2007 PONTIAC VIBE Owners Manual

{CAUTION:
Both frontal and side impact airbags
inate with great force, faster than the
blink of an eye. If you are too close to an
inating airbag, as you would be if you
were leaning forward, it could seriously
injure you. Safety belts help keep you in
position for airbag ination 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.
{CAUTION:
Anyone who is up against, or very close
to, any airbag when it inates 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 37orInfants and Young Children on
page 40.
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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 162for 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 seat-mounted side impact
airbag for the driver, it is in the side of the driver’s
seatback closest to the door.
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If your vehicle has a seat-mounted side impact
airbag for the right front passenger, it is in the side
of the passenger’s seatback closest to the door.If your vehicle has a roof-mounted side impact
airbag for the driver and the passenger 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
passenger 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 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 only 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 is equipped with
electronic frontal sensors, which help the sensing
system distinguish between a moderate frontal
impact and a more severe frontal impact. For
moderate frontal impacts, these airbags inate at
a level less than full deployment. For more
severe frontal impacts, full deployment occurs.Frontal airbags may inate at different vehicle
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 for the driver and right front
passenger may also deploy if a serious impact
occurs to the underside of your vehicle such
as hitting a curb, falling into a deep hole, or landing
hard. The frontal airbags (driver and right front
passenger) are not intended to inate during
vehicle rollovers, rear impacts, or in many side
impacts.
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It is possible that, in a crash involving the front of
your vehicle, only one of the two frontal airbags
in your vehicle will deploy. This is rare, but it can
happen in a crash just severe enough to make
a frontal airbag inate.
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 frontal or near-frontal impacts, rollovers or
in many rear impacts. Your vehicle has sensors
which detect side impacts. These sensors
signal the appropriate side airbag to inate. Both
side impact airbags (seat-mounted and
roof-mounted) are intended to deploy on the side
of the vehicle that is struck. It is possible that,
in a crash involving the rear side of your vehicle,
that only the roof-mounted airbag will deploy.
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, vehicle
speed, 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.
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.
71

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.
What Will You See After an Airbag
Inates?
After the frontal 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
(if equipped), and the garnish trim and the area
along the ceiling of your vehicle near the side
windows for the roof–mounted side impact airbags
(if equipped) — 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.
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