2006 SATURN ION airbag
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7. Push and pull the child restraint in different
directions to be sure it is secure.
8. If your vehicle has a passenger sensing system and
the airbag is off, the off indicator on the instrument
panel will be lit and stay lit when the key is
turned to RUN or START.
If a child restraint has been installed and the on
indicator is lit, turn the vehicle off. Remove the child
restraint from the vehicle and reinstall the child restraint.
If after reinstalling the child restraint and restarting
the vehicle, the on indicator is still lit, check to make
sure that the vehicle’s seatback is not pressing the
child restraint into the seat cushion. If this happens,
slightly recline the vehicle’s seatback and adjust the
seat cushion if possible. Also make sure the child
restraint is not trapped under the vehicle head restraint.
If this happens, adjust the head restraint.
If the on indicator is still lit, secure the child in the
child restraint in a rear seat position in the vehicle
and check with your dealer.
To remove the child restraint, just unbuckle the vehicle’s
safety belt and let it go back all the way. The safety
belt will move freely again and be ready to work for
an adult or larger child passenger.Airbag System
Your vehicle has a frontal airbag for the driver and a
frontal airbag for the right front passenger. Your vehicle
may also have roof-mounted side impact airbags.
Roof-mounted side impact airbags are available for the
driver and the passenger seated directly behind the
driver and for the right front passenger and the
passenger seated directly behind that passenger.
If your vehicle has roof-mounted side impact airbags,
the word AIRBAG will appear on the airbag covering on
the garnish trim near the ceiling and the side windows.
Frontal airbags are designed to help reduce the risk
of injury from the force of an in ating frontal airbag.
But these airbags must in ate very quickly to do their
job and comply with federal regulations.
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Here are the most important things to know about the
airbag system:
{CAUTION:
You can be severely injured or killed in a crash
if you are not wearing your safety belt — even if
you have airbags. Wearing your safety belt
during a crash helps reduce your chance of
hitting things inside the vehicle or being ejected
from it. Airbags are “supplemental restraints”
to the safety belts. All airbags are designed to
work with safety belts but do not replace them.
Frontal airbags for the driver and right front
passenger are designed to deploy in moderate
to severe frontal and near frontal crashes.
They are not designed to in ate in rollover, rear
crashes, or in many side crashes. And, for some
unrestrained occupants, frontal airbags may
provide less protection in frontal crashes than
more forceful airbags have provided in the past.
CAUTION: (Continued)
CAUTION: (Continued)
Roof-mounted side impact airbags are designed
to in ate in moderate to severe crashes where
something hits the side of your vehicle. They
are not designed to in ate in frontal, in rollover
or in rear crashes. Everyone in your vehicle
should wear a safety belt properly — whether or
not there is an airbag for that person.
{CAUTION:
Both frontal and side impact airbags in ate
with great force, faster than the blink of an eye.
If you are too close to an in ating airbag, as you
would be if you were leaning forward, it could
seriously injure you. Safety belts help keep you
in position for airbag in ation 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.
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{CAUTION:
Anyone who is up against, or very close to,
any airbag when it in ates 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 1-32orInfants and
Young Children on page 1-34.
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 3-30
for more information.
Where Are the Airbags?
The driver’s frontal airbag is in the middle of the
steering wheel.
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The right front passenger’s frontal airbag is in the
instrument panel on the passenger’s side.If your vehicle has a roof-mounted side impact airbag
for the driver and the person seated directly behind
the driver, it is in the ceiling above the side windows.
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If your vehicle has a roof-mounted side impact airbag
for the right front passenger and the person seated
directly behind that passenger, it is in the ceiling above
the side windows.
{CAUTION:
If something is between an occupant and an
airbag, the bag might not in ate properly
or it might force the object into that person
causing severe injury or even death. The path
of an in ating 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. And, if your vehicle
has roof-mounted side impact airbags, never
secure anything to the roof of your vehicle
by routing the rope or tiedown through any
door or window opening. If you do, the path
of an in ating side impact airbag will be
blocked. The path of an in ating airbag
must be kept clear.
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When Should an Airbag In ate?
The driver’s and right front passenger’s frontal airbags
are designed to in ate in moderate to severe frontal or
near-frontal crashes. But they are designed to in ate 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 in ate 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 an electronic frontal sensor
which help the sensing system distinguish between
a moderate frontal impact and a more severe frontal
impact. For moderate frontal impacts, the airbags in ate
at a level less than full deployment. 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 16 to 20 mph (26 to 32 km/h),
and the threshold level for a full deployment is
25 to 30 mph (40 to 48 km/h). The threshold level can
vary, however, with speci c vehicle design, so that it
can be somewhat above or below this range.Frontal airbags may in ate at different crash speeds.
For example:If the vehicle hits a stationary object, the airbags
could in ate at a different crash speed than if the
vehicle hits a moving object.
If the vehicle hits an object that deforms, the
airbags could in ate 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 in ate 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 in ate at a different crash speed
than if the vehicle goes straight into the object.
Frontal airbags (driver and right front passenger) are
not intended to in ate during vehicle rollovers, rear
impacts, or in many side impacts.
Your vehicle may or may not have roof-mounted side
impact airbags. SeeAirbag System on page 1-54.
Roof-mounted side impact airbags are intended to in ate
in moderate to severe side crashes. A roof-mounted side
impact airbag will in ate if the crash severity is above the
system’s designed “threshold level.” The threshold level
can vary with speci c vehicle design. Roof-mounted
side impact airbags are not intended to in ate in frontal
or near-frontal impacts, rollovers or rear impacts.
A roof-mounted side impact airbag is intended to
deploy on the side of the vehicle that is struck.
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In any particular crash, no one can say whether an
airbag should have in ated simply because of the
damage to a vehicle or because of what the repair costs
were. For frontal airbags, in ation is determined by
what the vehicle hits, the angle of the impact, and how
quickly the vehicle slows down. For roof-mounted
side impact airbags, in ation is determined by the
location and severity of the impact.
What Makes an Airbag In ate?
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
in ator, which in ates the airbag. The in ator, airbag,
and related hardware are all part of the airbag modules
inside the steering wheel and in the instrument panel
in front of the right front passenger. For vehicles
with roof-mounted side impact airbags, there are
also airbag modules in 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.
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What Will You See After an
Airbag In ates?
After a frontal airbag in ates, it quickly de ates, so
quickly that some people may not even realize
the airbag in ated. Roof-mounted side impact airbags
de ate more slowly and may still be at least partially
in ated 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 or the garnish trim and
ceiling of your vehicle near the side windows for
roof-mounted side airbags — may 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 de ated airbags. Airbag in ation 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 in ates, 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 in ates, 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, and turn
the hazard warning ashers on, when the airbags in ate.
You can lock the doors, turn the interior lamps off,
and turn the hazard warning ashers off by using the
controls for those features.
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