2007 CADILLAC SRX Owners Manual

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 201for 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 driver’s seat-mounted side impact airbag is in
the side of the driver’s seatback closest to the door.
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The right front passenger’s seat-mounted side
impact airbag is in the side of the passenger’s
seatback closest to the door.The roof-mounted side impact airbag for the driver
and the passenger directly behind the driver is
in the ceiling above the side windows.
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The roof-mounted side impact airbag for the front
passenger and the passenger directly behind
the front 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. 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 and seat location using electronic frontal
sensor(s) and other special sensors which
enable the sensing system to monitor the status of
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 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 18 to 24 mph
(29 to 38.5 km/h). 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 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.Seat-mounted side impact and roof-mounted
airbags are intended to inate in moderate
to severe side crashes. Seat-mounted side impact
airbags are not intended to inate in frontal or
near-frontal impacts, rollovers, or rear impacts. In
addition, roof-mounted side impact airbags are
intended to inate during a rollover or in a severe
frontal impact. Roof-mounted side impact
airbags are not intended to inate in rear impacts.
Seat-mounted side impact and roof-mounted
airbags will inate if the crash severity is above
the system’s designed “threshold level.” The
threshold level can vary with specic vehicle
design. A seat-mounted side impact airbag
is intended to deploy on the side of the vehicle
that is struck. Both roof-mounted airbags are
intended to deploy when either side of the vehicle
is struck or during a rollover.
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 in frontal and near-frontal impacts. 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. In the case of a “rollover capable”
roof-mounted side impact airbag, the sensing
system detects that the vehicle is about to
roll over. 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 inside the steering
wheel, instrument panel, the side of the front
seatbacks closest to the door and 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.
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, 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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