11 Safety
Seats _______________ 18
Head restraint ________ 21
Safety belts __________ 12
Child safety __________ 22
Airbag_______________ 29
IB3835
Safety
Asterisk means: equipment not fitted in all cars
(can depend on model variant, engine variant,
market specification, options or accessories).
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12 SafetySafety belts
Three-point inertia-reel safety belts are pro-
vided for all seats.
The results of studies show that it is equally
important to wear safety belts in the rear
seat as in the front seats.
Bear in mind that in certain states/provinces
it is a legal requirement for all occupants of
the car to wear a safety belt.
Safety belt reminderWhen the ignition is switched on, the ”FAS-
TEN BELTS” reminder will light up until the
driver fastens the safety belt. In addition an
audible signal sounds for 6 seconds, or until
the driver fastens his belt.
WARNING
Buckle up and adjust your safety belt
before driving off so that you can pay
full attention to the traffic.
Safety belts must be worn at all times
by all car occupants.
Child safety, see page 22.
Check that the locking tongue is prop-
erly locked in the belt lock.
In the event of a crash, the rear-seat
passengers not wearing a seatbelt will
be thrown forward against the
front-seat backrests. The stresses
imposed on the front seat passengers
and belts are multiplied and can result
in needless injury or even death for all
car occupants.
FASTEN BELTS
IB3838
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15 Safety
Safety belt use during
pregnancyPregnant women must always wear a
safety belt to protect both themselves and
the unborn child.
The lap belt should be placed low, across
the hips and over the upper thighs.
Safety belt pretensionersThe belts of the front seats are fitted with
automatic pretensioners and force limiters.
These are activated in the event of a severe
frontal or rear-end crash and a side-on col-
lision, provided that the safety belts are
being worn.
The pretensioners serve to reduce the for-
ward movement of the body by tensioning
the belt. The force limiters reduce belt loads
on the body by "loosening" the safety belt to
absorb the body’s kinetic energy as gradu-
ally as possible.
The safety belt pretensioners are not acti-
vated by vehicle rollover.
Safety belt, rear seat
WARNING
If the car is involved in a crash, the safety
belts, belt pretensioners and other com-
ponents must be inspected by an autho-
rized Saab dealer and replaced as neces-
sary.
Never make any alterations or repairs to
the safety belt yourself. Visit an autho-
rized Saab dealer for any necessary
repairs.
WARNING
Make sure that the belt does not
become trapped when the backrest is
folded down or raised (see page 130).
If cargo has to be placed on a seat, it
must be properly secured with the
safety belt. This reduces the risk of the
cargo being thrown about during hard
braking or a crash, which could cause
personal injury.
Check that the belt is not twisted or
lying against sharp edges.
Make sure you use the correct safety
belt buckle. The buckles for the center
and left-hand rear seats are close
together.
IB414
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18 SafetySeats Both front seats are electrically operated.
On certain models the driver´s seat is
equipped with a memory function.
To facilitate getting into the car, both seats
can be adjusted when either of the front
doors is open.
For safety reasons, if the door is closed, the
seat can only be adjusted when the ignition
is ON.
Note, however, that both seats can be
adjusted for 30 seconds after both doors
have been closed. The following seat adjustments can be
made to achieve a comfortable driving
position:
height
legroom
backrest rake angle
lumbar support
head-restraint height
We recommend that adjustments to the
driver’s seat be performed in the following
order:
1height
2 legroom
3 seat tilt angle
4 backrest rake angle
Lastly, adjust the steering wheel (see
page 114).
Side airbags
(see page 36).
Head restraint
(see page 21).
HeightTo raise the seat, lift the lower control
straight up.
To lower the seat, press the lower control
down.
The same control can be used to adjust the
height of the front and rear edges of the seat
independently.
WARNING
The seats are actuated by powerful
motors. Bear this in mind when adjusting
the seat, and make sure that nothing gets
caught and damaged. Ensure that noth-
ing can be trapped when adjusting the
seat.
Bear in mind that children can be injured
if they play with the electrically-operated
seats.
Always remove the ignition key when you
leave the car. This prevents personal
injury caused by the electrically adjust-
able seats, for example, due to children
playing.
WARNING
Never adjust the driver’s seat except
when the car is stationary.
IB3225
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21 Safety
Head restraintThe front seats in the Saab 9-5 are
equipped with Saab Active Head Restraints
(SAHRs). These reduce the risk of whiplash
injury if the car is hit from behind.
In the event of a rear-end crash, the body is
forced back against the backrest. This, in
turn, causes the mechanism to press the
head restraint forward and upward, thus lim-
iting the backward movement of the head.
The SAHR is a mechanical system, actu-
ated by body weight. The mechanism is built
into the top of the backrest, where it is con-
nected to the head restraint.
Therefore, the SAHR does not need to be
replaced after a minor rear-end crash.The head restraint can be raised or lowered
and is adjustable in various positions.
Raising: grasp the head restraint on both
sides and pull it straight up.
Lowering: press the catch on the left-hand
side of the attaching point and press down
the head restraint.
Rear-seat head restraints9-5 Sedan: The rear head restraints have
three adjustment positions for passenger
comfort.
They can also be folded down to increase
the driver’s rearward vision when the seat is
unoccupied.
9-5 SportCombi: The height of the rear
head restraints can be adjusted by depress-
ing the catch on the left-hand collar in the
same way as the front head restraints.
WARNING
Adjust the head restraint so that your
head is optimally supported and the
center of the head restraint is at ear
height, thus reducing the likelihood of
neck injury in a crash.
Raise the head restraints in the seat
that are occupied.
IB400
IB460
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22 SafetyChild safety
Car safety tips
For Trunk Release Handle information see
page 48 and 139.
WARNING
Children must always be suitably
restrained in the car.
ALWAYS use SAFETY BELTS and
CHILD RESTRAINTS.
NEVER put a rear-facing child seat in
the front.
DEATH or SERIOUS
INJURY can occur.
Children 12 and under or
shorter than 55 inches
(140 cm) can be killed by
the airbag.
Sit as far back as possible from the air-
bag.
The BACK SEAT is the SAFEST place
for children.
WARNING
Never leave children unattended in a
car, even for a short time.
– Children can suffer heat stroke – per-
haps die – in a matter of minutes.
– Children can put the car into gear and
hurt themselves or others.
At gas stations, take the keys from the
car while filling the tank.
Never allow children to climb on top of
– or under cars.
Always look for children before back-
ing your car out of a garage or drive-
way.
To avoid carbon monoxide poisoning,
never let a car idle in an enclosed
garage.
Supervise young children around
buckets of water while washing your
car. Small children can drown in a
short time in less than an inch of water.
WARNING
Protect children from getting
trapped in the trunk of a car Teach children not to play in or around
cars.
Watch children when loading or
unloading the car so they don’t get
locked in by mistake.
Always lock the doors and trunk of
your car, and keep the keys out of chil-
dren´s sight and reach.
Keep the rear fold-down seats closed
to help prevent kids from getting into
the trunk from inside the car.
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23 Safety
The same attention must be given to child
safety in the car as is given to adults.
Saab recommends rearward facing child
restraints.
Children travel most safely when properly
restrained, but restraints must be suitable
for the size of the child. Always follow the
child seat/booster cushion manufacturer´s
instructions when installing these devices in
your vehicle.
Make sure you are acquainted with the
legal requirements for seating children
in the car.
Make sure that it is possible to fit a child
restraint in accordance with the manufac-
turer’s child seat instructions.
When fitting child seats in cars you must
always read the instructions supplied by
the manufacturer.
Lower Anchorages and Top
Tethers for Children (LATCH
System)Your vehicle has the LATCH system. There
are LATCH anchors for the outboard seat-
ing positions of the second row, and a top
tether anchor on the center position.
This system, designed to make installation
of child restraints easier, does not use the
vehicle's safety belts. Instead, it uses vehi-
cle anchors and child restraint attachments
to secure the restraints. Only use the attach-
ments and straps provided with the child
restraint.
If you have any questions regarding LATCH
anchors, please contact your Saab dealer.
WARNING
If a LATCH-type child restraint is not
attached to its anchor points, the restraint
will not be able to protect the child cor-
rectly. In a crash, the child could be seri-
ously injured or killed. Make sure that a
LATCH-type child restraint is properly
installed using the anchor points, or use
the vehicle's safety belts to secure the
restraint, following the instructions that
came with that restraint, and also the
instructions in this manual.
WARNING
Child top tether anchorages are designed
to withstand only those loads imposed by
correctly fitted child restraints.
Under no circumstances are they to be
used for adult safety belts.
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27 Safety
Lockable latch plateIn fitting a child seat that is intended to be
secured in position by the lap portion of the
safety belt, make use of the locking function
of the latch plate. This function is available
on all seats in the second row.
Locking the lap portion of the belt lessens
the risk that the seat will work loose while
the car is in motion.
The button for the locking function is located
on the back of the latch plate.
1 Put the child restraint on the rear seat.
2 Pick up the latch plate, and run the lap
and shoulder portions of the vehicle's
safety belt through or around the
restraint. The child restraint instruc-
tions will show you how.
3 Buckle the belt. Make sure the release
button is positioned so you would be
able to unbuckle the safety belt quickly if
you ever had to.
4 Tighten the safety belt. You may find it
helpful to use your knee to push down on
the child restraint as you tighten the belt.
5 While holding the safety belt tight, acti-
vate the locking function of the latch
plate by moving the button from position
2 (unlocked) to position 1 (locked).
6 Push and pull the child restraint in differ-
ent directions to be sure it is secure. The
child restraint shall be firmly attached to
the vehicle.
To deactivate the locking function, move the
button to position 2.
IB822
Locking the lap belt1 Locked
2 Unlocked
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