2008 DODGE SPRINTER Owners Manual

47 Safety
Occupant safety
2
Warning (Continued)
G
\4Vehicle occupants should wear their
seat belt correctly at all times and
lean back against the backrest, which
should be positioned as upright as
possible. The head restraints should
support the back of the head at about
eye level.\4Move the passenger’s seat as far to
the rear as possible, especially if a
child is secured in a restraint system
installed on this seat.
Continued
Warning (Continued)
G
\4On vehicles with a passenger’s air-
bag, it is not permitted to secure a
rearward-facing child restraint sys-
tem to the passenger’s seat
(\2page 56). Children in a rearward-
facing child restraint system must be
secured on a suitable rear seat.\4Do not lean forward, for example over
the padded boss of the steering
wheel, especially when the vehicle is
in motion.
Continued
Warning (Continued)
G
\4Only hold the steering wheel by the
outer rim. This allows the airbag to in-
flate fully. If you hold the inside of the
steering wheel, you could be injured if
the airbag were to be triggered.\4Do not put your feet on the dash-
board.\4Do not lean on the doors from inside
the vehicle.\4Make sure that no persons, animals
or objects are present between the
vehicle occupants and the deploy-
ment range of the airbags.
Continued
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48 SafetyOccupant safety
2
Your vehicle is equipped with the follow-
ing airbags, depending on the equip-
ment version:\4
Driver’s front airbag, located in the
steering wheel
\4
Passenger’s front airbag, located
above the glove box
\4
Thorax sidebags* in the outer sides
of the driver’s seat and the passen-
ger’s individual seat
\4
Windowbags* in the side of the roof
frame between the A and B-pillars
Each airbag's cover is marked with the
letters "SRS/AIRBAG" or "AIRBAG".
How airbags workAn airbag inflates within milliseconds.
The
1
warning lamp in the instru-
ment cluster comes on.
Airbag inflation slows down and restricts
the movement of the vehicle occupant.
Warning (Continued)
G
\4Do not cover the padded boss of the
steering wheel, the passenger’s air-
bag cover, the windowbag cover or
the thorax / sidebag cover with film or
other material. Do not affix any badg-
es or stickers to these areas.\4Do not hang any hard objects, for ex-
ample coat hangers, on the grab han-
dles or coat hooks.\4Do not place any items in the storage
compartment above the passenger’s
airbag if they protrude from the com-
partment. The passenger’s airbag
must be able to inflate unimpeded.The risk of injuries from an airbag cannot
be entirely ruled out due to the high speed
at which the airbag is required to inflate.
iIf the airbags are triggered, you will
hear a bang and a small amount of
dust may also be released. The bang
will not damage your hearing and the
dust does not constitute a health
hazard.
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49 Safety
Occupant safety
2
When the vehicle occupant makes con-
tact with the airbag, hot gas flows out of
the inflated airbag. This reduces the load
on the head and upper body of the vehi-
cle occupant. The airbag is therefore in a
deflated state after an accident.
Warning
G
After an airbag has been triggered:
\4airbag parts are hot – do not touch
them, otherwise you could be burnt
\4the airbags must be replaced at a
qualified specialist workshop which
has the necessary specialist knowl-
edge and tools to carry out the work
required. The manufacturer recom-
mends that you use an authorized
Sprinter Dealer for this purpose.
In particular, work relevant to safety
or on safety-related systems must be
carried out at a qualified specialist
workshop.
Warning
G
A small amount of fine powder is released as
an airbag inflates. This powder does not con-
stitute a health hazard, nor does it imply that
fire has broken out in the vehicle. This pow-
der could cause short-term breathing difficul-
ties for persons suffering from asthma or
other respiratory conditions. To avoid these
breathing difficulties, you should either:\4leave the vehicle immediately, if it is
possible to do so safely
or
\4open the window to allow fresh air to
enter
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50 SafetyOccupant safety
2
Front airbagsThe front airbags are designed to in-
crease protection to the driver’s and
passenger’s/passengers' head and
chest.
The driver’s airbag is located in the
steering wheel housing; the passenger’s
is above the glove box.
1Driver’s airbag
2Passenger’s airbagDriver’s front airbag
1
inflates in front
of the steering wheel; passenger’s front
airbag
2
inflates in front of and above
the glove box and the center console.The driver’s front airbag and passenger’s
front airbag are triggered:
\4
in the initial stages of an accident
with a high rate of vehicle accelera-
tion or deceleration in a longitudinal
direction
\4
if the system determines that airbag
deployment can offer additional pro-
tection to that provided by the seat
belt
\4
independently of other airbags in the
vehicle N91.60-2140-31
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51 Safety
Occupant safety
2
Thorax sidebags*Warning
G
For safety reasons, the manufacturer rec-
ommends that you use seat covers that
have been tested for Sprinter vehicles
and that have a seam for thorax /
sidebags. A thorax / sidebag may other-
wise not inflate correctly and could fail to
provide the intended degree of protection
in the event of a collision. You can obtain
these covers from an authorized Sprinter
Dealer, for example.
Warning
G
To reduce the risk of injury to occupants
if a thorax / sidebag is triggered, make
sure that:
\4no persons, animals or objects are
present between the vehicle occu-
pants and the thorax / sidebag de-
ployment range
\4no accessories, for example cup hold-
ers, are secured to the doors
\4only light items of clothing are hung
from the coat hooks in the vehicle
\4there are no heavy or sharp objects in
the pockets of items of clothing
Warning
G
Observe the following to reduce the risk of
serious or fatal injury if the thorax /
sidebag is triggered:
\4Vehicle occupants – in particular, chil-
dren – must never lean their head
against the area of the window in
which the thorax / sidebag inflates.
\4Vehicle occupants must wear their
seat belt correctly at all times and
lean back against the backrest, which
should be positioned as upright as
possible.
\4Always secure children who are less
than 5 ft (1.50 m) tall or under
12 years of age in a suitable child re-
straint system.
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52 SafetyOccupant safety
2
The purpose of the thorax/sidebags
is
to increase the level of protection for the
thorax (but not the head, neck and arms)
of the occupants on the side of the vehi-
cle on which the impact occurs.
The thorax / sidebags are installed in the
outer sides of the backrests on the driv-
er’s seat and the passenger’s individual
seat
1Thorax sidebagThe thorax sidebags are triggered:\4
in the initial stages of an accident
with a high rate of vehicle accelera-
tion or deceleration in a lateral direc-
tion, for example in the event of a
side impact
\4
on the side on which an impact oc-
curs
\4
if the system determines that airbag
deployment can offer additional pro-
tection to that provided by the seat
belt
\4
independently of the front airbags
In the event of an accident, the thorax
sidebag next to the outer seat side in-
flates between the door and the chest
area of the occupant.
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53 Safety
Occupant safety
2
Windowbags*
iYou will find additional information
about airbag deployment on
(\2
page 48).
You will find additional information
about the triggering of emergency
tensioning retractors and belt force
limiters on (
\2
page 44).
Warning
G
To ensure that windowbags can provide
the intended degree of protection when
deployed, make sure that no persons, an-
imals or objects are present between the
vehicle occupants and the deployment
range of the windowbags.
Warning
G
Observe the following to reduce the risk
of serious or fatal injury if the windowbag
is triggered:
\4Vehicle occupants – in particular,
children – must never lean their head
against the area of the window in
which the windowbag inflates.
\4Vehicle occupants must wear their
seat belt correctly at all times.
\4Always secure children who are less
than 5 ft (1.50 m) tall or under
12 years of age in a suitable child re-
straint system.
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54 SafetyOccupant safety
2
The windowbags are designed to in-
crease protection to the head (but not to
the chest or arms) of the vehicle occu-
pants on the side on which the impact
occurs.
The relevant windowbag is installed in
the side of the roof frame behind the
trim panel between the A and B-pillar.
1WindowbagThe windowbags
are triggered:
\4
in the initial stages of an accident
with a high rate of vehicle accelera-
tion or deceleration in a lateral direc-
tion
\4
on the side on which an impact oc-
curs
\4
independently of the front airbagsiYou will find additional information
about airbag deployment on
(\2
page 48).
You will find additional information
about the triggering of emergency
tensioning retractors and belt force
limiters on (
\2
page 44).
nf_BA.book Page 54 Friday, January 25, 2008 3:53 PM