
2007 Volvo XC90
1. See also the Occupant Weight Sensor information on page 20.
pg. 19 Safety
Front airbags
WARNING!
l Children must never be allowed in the front passenger's seat. Volvo reco\
mmends that ALL
occupants (adults and children) shorter than 4 feet 7 inches (140 cm)\
be seated in the back seat of any
vehicle with a passenger-side front airbag. See
page 30 for guidelines.
l Occupants in the front passenger's seat must never sit on the edge of th\
e seat, sit leaning toward the
instrument panel or otherwise sit out of position.
l The occupant's back must be as upright as comfort allows and be against \
the seat back with the seat
belt properly fastened.
l Feet must be on the floor, e.g., not on the dash, seat or out of the win\
dow.
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2007 Volvo XC90
WARNING!
l No objects or accessory equipment, e.g. dashboard covers, may be placed \
on, attached to, or
installed near the air bag hatch (the area above the glove compartment)\
or the area affected by airbag
deployment (see the illustration on
page 16).
l There should be no loose articles, e.g. coffee cups, on the floor, seat,\
or dashboard area.
l Never try to open the airbag cover on the steering wheel or the passenge\
r's side dashboard. This
should only be done by a trained and qualified Volvo service technician.\
Failure to follow these instructions can result in injury to the vehicle\
occupants.
pg. 20 Safety
Occupant Weight Sensor (OWS)
Disabling the passenger's side front airbag
Volvo recommends that ALL occupants (adults and children) shorter than\
4 feet 7 inches (140 cm) be
seated in the rear seat of any vehicle with a passenger's side front air\
bag, and be properly restrained.
Children should always be seated in child restraints appropriate for the\
ir size and weight. See also the
child safety recommendations beginning on
page 31.
The Occupant Weight Sensor (OWS) is designed to meet the regulatory re\
quirements of Federal Motor
Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 208 and is designed to disable (will \
not inflate) the passenger's side
front airbag under certain conditions. The OWS works with sensors that a\
re part of the front passenger's
seat and seat belt. The sensors are designed to detect the presence of a\
properly seated occupant and
determine if the passenger's side front airbag should be enabled (may i\
nflate) or disabled (will not
inflate).
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2007 Volvo XC90
The OWS will disable (will not inflate) the passenger's side front air\
bag when:
l the front passenger's seat is unoccupied, or has small/medium objects in\
the front seat,
l the system determines that an infant is present in a rear-facing infant \
seat that is installed according to
the manufacturer's instructions,
l the system determines that a small child is present in a forward-facing \
child restraint that is installed
according to the manufacturer's instructions,
l the system determines that a small child is present in a booster seat,
l a front passenger takes his/her weight off of the seat for a period of t\
ime,
l a child or a small person occupies the front passenger's seat. The OWS u\
ses a PASSENGER
AIRBAG OFF indicator lamp which will illuminate and stay on to remind yo\
u that the passenger's side
front airbag is disabled. The PASSENGER AIRBAG OFF indicator lamp is loc\
ated in the overhead
console, near the base of the rearview mirror.
NOTE: The PASSENGER AIRBAG OFF indicator lamp will illuminate for a short per\
iod of time when
the ignition is turned on to confirm it is functional. When the front pa\
ssenger's seat is not occupied
(empty seat) or in the event that the passenger's side front airbag is\
enabled (may inflate), the
PASSENGER AIRBAG OFF indicator lamp will be off.
However, if a fault is detected in the system:
l The OWS indicator light will stay on.
l The SRS warning light (see page 15) will come on and stay on.
l The message PASS. AIRBAG OFF SERVICE URGENT will be displayed in the inf\
ormation display.
pg. 21 Safety
Occupant Weight Sensor (OWS)
WARNING!
If a fault in the system is detected and indicated as explained on the p\
revious page, be aware that the
passenger's side front airbag will not deploy in the event of a collisio\
n.
In this case, the safety systems and Occupant Weight Sensor should be in\
spected by an authorized
Volvo retailer as soon as possible.
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2007 Volvo XC90
WARNING!
l Never try to open, remove, or repair any components in the OWS system. T\
his could result in
system malfunction. Maintenance or repairs should only be carried out by\
an authorized Volvo
service technician.
l The front passenger's seat should not be modified in any way. This could\
reduce pressure on the
seat cushion, which might interfere with the OWS system's function.
The OWS is designed to disable (will not inflate) the passenger's side\
front airbag when a rear facing
infant seat, a forward-facing child restraint, or a booster seat is dete\
cted. The PASSENGER AIRBAG
OFF indicator lamp will illuminate and stay on to remind you that the pa\
ssenger's side front airbag is
disabled (see the following table).
1. Volvo recommends that children always be properly restrained in appro\
priate child restraints in the rear seats.
In rare situations when the seat belt is not properly fastened, some chi\
ld restraints may not be detected by the
OWS because there is very little weight on the vehicle seat cushion. In \
these cases the passenger's side front
airbag may be disabled, but the PASSENGER AIRBAG OFF indicator lamp will\
not be lit. Do not assume that
the passenger's side front airbag is disabled unless the PASSENGER AIRBA\
G OFF indicator lamp is lit. Make
sure the child restraint is properly installed (turn the vehicle off, r\
emove the child restraint from the vehicle and
reinstall the restraint following the child restraint manufacturer's ins\
tructions) and that the PASSENGER
AIRBAG OFF indicator lamp is on, or move the child restraint to the rear\
seat.
The OWS is designed to enable (may inflate) the passenger's side front\
airbag anytime the system senses
that a person of adult size is sitting properly in the front passenger's\
seat. The PASSENGER AIRBAG
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2007 Volvo XC90
WARNING!
l No objects that add to the total weight on the seat should be placed on \
the front passenger's seat. If
a child is seated in the front passenger's seat with any additional weig\
ht, this extra weight could cause
the OWS system to enable the airbag, which might cause it to deploy in t\
he event of a collision,
thereby injuring the child.
l The seat belt should never be wrapped around an object on the front pass\
enger's seat. This could
interfere with the OWS system's function.
l The front passenger's seat belt should never be used in a way that exert\
s more pressure on the
passenger than normal. This could increase the pressure exerted on the w\
eight sensor by a child, and
could result in the airbag being enabled, which might cause it to deploy\
in the event of a collision,
thereby injuring the child.
pg. 23 Safety
Occupant Weight Sensor (OWS)
WARNING!
Keep the following points in mind with respect to the OWS system. Failur\
e to follow these
instructions could adversely affect the system's function and result in \
serious injury to the occupant of
the front passenger's seat:
l The full weight of the front seat passenger should always be on the seat\
cushion. The passenger
should never lift him/herself off the seat cushion using the armrest in \
the door or the center console,
by pressing the feet on the floor, by sitting on the edge of the seat cu\
shion, or by pressing against the
backrest in a way that reduces pressure on the seat cushion. This could \
cause OWS to disable the
front passenger's side airbag.
l Do not place any type of object on the front passenger's seat in such a \
way that jamming, pressing,
or squeezing occurs between the object and the front seat, other than as\
a direct result of the correct
use of the ALR/ELR seat belt (see
page 30).
l No objects should be placed under the front passenger's seat. This could\
interfere with the OWS
system's function.
pg. 24 Safety
Side impact (SIPS) airbag
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2007 Volvo XC90
WARNING!
l The SIPS airbag system is a supplement to the structural Side Impact Pro\
tection System and the
three-point seat belt system. It is not designed to deploy during collis\
ions from the front or rear of the
vehicle or in rollover situations.
l The use of seat covers on the front seats may impede SIPS airbag deploym\
ent.
l No objects, accessory equipment or stickers may be placed on, attached t\
o or installed near the
SIPS airbag system or in the area affected by SIPS airbag deployment.
l Never try to open or repair any components of the SIPS airbag system. Th\
is should be done only
by a trained and qualified Volvo service technician.
l In order for the SIPS airbag to provide its best protection, both front \
seat occupants should sit in an
upright position with the seat belt properly fastened.
l Failure to follow these instructions can result in injury to the occupan\
ts of the vehicle in the event
of an accident.
pg. 25 Safety
Volvo Inflatable Curtain (VIC)
This system consists of inflatable curtains located along the sides of t\
he roof liners, stretching from the
front side windows to the rear edge of the rear side windows. It is desi\
gned to help protect the heads of
the occupants of the front seats and the occupants of the outboard rear \
seating positions, including the
outboard passenger in the optional third row of seats in certain side im\
pact collisions.
The inflatable curtains in the Volvo XC90 are also designed to help prot\
ect the occupants of the vehicle
in a roll-over situation, and to help prevent them from being thrown fro\
m the vehicle if a roll-over
occurs.
NOTE: In 5-seat models, the Inflatable Curtains extend to protect both rows o\
f seats. In 7-seat models,
they extend to protect all three rows.
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2007 Volvo XC90
By design, the IC system deploys only on the side of the vehicle affecte\
d by the impact.
However, in certain side impacts, or in a rollover situation, BOTH the Inflatable Curtains (IC) and the
Side Impact Airbag System (SIPS-bag) will deploy, whereas, in some cas\
es, ONLY the Inflatable
Curtain (IC) will deploy. In cases where BOTH the IC and the SIPS-bag deploy, deployment will occur
simultaneously.
NOTE: If the Inflatable Curtain deploys, it remains inflated for approximatel\
y 5 seconds.
WARNING!
l The VIC system is a supplement to the Side Impact Protection System. It \
is not designed to deploy
during collisions from the front or rear of the vehicle or in all rollov\
er situations.
l Never try to open or repair any components of the VIC system. This shoul\
d be done only by a
trained and qualified Volvo service technician.
pg. 26 Safety
Whiplash Protection System (WHIPS)
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2007 Volvo XC90
WARNING!
In order for the VIC to provide its best protection, both front seat occ\
upants and both outboard rear
seat occupants should sit in an upright position with the seat belt prop\
erly fastened; adults using the
seat belt and children using the proper child restraint system. Only adu\
lts should sit in the front seats.
Children must never be allowed in the front passenger seat. See
page 30 for guidelines. Failure to
follow these instructions can result in injury to the vehicle occupants \
in an accident.
Whiplash Protection System (WHIPS) - front seats only
The WHIPS system consists of specially designed hinges and brackets on t\
he front seat backrests
designed to help absorb some of the energy generated in a collision from\
the rear (when the vehicle is
"rear-ended").
In the event of a collision of this type, the hinges and brackets of the\
front seat backrests are designed to
change position slightly to allow the backrest/head restraint to help su\
pport the occupant's head before
moving slightly rearward. This movement helps absorb some of the forces \
that could result in whiplash.
WARNING!
l The WHIPS system is designed to supplement the other safety systems in y\
our vehicle. For this
system to function properly, the three-point seat belt must be worn. Ple\
ase be aware that no system
can prevent all possible injuries that may occur in an accident.
l The WHIPS system is designed to function in certain collisions from the \
rear, depending on the
crash severity, angle and speed.
pg. 27 Safety
Whiplash Protection System (WHIPS)
WARNING!
Occupants in the front seats must never sit out of position. The occupan\
t's back must be as upright as
comfort allows and be against the seat back with the seat belt properly \
fastened.
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