2007 SATURN VUE airbag
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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 in ate
properly or it might force the object into
that person causing severe injury or even
death. The path of an in ating 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 in ating side impact airbag will be
blocked. The path of an in ating airbag
must be kept clear.
When Should an Airbag In ate?
The driver’s and right front passenger’s frontal
airbags are designed to in ate in moderate to
severe frontal or near-frontal crashes. But they are
designed to in ate 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 in ate 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 in ate 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 speci c vehicle
design, so that it can be somewhat above or
below this range.Frontal airbags may in ate at different crash
speeds. For example:
If the vehicle hits a stationary object, the
airbags could in ate at a different crash speed
than if the vehicle hits a moving object.
If the vehicle hits an object that deforms,
the airbags could in ate 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 in ate 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 in ate 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 in ate 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 in ate in moderate to severe side crashes, and
during a rollover. They may also in ate in some
frontal crashes. Both rollover capable side impact
airbags will in ate if the crash severity is above the
system’s designed “threshold level.” The threshold
level can vary with speci c vehicle design. Side
impact airbags are not intended to in ate 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 in ated simply because
of the damage to a vehicle or because of what the
repair costs were. For frontal airbags, in ation is
determined by what the vehicle hits, the angle
of the impact, and how quickly the vehicle slows
down. For side impact airbags, in ation is
determined by the location and severity of
the impact.What Makes an Airbag In ate?
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 in ator, which in ates the airbag.
For the frontal airbags, the in ator, 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 in ator, 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
In ates?
After the airbag in ates, it quickly de ates, so
quickly that some people may not even realize
the airbag in ated. 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 de ated airbags. Airbag
in ation 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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{CAUTION:
When an airbag in ates, 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 in ates, 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 dome lamp
on, and ash the exterior lamps on and off when
the airbags in ate. You can lock the doors
again and turn the interior lamps off by using the
door lock and interior lamp controls. You must
rst, however, turn your ignition key to the
following ignition switch positions:
1. Turn the ignition key to LOCK.
2. Turn the ignition key to RUN.
In many crashes severe enough to in ate an
airbag, windshields are broken by vehicle
deformation.
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Additional windshield breakage may also occur
from the right front passenger airbag.
Airbags are designed to in ate only once.
After an airbag in ates, you will need some new
parts for the 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 Recording and
Privacy on page 455andEvent Data
Recorders on page 455.
Let only quali ed technicians work on the
airbag system. Improper service can mean
that the 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 166.
United StatesCanada
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The passenger sensing system will turn off the
right front passenger’s frontal airbag under certain
conditions. The driver’s airbags 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. The sensors are designed to detect the
presence of a properly-seated occupant and
determine if the passenger’s frontal airbag
should be enabled (may in ate) 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.
If your vehicle has a rear seat that will
accommodate a rear-facing child restraint, there
is a label on your sun visor that 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 in ates. This is
because the back of the rear-facing child
restraint would be very close to the
in ating airbag.
Even though the passenger sensing
system is designed to turn off the
passenger’s frontal airbag if the system
detects a rear-facing child restraint, 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.
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