2007 Alfa Romeo GT Owner handbook (in English)

GETTING TO KNOW YOUR CAR
39
Do not apply stickers or
other objects on the steer-
ing wheel and on the pas-
senger’s air bag cover. Do not put
objects on the dashboard on the
passenger’s side (e.g. cell phones)
because they may interfere with
the correct passenger’s air bag
opening and seriously injure the oc-
cupants of the car.
The driver’s and passenger’s front air bag
has been designed to improve the protec-
tion of a person wearing a seat belt.
Its volume at maximum inflation fills most
of the space between the steering wheel
and the driver and between the dashboard
and the passenger.
In the event of minor side crashes (for
which the restraining action of the seat belts
is sufficient), the air bags are not deployed.
Also in this case it is of vital importance to
wear the seat belts since in case of side
crash they guarantee proper positioning of
the occupant. DRIVER’S FRONT AIR BAG
It consists of an instant-inflating cushion
contained in a special recess in the centre of
the steering wheel (fig. 50). The front air bag (driver’s and passenger’s)
does not replace but is complementary to
the use of belts, which should always be
worn, as specified by law in Europe and
most non-European countries.
In the event of a crash a person that is not
wearing the seat belt moves forwards and
may come into contact with the cushion
while it is still opening. Under these cir-
cumstances the protection offered by the
cushion is reduced.
Front air bags may not be triggered in the
following conditions:
– collisions against highly deformable ob-
jects which do not concern the car front sur-
face (for example the bumper crashing
against the guard rail);
– wedging under other cars or protective
barriers (for example under a lorry or guard
rail);
as they do not offer any more protection
than the seat belts and therefore activation
would be inappropriate. Therefore the fail-
ure to be triggered does not mean that the
system is not working properly.
fig. 50
A0A0613b

GETTING TO KNOW YOUR CAR
40
PASSENGER’S
FRONT AIRBAG
It consists of an instant-inflating cushion
contained in a special recess in the dash-
board; its volume is bigger than the driver’s
one (fig. 51).
MANUAL DEACTIVATION OF
PASSENGER’S FRONT AIRBAG
(
fig. 52)
(upon request for versions /
markets where applicable)
Should it be absolutely necessary to car-
ry a child on the front seat, the passenger’s
font air bag can be deactivated.
Deactivation/reactivation takes place with
ignition key at STOP, and operating it in
the special key switch set in the glovebox. SERIOUS DANGER
Children may placed
on the front seat of
cars fitted with passenger’s air bag
deactivation. In this case, it is ab-
solutely necessary to check the
warning light Fon the instru-
ment panel to make sure that de-
activation has actually took place
(see paragraph “Front passenger
air bag”). The front passenger’s
seat shall be adjusted in the most
backward position to prevent any
contact between child’s seat and
dashboard.
fig. 51
A0A0392b
fig. 52
A0A0392b
Never place cradle child’s
seats facing backwards on
the front passenger seat of
cars fitted with passenger’s air bag
since the air bag activation could
cause serious injuries, even mortal.
You are advised to carry children
always on the rear seat, as this is
the most protected position in the
case of a crash.

GETTING TO KNOW YOUR CAR
41
The key can be inserted and removed in
both positions.
IMPORTANTOperate the switch only
when the engine is not running and the ig-
nition key is removed.
The key-operated switch has two positions:
– passenger’s front airbag activated (ON
positionP): warning light
Fon instru-
ment cluster off; it is absolutely prohibited
to carry a child on the front seat.
– passenger’s front airbag deactivated
(OFFposition
F): warning light Fon
instrument cluster on; it is possible to carry
a child protected by special restraint system
on the front seat.
The warning light
Fon the cluster stays
on permanently until the passenger’s air bag
is reactivated.
Deactivation of the passenger’s front air
bag does not inhibit operation of the side air
bag.
SIDE AIR BAGS
(SIDE BAG - WINDOW BAG)
SIDE BAG (
fig. 53)
The side bag is formed of an instanta-
neously-inflating cushion housed in the back
rest of the front seat and protects the chest
of occupants in case of a side crash of medi-
um-high severity.
WINDOW BAG (fig. 54)
The window bag is formed of two “cur-
tain” cushions housed in the side roof lining
covered by a special trim, which protects the
head of front and rear occupants in the event
of a side crash thanks to the wide cushion
inflation surface.
IMPORTANTIn the event of side crash,
you can obtain the best protection by the
system keeping a correct position on the
seat, thus allowing correct window bag un-
folding.
fig. 53
A0A0614b
fig. 54
A0A0615b

GETTING TO KNOW YOUR CAR
42
IMPORTANTThe front and/or side air
bags may be activated if the car is subject-
ed to heavy shocks or accidents that involve
the underbody area, such as for example vi-
olent bumps against steps, pavements or
fixed obstacles on the ground, falling into
big holes or bumpy roads.
IMPORTANTThe triggering of air bags
releases a small amount of powder. This
powder is not harmful and does not indicate
a start of fire; also the surfaces of the de-
ployed bag and the car interior may be cov-
ered with dusty residue: this may irritate the
skin and eyes. In the event of exposure,
wash with neutral soap and water.
Life and validity of pyrotechnic charge and
coil contact are indicated on the label set
near the lock of the left front door. As this
date approaches, contact Alfa Romeo Au-
thorized Services to have the device re-
placed.IMPORTANTShould an accident occur
in which any of the safety devices is acti-
vated, take the car to Alfa Romeo Autho-
rized Services to have the devices activated
replaced and to have the system checked.
All operations involving checking, repair-
ing and replacing components concerning
the air bag must be carried out by Alfa
Romeo Authorised Services
If the car is to be demolished, Alfa Romeo
Authorised Services should be contacted be-
forehand to have the system deactivated. If
the car changes ownership, the new own-
er must be informed of the instructions for
use and of the above warnings and be giv-
en this “Owner’s Manual”.
IMPORTANT The triggering of the pre-
tensioners, front air bags and side bags is
decided in a differentiated manner depend-
ing on the type of crash. The failure to trig-
ger one or more of them does not neces-
sarily indicate a system malfunction.Never rest head, arms
and elbows on the door, on
the windows and in the
window bag area to prevent pos-
sible injuries during the inflation
phase.
Never lean head, arms
and elbows out of the win-
dow.

GETTING TO KNOW YOUR CAR
43
GENERAL CAUTIONS
If when turning the ignition
key to MAR, the warning
light
¬does not turn on or
if it stays on when travelling there
could be a failure in safety sys-
tems; in this event air bags or pre-
tensioners could not trigger in case
of impact or, in a minor number of
cases, they could trigger acciden-
tally. Contact Alfa Romeo Autho-
rized Services immediately to have
the system checked.
Do not cover the backrest
of front seats with trims or
covers that are not suitable
to be used with side bags.Never travel with objects
on your lap, in front of
your chest or with a pipe,
pencil, etc. between your lips; in-
jury may result in the event of the
air bag being triggered.
Always keep your hands
on the steering wheel rim
when driving, so that if the
air bag is triggered, it can inflate
without meeting any obstacles
which could cause serious harm to
you. Do not drive with the body
bent forwards, keep the seat back
rest in the erect position and lean
your back well against it.
If the car has been stolen
or an attempt to steal it
has been made, if it has
been subjected to vandals or
floods, have the air bag system
checked by Alfa Romeo Authorized
Services.
Remember that with the
key engaged and at MAR,
even if the engine is not
running, the air bags may be trig-
gered on a stationary car if it is
bumped by another moving car.
Therefore, never seat children on
the front seat even when the car is
stationary. On the other hand re-
member that if the key is at STOP,
no safety system (air bags or pre-
tensioners) is triggered in the
event of an impact; in this case,
failure to come into action cannot
be considered as a sign that the
system is not working properly.

GETTING TO KNOW YOUR CAR
44
STEERING WHEEL
LEVERS
The devices and services controlled by the
levers on the steering wheel can only be ac-
tivated with the ignition key at MAR.
LEFT-HAND LEVER
The left-hand lever controls the outer lights
except for the fog lamps and rear fog
guards.
When the outer lights are switched on, the
various controls on the dashboard are illu-
minated.
Only with the ignition key at PARK, re-
gardless of the position of the knurled ring,
the sidelights and number plate lights stay on.
Position (1or2-fig. 60) of the lever
causes the turning on only of the sidelights
(front and rear), on the right or left respec-
tively.
Lights switched off
(fig. 55)
When the pointer in the knurled ring is op-
posite the symbol O, the outer lights are
switched off. When the ignition key is
turned to MAR, the warn-
ing light
F(with passen-
ger’s front air bag deactivation
switch at ON) turns on and flash-
es for few seconds to remind that
passenger’s air bag will be de-
ployed in a crash, after which it
should go off.The front air bag is trig-
gered for shocks greater in
magnitude than the pre-
tensioners. For impacts between
these two thresholds, it is there-
fore normal that only the preten-
sioners are triggered.
Do not hook rigid objects
to the coat hooks and to
the support handles.
The air bag does not sub-
stitute the seat belts, but
only increases their effec-
tiveness. Moreover, since the front
air bags do not come into operation
in the event of front impact at low
speed, side collisions, bumps from
behind or overturning, in these cir-
cumstances the occupants would
only be protected by the seat belts
which must therefore always be
fastened. Never wash seat back-
rests with pressurised wa-
ter or steam (by hand or at
automatic seat washing stations).

GETTING TO KNOW YOUR CAR
45
Sidelights(fig. 56)
The sidelights are switched on by turning
the knurled ring from Oto
6.
The
3warning light on the instrument
cluster will come on at the same time.
Dipped-beam headlights
(fig. 57)
These are switched on by turning the
knurled ring from
6to2.
fig. 55
A0A0063b
fig. 56
A0A0064b
Main beams (fig. 58)
To turn the main beams on, set the knurled
ring to position
2and push the lever to-
wards the dashboard (stable position);
warning light
1on the instrument panel
will turn on.
To set dipped-beams back pull the lever to-
wards the steering wheel.
fig. 57
A0A0065b
fig. 58
A0A0066b
When the dipped beam headlights and the
fog lamps are switched on, the outer light con-
trol unit (integrated in the Body Computer)
works according to the following logics:
– turning on the main beams, the dipped
beams turn off while the fog lamps stay on,
when restoring the starting condition at
dipped beam setting;
or
– turning on the main beams, the fog
lamps turn off and then turn on again auto-
matically as the main beams are switched off.
Therefore, in the event of Body Comput-
er replacement, the outer light operating log-
ic may be different.
fig. 59
A0A0067b

GETTING TO KNOW YOUR CAR
46
“Follow me home” device
(fig. 61)
This function allows the illumination of the
space in front of the car for the length of
time set, and is activated with the ignition
key at STOPor removed, pulling the left-
hand lever towards the steering wheel.
This function is activated pulling the lever
within 2 minutes from when the engine is
turned off. At each single movement of the
lever, the staying on of the dipped beams
and sidelights is extended by 30 seconds up
to a maximum of 3.5 minutes; the lights
switch off automatically after the time set.
Each time the lever is operated, the
1
warning light on the cluster turns on. Flashing
(fig. 59)
The headlights are flashed pulling the lever
towards the steering wheel (instable posi-
tion) regardless of the position of the
knurled ring. The
1warning light on the
cluster will come on at the same time.
IMPORTANTOnly the main-beam lights
are flashed. To avoid penalties follow local
regulations.
Direction indicators
(fig. 60)
Regardless of the position of the knurled
ring, moving the lever to the stable position
will:
up, position (1) - engage the right-hand
direction indicators.
down, position (2) - engage the left-hand
direction indicators.One of the warning lights (
RorE) will
come on on the instrument cluster at the
same time.
The lever is returned to its position auto-
matically and the indicators are switched off
when the steering wheel is straightened.
IMPORTANTIf you wish to signal a
rapid change of direction involving only a
minimal movement of the steering wheel,
the lever can be removed up or down with-
out it clicking (unstable position). When re-
leased, the lever will return to its home po-
sition.
fig. 61
A0A0067b
fig. 60
A0A0068b