2007 SATURN VUE Owners Manual

CAUTION: (Continued)
Roof-mounted rollover airbags are
designed to inate in moderate to severe
crashes where something hits the side of
your vehicle or during a vehicle rollover.
They may inate in some frontal crashes.
They are not designed to inate in rear
crashes. If your vehicle has roof-mounted
airbags, they are designed to provide
both side impact protection and
rollover protection. Everyone in your
vehicle should wear a safety belt
properly — whether or not there is
an airbag for that person.
{CAUTION:
Both frontal and roof-mounted 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.
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{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 42orInfants and Young Children
on page 45.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 165for more information.
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Where Are the Airbags?
The driver’s frontal airbag is in the middle of the
steering wheel.The right front passenger’s frontal airbag is in the
instrument panel on the passenger’s side.
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If your vehicle has a roof-mounted side impact
airbag for the driver and the person seated directly
behind the driver, it is in the ceiling above the
side windows.If your vehicle has a roof-mounted side impact
airbag for the right front passenger and the person
seated directly behind that passenger, it is in
the ceiling above the side windows.
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{CAUTION:
If something is between an occupant
and an airbag, the bag 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. And, 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 side impact airbag will be
blocked. The path of an inating airbag
must be kept clear.
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.
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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. 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 10 to 15 mph (16 to 24 km/h),
and the threshold level for a full deployment is
about 17 to 25 mph (27 to 40 km/h). The threshold
level can vary, however, with specic vehicle
design, so that it can be somewhat above or
below this range.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.
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Your vehicle may or may not have roof-mounted
side impact airbags and a rollover sensor. See
Airbag System on page 71. These roof-mounted
“rollover capable” side impact airbags are intended
to inate in moderate to severe side crashes, and
during a rollover. They may also inate in some
frontal crashes. Both rollover capable side impact
airbags 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 rear
impacts. Both side impact airbags will deploy when
either side of the vehicle is struck. If your vehicle
does not have a right front passenger seat and a
rear seat, only the driver’s frontal airbag will deploy
in a frontal impact.
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.What Makes an Airbag Inate?
In an impact of sufficient severity, the airbag
sensing system detects that the vehicle is
in a crash. Additionally, 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.
For the frontal airbags, the inator, airbag, and
related hardware are all part of the airbag modules
inside the steering wheel and in the instrument
panel in front of the right front passenger.
For vehicles with roof-mounted rollover airbags,
the airbag modules, the inator, and the airbags
are located in the ceiling of the vehicle, near
the side windows.
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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. Roof-mounted rollover
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 or rollovers
for vehicles with roof-mounted rollover airbags.
What Will You See After an Airbag
Inates?
After the airbag inates, it quickly deates, so
quickly that some people may not even realize
the airbag inated. Some components of the
airbag module may be hot for a short time. These
components include the steering wheel hub for the
driver’s frontal airbag and the instrument panel for
the right front passenger’s frontal airbag. For
vehicles with roof-mounted side impact airbags,
the ceiling of your vehicle near the side windows
may be hot. 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 or
being able to steer the vehicle, nor does it prevent
people from leaving the vehicle.
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