2007 SATURN RELAY Owners Manual

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.In addition, your vehicle has “dual stage” frontal
airbags, which adjust the restraint according
to crash severity. For moderate frontal impacts,
these airbags inate at a level less than full
deployment. Your vehicle has electronic frontal
sensors, which help the sensing system distinguish
between a moderate frontal impact and a more
severe frontal impact. For more severe frontal
impacts, full deployment occurs. 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 18 mph
(19 to 29 km/h), and the threshold level for
a full deployment is about 18 to 25 mph
(29 to 40.2 km/h). The threshold level can vary,
however, with specic vehicle design, so that it
can be somewhat above or below this range.
89
ProCarManuals.com

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.
The frontal airbags (driver and right front
passenger) are not intended to inate during
vehicle rollovers, rear impacts, or in many side
impacts.Your vehicle may or may not have side impact
airbags. SeeAirbag System on page 83.
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
rear impacts. A side impact airbag is intended to
deploy on the side of the vehicle that 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.
90
ProCarManuals.com

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, the airbag and related
hardware are all part of the airbag modules.
Frontal airbag modules are located inside
the steering wheel and instrument panel. For
seating positions with side impact airbags, there
are also airbag modules in the side of the
seatbacks closest to the door.
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.
91
ProCarManuals.com

What Will You See After an Airbag
Inates?
After an airbag inates, it quickly deates, so
quickly that some people may not even realize the
airbag inated. Some components of the airbag
module — the steering wheel hub for the driver’s
frontal airbag, the instrument panel for the
right front passenger’s frontal airbag, and for
seating positions with side impact airbags, the side
of the seatback closest to the door — 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 when
the airbags inate and turn on the hazard warning
ashers. You can lock the doors, turn the interior
lamps off, and turn the hazard warning ashers on
by using the controls for those features.
92
ProCarManuals.com

In many crashes severe enough to inate an airbag,
windshields are broken by vehicle deformation.
Additional windshield breakage may also occur
from the right front passenger airbag.
Airbags are designed to inate only once. After
they inate, you will need some new parts for
your airbag system. If you do not get them, the
airbag system will not be there to help protect
you in another crash. A new system will include
airbag modules and possibly other parts. The
service manual for your vehicle covers the need
to replace other parts.
Your vehicle has a crash sensing and
diagnostic module which records information
after a crash. SeeVehicle Data Collection and
Event Data Recorders on page 547.
Let only qualied technicians work on your
airbag system. Improper service can mean that
an airbag system will not work properly. See
your retailer for service.
Passenger Sensing System
Your vehicle has a passenger sensing system.
The passenger airbag status indicator on the
instrument panel will be visible when you turn your
ignition key to RUN or START.
The words ON and OFF or the symbol for on and
off, will be visible during the system check.
When the system check is complete, either the
word ON or the word OFF, or the symbol for on or
the symbol for off will be visible. SeePassenger
Airbag Status Indicator on page 224.
United StatesCanada
93
ProCarManuals.com

The passenger sensing system will turn off the
right front passenger’s frontal airbag and side
impact airbag (if equipped) under certain
conditions. The driver’s airbags or the second row
side impact airbags (if equipped) are not part of
the passenger sensing system.
The passenger sensing system works with sensors
that are part of the right front passenger’s seat and
safety belt. The sensors are designed to detect the
presence of a properly-seated occupant and
determine if the passenger’s airbag or airbags
should be enabled (may inate) or not.
Accident statistics show that children are safer if
they are restrained in the rear rather than the front
seat. We recommend that child restraints be
secured in a rear seat, including an infant riding in
a rear-facing infant seat, a child riding in a
forward-facing child seat and an older child riding
in a booster seat.Your vehicle has a rear seat that will accommodate
a rear-facing child restraint. A label on your sun
visor says, “Never put a rear-facing child seat
in the front.” This is because the risk to the
rear-facing child is so great, if the airbag deploys.
{CAUTION:
A child in a rear-facing child restraint can
be seriously injured or killed if the right
front passenger’s airbag inates. This is
because the back of the rear-facing child
restraint would be very close to the
inating airbag.
CAUTION: (Continued)
94
ProCarManuals.com

CAUTION: (Continued)
Even though the passenger sensing
system is designed to turn off the
passenger’s frontal airbag and
seat-mounted side impact airbag (if
equipped) under certain conditions, no
system is fail-safe, and no one can
guarantee that an airbag will not deploy
under some unusual circumstance, even
though it is turned off. We recommend
that rear-facing child restraints be secured
in the rear seat, even if the airbag is off.
If you need to secure a forward-facing
child restraint in the right front seat,
always move the front passenger seat as
far back as it will go. It is better to secure
the child restraint in a rear seat.The passenger sensing system is designed to turn
off the right front passenger’s airbag and side
impact airbag (if equipped) if:The right front passenger seat is unoccupied.
The system determines that an infant is
present in a rear-facing infant seat.
The system determines that a small child is
present in a forward-facing child restraint.
The system determines that a small child is
present in a booster seat.
A right front passenger takes his/her weight off
of the seat for a period of time.
The right front passenger seat is occupied by
a smaller person, such as a child who has
outgrown child restraints.
Or, if there is a critical problem with the airbag
system or the passenger sensing system.
95
ProCarManuals.com

When the passenger sensing system has turned
off the passenger’s airbag or airbags, the off
indicator will light and stay lit to remind you that
the airbag or airbags are off.
If a child restraint has been installed and the on
indicator is lit, turn the vehicle off. Remove
the child restraint from the vehicle and reinstall the
child restraint following the child restraint
manufacturer’s directions and refer toSecuring a
Child Restraint in the Right Front Seat Position
on page 79.
If, after reinstalling the child restraint and restarting
the vehicle, the on indicator is still lit, check to
make sure that the vehicle’s seatback is not
pressing the child restraint into the seat cushion. If
this happens, slightly recline the vehicle’s
seatback and adjust the seat cushion if possible.
Also make sure the child restraint is not trapped
under the vehicle head restraint. If this happens,
adjust the head restraint.If the on indicator is still lit, secure the child in the
child restraint in a rear seat position in the
vehicle and check with your retailer.
The passenger sensing system is designed to
enable (may inate) the right front passenger’s
airbag or airbags anytime the system senses that
a person of adult size is sitting properly in the
right front passenger’s seat. When the passenger
sensing system has allowed the airbag or
airbags to be enabled, the on indicator will light
and stay lit to remind you that the airbag or airbags
are active.
For some children who have outgrown child
restraints and for very small adults, the passenger
sensing system may or may not turn off the
right front passenger’s airbag or airbags,
depending upon the person’s seating posture and
body build. Everyone in your vehicle who has
outgrown child restraints should wear a safety belt
properly — whether or not there is an airbag for
that person.
96
ProCarManuals.com