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VOLVO S80
Chapter 1 - Safety
pg. 1 Safety
Occupant safety2
Seat belts3
Supplemental Restraint System (SRS)5
Front airbags6
Occupant Weight Sensor (OWS)9
Side impact (SIPS) airbags12
Volvo Inflatable Curtain (VIC)13
Inspecting SRS system components14
Whiplash Protection System (WHIPS)15
Child safety17
pg. 2 Occupant safety
Volvo Concern for Safety
Safety is the Volvo cornerstone. Our concern dates back to 1927 when the first Volvo rolled off the production line.
Three-point seat belts (a Volvo invention), safety cages, and energy-absorbing impact zones were designed into Volvo
cars long before it was fashionable or required by government regulation. We will not compromise our commitment to
safety. We continue to seek out new safety features and to refine those already in our cars. You can help. We would
appreciate hearing your suggestions about improving automobile safety. We also want to know if you ever have a
safety concern with your car. Call us in the U.S. at: 800-458-1552 or in Canada at: 800-663-8255.
Occupant safety
How safely you drive doesn't depend on how old you are but rather on:
How well you see.
Your ability to concentrate.
How quickly you make decisions under stress to avoid an accident.
The tips listed below are suggestions to help you cope with the ever changing traffic environment.
Never drink and drive.
If you are taking any medication, consult your physician about its potential effects on your driving abilities.
Take a driver-retraining course.
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Have your eyes checked regularly.
Keep your windshield and headlights clean.
Replace wiper blades when they start to leave streaks.
Take into account the traffic, road, and weather conditions, particularly with regard to stopping distance.
Reporting Safety Defects in the U.S.
If you believe that your vehicle has a defect which could cause a crash or could cause injury or death, you
should immediately inform the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) in addition to
notifying Volvo Cars of North America. If NHTSA receives similar complaints, it may open an
investigation, and if it finds that a safety defect exists in a group of vehicles, it may order a recall and
remedy campaign. However, NHTSA cannot become involved in individual problems between you, your
retailer, or Volvo Cars of North America. To contact NHTSA, you may either call the Auto Safety
Hotline toll free at 1-800-424-9393 (or 202-366-0123 in Washington, D.C. area) or write to: NHTSA,
U.S. Department of Transportation, Washington D.C. 20590. You can also obtain other information about
motor vehicle safety from the Hotline.
Volvo strongly recommends that if your vehicle is covered under a service campaign, safety or emission
recall or similar action, it should be completed as soon as possible. Please check with your local retailer
or Volvo Cars of North America, LLC. if your vehicle is covered under these conditions.
NHTSA can be reached at:
Internet : http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov
Telephone:
1-888-DASH-2-DOT (1-888-327-4236) (toll free)
1-800-424-9393 (toll free)
1-202-366-0123 (in Washington DC area)
pg. 3 Seat belts
Adjusting the seat belt
Using seat belts
Volvo, the inventor of the three-point seat belt, urges you and all occupants of your vehicle to wear seat belts and
ensure that children are properly restrained, using an infant, car, or booster seat determined by age, weight and height.
Volvo also believes no child should sit in the front seat of a vehicle.
Most states and provinces make it mandatory for occupants of a vehicle to use seat belts.
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could cause injury in the event of an accident.
Seat belts lose much of their strength when exposed to violent stretching and should be replaced after any
collision, even if they appear to be undamaged.
Never repair the belt yourself; have this work done by an authorized Volvo service technician only.
Any device used to induce slack into the shoulder belt portion of the three-point belt system will have a
detrimental effect on the amount of protection available to you in the event of a collision.
The seat back should not be tilted too far back. The shoulder belt must be taut in order to function properly.
Do not use child safety seats or child booster cushions/backrests in the front passengerÕs seat. We also
recommend that children who have outgrown these devices sit in the rear seat with the seat belt properly fastened.
Seat belt use during pregnancy
Seat belt use during pregnancy
The seat belt should always be worn during pregnancy. But it is crucial that it be worn in the correct way. The diagonal
section should wrap over the shoulder then be routed between the breasts and to the side of the belly. The lap section
should lay flat over the thighs and as low as possible under the belly. It must never be allowed to ride upward. Remove
all slack from the belt and insure that it fits close to the body without any twists.
As a pregnancy progresses, pregnant drivers should adjust their seats and steering wheel such that they can easily
maintain control of the vehicle as they drive (which means they must be able to easily operate the foot pedals and
steering wheel). Within this context, they should strive to position the seat with as large a distance as possible between
their belly and the steering wheel.
Child seats
Please refer to page 21
for information on securing child seats with the seat belts.
pg. 5 Supplemental Restraint System (SRS)
SRS warning light
Supplemental Restraint System
As an enhancement to the three-point seat belts, your Volvo is equipped with a Supplemental Restraint System (SRS).
Volvo's SRS consists of seat belt tensioners, front airbags, side impact airbags, the occupant weight sensor, and
inflatable curtains. All of these systems are monitored by the SRS control module. An SRS warning light in the
instrument panel (see the illustration above) illuminates when the ignition key is turned to position I, II, or III, and will
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Volvo's dual-threshold, dual-stage front airbags use special sensors that are integrated with the front seat buckles.
The point at which the airbag deploys is determined by whether or not the seat belt is being used, as well as the
severity of the collision.
Collisions can occur where only one of the airbags deploys. If the impact is less severe, but severe enough to present
a clear injury risk, the dual-stage airbags are triggered at 70% of their total capacity. If the impact is more severe, the
dual-stage airbags are triggered at full capacity.
Should you have questions about any component in the SRS system, please contact a trained and qualified Volvo
service technician or Volvo Customer Support:
In the USA:
Volvo Cars of North America
Customer Care Center
P.O. Box 914
Rockleigh, New Jersey 07647-0914
1-800-458-1552
http://www.volvocars.us
In Canada:
Volvo Cars of Canada Ltd.
National Customer Service
175 Gordon Baker Road
North York, Ontario M2H 2N7
1-800-663-8255
http://www.volvocanada.com
WARNING!
Do not use child safety seats or child booster cushions/backrests in the front passenger's seat. We also recommend
that occupants under 4 feet 7 inches (140 cm) in height who have outgrown these devices sit in the rear seat with the
seat belt fastened
1.
Never drive with the airbags deployed. The fact that they hang out can impair the steering of your vehicle. Other
safety systems can also be damaged.
The smoke and dust formed when the airbags are deployed can cause skin and eye irritation in the event of
prolonged exposure.
1 See also the Occupant Weight Sensor information on page 9
.
pg. 8 Front airbags
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Occupant Weight Sensor (OWS) indicator light
Disabling the passenger's side front airbag
Volvo recommends that ALL occupants (adults and children) shorter than four feet seven inches (140 cm) be seated in
the back seat of any vehicle with a front passenger side airbag, and be properly restrained for their size and weight.
See also the child safety recommendations on page 21
.
The passenger's side front airbag is automatically enabled/disabled by the Occupant Weight Sensor (OWS), a system
that monitors the weight of the person or object in the front passenger's seat. The system consists of a silicone-filled
bag located under the padding in the front passenger's seat cushion, a control module located under this seat, and a seat
belt tension sensor, located on the outboard side of the seat.
The OWS system continuously monitors the pressure on the front passenger's seat cushion and the tension applied to
the seat belt. Based on this data, OWS assesses the weight of the occupant or object in the front passenger's seat. This
information is transmitted to the SRS system control module, which enables or disables the passenger's side front
airbag accordingly, as indicated in the table to the right.
If the system is functioning normally, the status of the front passenger's side airbag (enabled/ disabled) will be shown
by the OWS indicator light as explained in the table to the right. The OWS indicator light is separate and in addition to
the SRS warning light in the instrument panel.
NOTE: When the ignition is switched on, the OWS indicator light will go on for up to 10 seconds while the system
performs a self -diagnostic test and then go out.
However, if a fault is detected in the system:
The OWS indicator light will stay on
The SRS warning light (see page 5) will come on and stay on
The message PASS. AIRBAG OFF SERVICE URGENT will be displayed in the information display.
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(contd. on following page)
pg. 10 Occupant Weight Sensor (OWS)
WARNING!
If a fault in the system is detected and indicated as explained on the previous page, be aware that the passenger's
side front airbag will not deploy in the event of a collision. In this case, the safety systems and Occupant Weight
Sensor should be inspected by an authorized Volvo retailer as soon as possible.
Modifications
If you are considering modifying your vehicle in any way to accommodate a disability, for example by altering or
adapting the driver's or front passenger's seat(s) and/or airbag systems, please contact Volvo at:
In the USA:
Volvo Cars of North America
Customer Care Center
P.O. Box 914
Rockleigh, New Jersey 07647-0914
1-800-458-1552
In Canada:
Volvo Cars of Canada Ltd.
National Customer Service
175 Gordon Baker Road
North York, Ontario M2H 2N7
1-800-663-8255 WARNING!
'No objects that add to the total weight on the seat should be placed on the front passenger's seat. If a child is seated
in the front passenger's seat with any additional weight, this extra weight could cause the OWS system to enable the
airbag, which might cause it to deploy in the event of a collision, thereby injuring the child. The seat belt should
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never be wrapped around an object on the front passenger's seat. This could interfere with the OWS system's
function. The front passenger's seat belt should never be used in a way that exerts more pressure on the passenger
than normal. This could increase the pressure exerted on the weight sensor by a child, and could result in the airbag
being enabled, which might cause it to deploy in the event of a collision, thereby injuring the child.
WARNING!
Never try to open, remove, or repair any components in the OWS system. This could result in system malfunction.
Maintenance or repairs should only be carried out by an authorized Volvo service technician. 'The front passenger's
seat should not be modified in any way. This could reduce pressure on the seat cushion, which might interfere with
the OWS system's function.
pg. 11 Occupant Weight Sensor (OWS)
WARNING!
Keep the following points in mind with respect to the OWS system. Failure to follow these instructions could
adversely affect the system's function and result in serious injury to the occupant of the front passenger's seat:
The full weight of the front seat passenger should always be on the seat cushion. The passenger should never lift
him/ herself off the seat cushion using the armrest in the door or the center console, by pressing the feet on the floor,
by sitting on the edge of the seat cushion, or by pressing against the backrest in a way that reduces pressure on the
seat cushion. This could cause OWS to disable the front passenger's side airbag.
Do not place any type of object on the front passenger's seat in such a way that jamming, pressing, or squeezing
occurs between the object and the front seat, other than as a direct result of the correct use of the ALR/ELR seat belt
(see page 21
).
No objects should be placed under the front passenger's seat. This could interfere with the OWS system's function.
Contents | Top of Page
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A
Locking and unlocking the car67
Alarm69
Electrically operated windows41
Sideview mirror controls42
B
Glove compartment57
C
Automatic transmission78
Geartronic80
Parking brake40
Center console switches31
D
Power seat adjustment54
Heated seats (option)39
Cleaning upholstery135
E
Folding rear seat60
Panel for long loads58
Folding down head restraint31
Adjusting center head restraint61
Child safety locks71
Integrated booster cushion20
pg. 25 Exterior
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