2008 CADILLAC CTS belt

Airbag System
Your vehicle has the following airbags:
A frontal airbag for the driver.
A frontal airbag for the right front passenger.
A seat-mounted side impact airbag for the driver.
A seat-mounted side impact airbag for the right front
passenger.
A roof-rail airbag for the driver and the passenger
seated directly behind the driver.
A roof-rail airbag for the right front passenger and
the passenger seated directly behind the right
front passenger.
All of the airbags in your vehicle will have the word
AIRBAG embossed in the trim or on an attached label
near the deployment opening.
For frontal airbags, the word AIRBAG will appear on the
middle part of the steering wheel for the driver and
on the instrument panel for the right front passenger.
With seat-mounted side impact airbags, the word
AIRBAG will appear on the side of the seatback closest
to the door.
With roof-rail airbags, the word AIRBAG will appear
along the headliner or trim.Airbags are designed to supplement the protection
provided by safety belts. Even though today’s airbags
are also designed to help reduce the risk of injury
from the force of an inating bag, all airbags must
inate very quickly to do their job.
Here are the most important things to know about the
airbag system:
{CAUTION:
You can be severely injured or killed in a crash
if you are not wearing your safety belt — even
if you have airbags. Wearing your safety belt
during a crash helps reduce your chance of
hitting things inside the vehicle or being
ejected from it. Airbags are “supplemental
restraints” to the safety belts. All airbags are
designed to work with safety belts, but do not
replace them.
1-56

{CAUTION:
Frontal airbags are designed to deploy in
moderate to severe frontal and near frontal
crashes. They are not designed to inate in
rollover, rear crashes, or in many side crashes.
Seat-mounted side impact airbags are
designed to inate in moderate to severe
crashes where something hits the side of
your vehicle. They are not designed to inate
in frontal, in rollover, or in rear crashes.
Roof-rail airbags are designed to inate in
moderate to severe crashes where something
hits the side of your vehicle or in a severe
frontal impact. They are not designed to inate
in rollover or rear crashes.
Everyone in your vehicle should wear a safety
belt properly — whether or not there is an
airbag for that person.
{CAUTION:
Airbags inate with great force, faster than the
blink of an eye. Anyone who is up against, or
very close to, any airbag when it inates can
be seriously injured or killed. Do not sit
unnecessarily close to the airbag, as you
would be if you were sitting on the edge of
your seat or leaning forward. Safety belts help
keep you in position before and during a
crash. Always wear your safety belt, even with
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 or side windows in seating positions
with seat-mounted side impact airbags and/or
roof-rail airbags.
1-57

{CAUTION:
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 1-32orInfants and Young Children on
page 1-35.
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 3-34
for more information.
Where Are the Airbags?
The driver’s frontal airbag is in the middle of the
steering wheel.
1-58

In addition, your vehicle has a dual-stage driver airbag.
Dual-stage airbags adjust the restraint according to
crash severity. Your vehicle has electronic frontal
sensors, which help the sensing system distinguish
between a moderate frontal impact and a more severe
frontal impact. For moderate frontal impacts, dual-stage
airbags inate at a level less than full deployment.
For more severe frontal impacts, full deployment occurs.
Your vehicle also has a dual-depth passenger airbag
that adjusts the restraint according to crash severity, seat
location, and safety belt status using electronic frontal
sensors and other special sensors which enable the
sensing system to monitor the position of the front
passenger seat. The passenger airbag inates to a
reduced depth when the passenger seat is in a forward
position. For more rearward front seating positions, the
passenger airbag may inate to an increased depth (a full
deployment), based on the crash severity measured early
in the event. (Always wear your safety belt, even with
frontal airbags.)
Your vehicle has seat position sensors which enables
the sensing system to monitor the position of the driver’s
and right front passenger’s seat. Seat position sensors
provide information that is used to determine if the
airbags should deploy at a reduced level or at full
deployment.Your vehicle has seat-mounted side impact and roof-rail
airbags. SeeAirbag System on page 1-56. Seat-mounted
side impact and roof-rail airbags are intended to inate
in moderate to severe side crashes. In addition, these
roof-rail airbags are intended to inate in a severe frontal
impact. Seat-mounted side impact and roof-rail airbags
will inate if the crash severity is above the system’s
designed threshold level. The threshold level can vary
with specic vehicle design.
Seat-mounted side impact airbags are not intended to
inate in frontal impacts, near-frontal impacts, rollovers,
or rear impacts. Roof-rail airbags are not intended to
inate in rollovers or rear impacts. A seat-mounted side
impact airbag is intended to deploy on the side of
the vehicle that is struck. Both roof-rail airbags will
deploy when either side of the vehicle is struck or in
a severe 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 seat-mounted side impact
and roof-rail airbags, deployment is determined by the
location and severity of the side impact.
1-62

What Makes an Airbag Inate?
In a deployment event, the sensing system sends an
electrical signal triggering a release of gas from the
inator. Gas from the inator lls the airbag causing the
bag to break out of the cover and deploy. The inator, the
airbag, and related hardware are all part of the airbag
module.
Frontal airbag modules are located inside the
steering wheel and instrument panel. For vehicles
with seat-mounted side impact airbags, there are
airbag modules in the side of the front seatbacks
closest to the door. For vehicles with roof-rail airbags,
there are airbag modules in the ceiling of the vehicle,
near the side windows that have occupant seating
positions.
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. Frontal airbags distribute the force of the impact
more evenly over the occupant’s upper body, stopping
the occupant more gradually. Seat-mounted side impact
and roof-rail airbags distribute the force of the impact
more evenly over the occupant’s upper body.
But airbags would not help in many types of collisions,
primarily because the occupant’s motion is not toward
those airbags. SeeWhen Should an Airbag Inflate? on
page 1-61for more information.
Airbags should never be regarded as anything more
than a supplement to safety belts.
1-63

The passenger sensing system will turn off the right
front passenger’s frontal airbag and seat-mounted side
impact 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 right front passenger’s
frontal airbag and seat-mounted side impact airbag
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 children be secured in a rear seat,
including: an infant or a child riding in a rear-facing
child restraint; a child riding in a forward-facing child
seat; an older child riding in a booster seat; and children,
who are large enough, using safety belts.
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 airbag inates. This is because the
back of the rear-facing child restraint would be
very close to the inating airbag. A child in a
forward-facing child restraint can be seriously
injured or killed if the right front passenger
airbag inates and the passenger seat is in a
forward position.
Even if the passenger sensing system has
turned off the right front passenger frontal
airbag and seat-mounted side impact airbag
(if equipped), no system is fail-safe. No one
can guarantee that an airbag will not deploy
under some unusual circumstance, even
though the airbag(s) are off.
Secure rear-facing child restraints in a rear
seat, even if the airbag(s) are off. If you 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.
1-66

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 frontal
airbag and seat-mounted side impact airbag, 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.
If a person of adult-size is sitting in the right front
passenger’s seat, but the off indicator is lit, it could be
because that person is not sitting properly in the seat.
If this happens, turn the vehicle off, remove any additional
material from the seat, such as blankets, cushions, seat
covers, seat heaters or seat massagers and ask the
person to place the seatback in the fully upright position,
then sit upright in the seat, centered on the seat cushion,
with the person’s legs comfortably extended. Restart the
vehicle and have the person remain in this position for
two to three minutes. This will allow the system to detect
that person and then enable the right front passenger’s
frontal airbag and seat-mounted side impact airbag.Safety belts help keep the passenger in position on the
seat during vehicle maneuvers and braking, which helps
the passenger sensing system maintain the passenger
airbag status. See “Safety Belts” and “Child Restraints” in
the Index for additional information about the importance
of proper restraint use.
1-68

Servicing Your Airbag-Equipped
Vehicle
Airbags affect how your vehicle should be serviced.
There are parts of the airbag system in several places
around your vehicle. Your dealer/retailer and the service
manual have information about servicing your vehicle
and the airbag system. To purchase a service manual,
seeService Publications Ordering Information on
page 7-17.
{CAUTION:
For up to 10 seconds after the ignition is
turned off and the battery is disconnected, an
airbag can still inate during improper service.
You can be injured if you are close to an airbag
when it inates. Avoid yellow connectors. They
are probably part of the airbag system. Be sure
to follow proper service procedures, and make
sure the person performing work for you is
qualied to do so.
Adding Equipment to Your
Airbag-Equipped Vehicle
Q:Is there anything I might add to or change
about the vehicle that could keep the airbags
from working properly?
A:Yes. If you add things that change the vehicle’s
frame, bumper system, height, front end or side
sheet metal, they may keep the airbag system from
working properly. Changing or moving any parts
of the front seats, safety belts, the airbag sensing
and diagnostic module, steering wheel, instrument
panel, roof-rail airbag modules, ceiling headliner
or pillar garnish trim, front sensors, or airbag wiring
can affect the operation of the airbag system.
1-70