2007 CADILLAC DTS Owners Manual

There is an airbag
readiness light on the
instrument panel, 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 226for 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.The seat-mounted side impact airbag for the driver
is in the side of the driver’s seatback closest to
the door.
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The seat-mounted side impact airbag for the right
front passenger is in the side of the passenger’s
seatback closest to the door.If your vehicle has one, the roof-mounted side
impact airbag for the driver and the person seated
directly behind the driver is in the ceiling above
the side windows.
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If your vehicle has one, the roof-mounted side
impact airbag for the right front passenger and the
person seated directly behind that passenger is
in the ceiling above the side windows.
{CAUTION:
If something is between an occupant and
an airbag, the airbag might not inate
properly or it might force the object into
that person causing severe injury or even
death. The path of an inating 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. If your vehicle has
roof-mounted side impact airbags, never
secure anything to the roof of your
vehicle by routing the rope or tie-down
through any door or window opening. If
you do, the path of an inating airbag will
be blocked. Do not let seat covers block
the ination path of a side impact airbag.
The path of an inating airbag must be
kept clear.
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When Should an Airbag Inate?
The driver’s and right front passenger’s frontal
airbags are designed to inate in moderate to
severe frontal or near-frontal crashes. But they are
designed to inate 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 inate 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.
Your vehicle has a “dual stage” driver airbag,
which adjusts the restraint according to crash
severity using electronic frontal sensor(s) which
help the sensing system distinguish between
a moderate frontal impact and a more severe
frontal impact. The “dual stage” driver airbag
inates to a level less than full deployment for
moderate frontal impacts and to a full deployment
for more severe frontal impacts.Your vehicle has a “dual depth” passenger airbag
that adjusts the restraint according to crash
severity, seat location, and safety belt status using
electronic frontal sensor(s) and other special
sensors which enable the sensing system
to monitor the status of the front passenger safety
belt and the position of the front passenger
seat. The passenger airbag inates to a reduced
depth when the passenger seat is in a forward
position. For more rearward front seating positions,
the passenger airbag may inate to an increased
depth (a full deployment), based on safety
belt status and the crash severity measured early
in the event. Always wear your safety belt,
even with frontal airbags.
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 12 to
16 mph (19 to 26 km/h), and the threshold level for
a full deployment is about 17 to 23 mph (27 to
37 km/h) if the other sensors do not over-ride this.
The threshold level can vary, however, with
specic vehicle design, so that it can be somewhat
above or below this range.
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Frontal airbags may inate at different crash
speeds. For example:
If the vehicle hits a stationary object, the
airbags could inate at a different crash speed
than if the vehicle hits a moving object.
If the vehicle hits an object that deforms, the
airbags could inate 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 inate 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 inate 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 inate during vehicle rollovers,
rear impacts, or in many side impacts.Your vehicle has sensors which enable the
sensing system to monitor the position of the right
front passenger’s seat, whether the occupant is
buckled or unbuckled. The passenger seat position
sensor and passenger safety belt buckle switch
provide information which is used to determine if
the airbags should deploy at a reduced level or full
deployment.
Side impact airbags are intended to inate in
moderate to severe side crashes. A side impact
airbag will inate if the crash severity is above the
system’s designed “threshold level.” The threshold
level can vary with specic vehicle design. Side
impact airbags are not intended to inate in many
frontal or near-frontal impacts, rollovers, or rear
impacts. Both roof-mounted side impact airbags will
deploy when either side of the vehicle is struck.
In any particular crash, no one can say whether an
airbag should have inated simply because of the
damage to a vehicle or because of what the repair
costs were. For frontal airbags, ination is
determined by what the vehicle hits, the angle of
the impact, and how quickly the vehicle slows
down. For side impact airbags, ination is
determined by the location and severity of the
impact.
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What Makes an Airbag Inate?
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 inator, which inates the
airbag. The inator, airbag and related hardware
are all part of the airbag modules. Frontal
airbag modules are located inside the steering
wheel and the instrument panel. For vehicles with
seat-mounted side impact airbags, there are
also airbag modules in the side of the front
seatbacks closest to the door. For vehicles with
roof-mounted side impact airbags, there are
also airbag modules in the ceiling of the vehicle,
near the side window.
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.
Airbags supplement 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.
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 vehicles with side
impact airbags.
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What Will You See After an Airbag
Inates?
After frontal airbags and seat-mounted side impact
airbags inate, they quickly deate, so quickly
that some people may not even realize an airbag
inated. Roof-mounted side impact airbags
may still be at least partially inated 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, the side of the
seatback closest to the door for the seat-mounted
side impact airbags, and the area along the
ceiling of your vehicle near the side windows for
roof-mounted side impact airbags — may be
hot for a short time. The parts of the airbag that
come into contact with you may be warm, but not
too hot to touch. There may be some smoke
and dust coming from the vents in the deated
airbags. Airbag ination does not prevent the driver
from seeing out of the windshield or being able
to steer the vehicle, nor does it prevent people
from leaving the vehicle.
{CAUTION:
When an airbag inates, there may be
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 inates, 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 inate. 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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