment door could cause leg
injuries in the event of a crash.
Never place anything on the dash or in
front of the seat as, in addition to being
a hazard to passengers, this could
interfere with the function of the airbag
in the event of a crash. The same
applies to the mounting of accessories
on the dash.
 Keep feet on the floor – never put feet
up on the fascia, on the seat or out of
the window.
 Do not carry anything in your lap.
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33 Safety
Passenger Sensing SystemVehicles with a passenger sensing system
have indicator LEDs on the fascia. The indi-
cators will be lit during the system check
when you turn your ignition key to ST or ON.
When the system check is complete, either
the ON or the OFF LED, will be lit. See
AIRBAG warning light on page 61. If your
vehicle does not have the indicators pic-
tured, then your vehicle does not have the
passenger sensing system.
The passenger sensing system will turn off
the right front passenger’s frontal airbag
and side airbag under certain conditions.
The driver’s airbags is not part of the pas-
senger sensing system.
The passenger sensing system works with
sensors that are part of the right front pas-
senger’s seat and safety belt. The sensors
are designed to detect the presence of a
properly-seated occupant and determine if
the passenger’s frontal airbag should be
enabled (may inflate) or not.
Accident statistics show that children are
safer if they are restrained in the rear rather
than the front seat.Saab recommends that child restraints be
secured in a rear seat, including an infant
riding in a rear-facing infant seat, a child
riding in a forward-facing child seat and an
older child riding in a booster seat.
Your vehicle has a rear seat that will accom-
modate a rear-facing child restraint. A label
on your sun visor says, “Never put a
rear-facing child seat in the front.” This is
because the risk to the rear-facing child is so
great, if the airbag deploys.
WARNING
A child in a rear-facing child restraint can
be seriously injured or killed if the right
front passenger’s airbag inflates. This is
because the back of the rear-facing child
restraint would be very close to the inflat-
ing airbag.
Even though the passenger sensing
system is designed to turn off the passen-
ger’s frontal airbag if the system detects a
rear-facing child restraint, no system is
fail-safe, and no one can guarantee that
an airbag will not deploy under some
unusual circumstance, even though it is
turned off. Saab recommends that
rear-facing child restraints be secured in
the rear seat, even if the airbag is off.
IB3952
Passenger Airbag Status Indicator.
USA indicator shown, Canada similar
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35 Safety
If a person of adult-size is sitting in the right
front passenger’s seat, but the off indicator
is lit, it could be because that person is not
sitting properly in the seat. If this happens,
turn the vehicle off and ask the person to
place the seatback in the fully upright posi-
tion, then sit upright in the seat, centered on
the seat cushion, with the person’s legs
comfortably extended. Restart the vehicle
and have the person remain in this position
for about two minutes. This will allow the
system to detect that person and then
enable the passenger’s airbag.Aftermarket equipment, such as seat cov-
ers, can affect how well the passenger
sensing system operates. You may want to
consider not using seat covers or other
aftermarket equipment if your vehicle has
the passenger sensing system. See Adding
Equipment to Your Airbag-Equipped Vehi-
cle on page 41 for more information about
modifications that can affect how the
system operates.
WARNING
If the airbag readiness light in the instru-
ment panel cluster ever comes on and
stays on, it means that something may be
wrong with the airbag system. If this ever
happens, have the vehicle serviced
promptly, because an adult-size person
sitting in the right front passenger’s seat
may not have the protection of the frontal
airbag. See Airbag warning light on page
61 for more on this, including important
safety information.
WARNING
Stowing of articles under the passenger’s
seat or between the passenger’s seat
cushion and seatback may interfere with
the proper operation of the passenger
sensing system.
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36 SafetySide airbags
The side airbags, which help protect the
upper body are integrated in the outside
edges of the front seat backrests.
In a side impact, only the airbag on that side
will be activated, and only then if certain pre-
determined conditions are met such as the
force and angle of the impact, the speed of
the car on impact, and at which point on the
car’s side the impact occurs.
The sensors, which are fitted in the front
doors, sense the rise in pressure caused by
the door panel being pressed in during an
impact condition. The side airbag trigger will
be commanded based on the characteris-
tics of this pressure rise.
WARNING
 This car is equipped with side airbags
and no extra interior trim should be fit-
ted. Failure to observe this warning
could result in the side airbags not
inflating as intended and thus not pro-
viding the intended protection either.
 Never place any object in the area that
would be occupied by the inflated air-
bag.
 For optimum protection, sit upright in
the seat, with your safety belt correctly
fastened.
 The sensors for the side airbags are
fitted in the front doors. We advise
against doing any work on the doors
that could affect the moisture barrier in
the door or the airbag sensors. It is
essential that the moisture barrier
(thick plastic film) in the front door is
not damaged in any way.
 Improvement of the anticorrosion
treatment of the doors should only be
carried out by a workshop. We recom-
mend that you contact an authorized
Saab dealer. Otherwise there is a risk
that the side impact sensor and the
moisture barrier in the front door could
be damaged.
 The side airbags will inflate only in the
event of a side impact; not in the event
of a front or rear-end crash or of the
car’s rolling over.
 Damage or wear to the seat cover, or
the seat seam, in the area of the side
airbag must immediately be repaired.
We recommend that you contact an
authorized Saab dealer.
 Do not modify the speaker installation
in the front doors or install speakers
other than those specifically approved
by Saab.
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37 Safety
AIRBAG warning light
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 61. 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 oth-
ers, have your vehicle serviced right
away if the airbag readiness light stays
on after you start your vehicle.
IB1182
Side airbag inflated
IB1707
Side airbag components 1 Side airbag
2 Sensor
3 Moisture barrier
4 Text on seat
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38 SafetyWhat 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.In 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 257.
 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 ser-
vice.
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 cannot 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.
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39 Safety
AIRBAG servicingThe airbag must be inspected as part of the
normal service program but otherwise may
be regarded as maintenance-free.Scrapping or working on
airbags and belt
pretensioners
WARNING
If you damage the covering for the driver's
or the right front passenger's airbag, or
the side impact airbag covering 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 pas-
senger'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.
WARNING
 Under no circumstances should any
modifications be made that affect the
steering wheel or the airbag’s electri-
cal circuitry.
 Before starting any welding work on
the car, always disconnect the nega-
tive (–) battery lead and cover the con-
ductor.
 Airbags and belt pretensioners must
be deployed under controlled condi-
tions 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 only be carried out by
knowledgeable personnel.
 The headlining and roof pillar trim
must not be modified in any way. Work
on these areas must only be carried
out at a Saab dealer.
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