2008 SMART FORTWO COUPE Owners Manual

Occupant safety
56
>> Safety.
i
Air bags are designed to deploy only in
certain frontal impacts (front air bags), and in
side impacts (head
thorax air bags) which
exceed preset thresholds. Only during these
events will they provide their supplemental
protection.
The driver and passenger should always wear
their seat belts. Otherwise it is not possible
for air bags to provide their supplemental
protection.
In case of other types of impacts and impacts
below air bag deployment thresholds, air bags
will not deploy. The driver and passenger will
then be protected to the extent possible by a
properly fastened seat belt. A properly fas

tened seat belt is also needed to provide the
best possible protection in a rollover.
We caution you not to rely on the presence of
the air bags in order to avoid wearing your
seat belt.
It is important to your safety and that of your
passenger that you replace deployed air bags
and repair any malfunctioning air bags to
make sure the vehicle will continue to provide
supplemental crash protection for occupants.Safety guidelines for the seat belt,
Emergency Tensioning Devices (ETDs) and
air bag
• Keep hands on the outside of the steer

ing wheel rim. Placing hands and arms
inside the rim can increase the risk and
potential severity of hand/arm injury
when the driver’s front air bag
inflates.
• Adjust the passenger seat as far as
possible rearward from the dashboard
when the seat is occupied.
• Occupants, especially children, should
always sit as upright as possible,
properly use the seat belts and use an
appropriately sized infant restraint,
toddler restraint, or booster seat
recommended for the size and weight
of the child.
Failure to follow these instructions can
result in severe injuries to you or other
occupants.
If you sell your vehicle, it is important
that you make the buyer aware of this
safety information. Be sure to give the
buyer this Operator’s Manual.
G
Warning!
• Damaged seat belts or seat belts that
were highly stressed in an accident
must be replaced and their anchoring
points must also be checked. Only use
seat belts installed or supplied by an
authorized smart center.
• Air bags and Emergency Tensioning
Devices (ETDs) contain Perchlorate
material, which may require special
handling and regard for the environ

ment. Check with your local govern

ment’s disposal guidelines. California
residents, see http://www.dtsc.ca.gov/
Hazardous Waste/Perchlorate/
index.cfm.

Occupant safety
>> Safety.
57
• Given the considerable deployment
speed, required inflation volume, and
the textile structure of the air bags,
there is the possibility of abrasions or
other, potentially more serious inju

ries resulting from air bag deployment.
• Air bags and Emergency Tensioning
Devices (ETDs) are designed to func

tion on a one
time
only basis. An air
bag or ETD that has deployed must be
replaced.
• Do not pass seat belts over sharp
edges. They could tear.
• Do not make any modification that could
change the effectiveness of the seat
belts.
• No modifications of any kind may be
made to any components or wiring of
the SRS. This includes changing or
removing any component or part of the
SRS, the installation of additional trim
material, badges, etc. over the steer

ing wheel hub, passenger front air bag
cover, outboard sides of the seat back

rests,
and installation of additional
electrical/electronic equipment on or
near SRS components and wiring. Keep
area between air bags and occupants
free from objects (e.g. packages,
purses, umbrellas, etc.).
• Do not bleach or dye seat belts as this
may severely weaken them. In a crash
they may not be able to provide ade

quate protection.
• Do not hang hangers on the coat hooks
or handles over the door. These items
may turn into projectiles and cause
head and other injuries when the head

thorax air bag is deployed.
• Air bag system components will be hot
after an air bag has inflated. Do not
touch.
• Never place your feet on the instru

ment panel, dashboard, or on the seat.
Always keep both feet on the floor in
front of the seat.
• In addition, improper repair work on
the SRS creates a risk of rendering the
SRS inoperative or causing unintended
air bag deployment. Work on the SRS
must therefore only be performed by
qualified technicians. Contact an
authorized smart center.
• For your protection and the protection
of others, when scrapping the air bag
unit or Emergency Tensioning Devices
(ETDs), our safety instructions must be
followed. These instructions are avail

able from any authorized smart center.

Occupant safety
58
>> Safety. How the air bag operates
The air bag is inflated in a matter of
milliseconds. If the air bag is triggered, the
SRS indicator lamp in the instrument cluster
illuminates.
!
If the air bags are activated, you will hear
a loud noise and some dust may be generated.
The explosion fundamentally represents no
risk to your hearing.
The inflated air bag slows down and reduces
the movement of the occupant. When the
occupant makes contact with the air bag, hot
gas flows out of the inflated front air bags and
head
thorax air bags. This reduces the load
on the occupant’s head and upper body. These
air bags are consequently deflated after the
accident.Head
thorax air bags
G
Warning!
There is a possibility for a head
thorax
air bag related injury if occupants, espe

cially children, are not properly seated
or restrained when next to a head
thorax
air bag which needs to deploy rapidly in a
side impact in order to do its job.
To help avoid the possibility of injury,
please follow these guidelines:
(1) Occupants, especially children,
should never place their bodies or
lean their heads in the area of the
door where the head
thorax air bag
inflates. This could result in serious
injuries or death should the head

thorax air bag be deployed.
(2) Always sit as upright as possible,
properly use the seat belts, and for all
children 12 years old or under, use an
appropriately sized infant restraint,
toddler restraint, or booster seat
recommended for the size and weight
of the child.
(3) Always wear seat belts properly.G
Warning!
Only use seat covers which have been
tested and approved by smart for your
vehicle model. Using other seat covers
may interfere with or prevent the deploy

ment of the head
thorax air bags.
Contact an authorized smart center for
availability.

Occupant safety
>> Safety.
59
If activated, the head
thorax air bags are
intended to increase the potential protection
for the head and thorax (but not arms) of the
occupants on the side of the vehicle that is
struck.
The head
thorax air bags are deployed:
• on the side of the vehicle that is struck,
(when passenger side is struck only if the
seat is occupied)
• at the start of an accident with high vehicle
deceleration or acceleration acting in a
lateral direction, e.g. a side impact,
• regardless of whether or not the seat belt is
in use,
• independently of the front air bags being
deployed,
• independently of the emergency tensioning
device.The head
thorax air bags are integrated into
the driver and passenger seat backrests.
1
Head
thorax air bagDriver front air bag/passenger front air bag
The front air bags are designed to reduce the
potential of injury in certain frontal impacts.
Driver front air bag and passenger front air
bag are deployed:
• at the start of an accident with high vehicle
deceleration in the longitudinal direction,
• independently of other air bags in the vehi

cle being deployed,
• never in the event of a rollover, unless high
vehicle deceleration in the longitudinal
direction is detected.

Occupant safety
60
>> Safety.
i
The front air bags in this vehicle have
been designed to inflate in two stages. This
allows the air bag to have different rates of
inflation that are based on the rate of relevant
vehicle deceleration and a fastened or unfas

tened seat belt as assessed by the air bag
control unit.
On the passenger side, the front air bag
deployment is additionally influenced by the
passenger’s weight category as identified by
the Occupant Classification System (OCS)
(
page 60).
The lighter the passenger side occupant, the
higher the vehicle deceleration rate required
for the second stage inflation of the air bag.
The air bags will not deploy in impacts which
do not exceed the system’s deployment
thresholds. In such instances, the seat belts
are designed to protect you.The passenger air bag will only be deployed if
• the system, based on OCS weight sensor
readings, senses that the passenger seat is
occupied and the 57 indicator
lamp is not lit (

page 64).
• the impact exceeds a preset deployment
threshold.
The driver front air bag is located in the
steering wheel housing, the passenger front
air bag above the glove box.
1
Driver front air bag
2
Passenger front air bag
Occupant Classification SystemThe O
ccupant C
lassification S
ystem (OCS)
automatically turns the passenger front air
bag on or off based on the classified occupant
weight category determined by weight sensor
readings from the passenger seat.
i
The system does not deactivate the head

thorax air bag, the seat Emergency Tension

ing Devices, and the seat belt force limiters.
Occupants must sit properly belted in a posi

tion that is as upright as possible with their
back against the seat backrest and feet on the
floor to be correctly classified. If the occu

pant's weight is transferred to another object
in the vehicle (e.g. by leaning on armrests),
the OCS may not be able to properly approxi

mate the occupant’s weight category. P91.60
3287
31

Occupant safety
>> Safety.
61
i
If the seat, including the trim cover and
cushion, needs to be serviced in any way, take
the vehicle to an authorized smart center.
Only seat accessories approved by smart may
be used.
Both driver and the passenger should always
use the57 indicator lamp as an
indication of whether or not the passenger is
properly positioned (

page 64).
G
Warning!
If the57 indicator lamp illu

minates when an adult or someone larger
than a small individual is in the passenger
seat, have the passenger re
position
himself or herself in the seat until
the57 indicator lamp goes
out.
In the event of a collision, the air bag
control unit will not allow passenger front
air bag deployment when the OCS classi

fied the passenger seat occupant as
being up to or less than the weight of a
typical 12
month
old child in a standard
child restraint or if the passenger seat is
sensed as being empty.
When the OCS senses that the passenger
seat occupant is classified as being up to
or less than the weight of a typical
12
month
old child in a standard child
restraint, the57 indicator
lamp will illuminate when the ignition is
switched on and remain illuminated, indi

cating that the passenger front air bag is
deactivated.
When the OCS senses that the passenger
seat is classified as being empty,
the57 indicator lamp will
illuminate and remains illuminated.
When the OCS senses that the passenger
seat occupant is classified as being
heavier than the weight of a typical
12
month
old child seated in a standard
child restraint or as being a small indi

vidual (such as a young teenager or a
small adult), the57 indica

tor lamp will illuminate for approximately
4 seconds when the ignition is switched
on and then, depending on occupant
weight sensor readings from the seat,
remains illuminated or goes out.
When the57 indicator lamp
is illuminated, the passenger front air
bag is deactivated.
When the57 indicator lamp
is out and the passenger seat is occupied
by an adult or someone larger than a
small individual, the passenger front air
bag is activated.

Occupant safety
62
>> Safety.When the OCS senses that the passenger
seat occupant is classified as an adult or
someone larger than a small individual,
the57 indicator lamp will
illuminate for approximately 4 seconds
when the ignition is switched on and then
goes out, indicating that the passenger
front air bag is activated.
If the57 indicator lamp is
illuminated, the passenger front air bag
is deactivated and will not be deployed.
If the57 indicator lamp is
not illuminated, the passenger front air
bag is activated and will be deployed:
• in the event of certain frontal impacts
• if impact exceeds a preset deployment
threshold
• independently of the head
thorax air
bags
If the passenger front air bag is de

ployed, the rate of inflation will be
influenced by:
• the rate of vehicle deceleration and a
fastened or unfastend seat belt as
assessed by the air bag control unit
• the passenger’s weight category as
identified by the Occupant Classifica

tion System (OCS).
G
Warning!
Children 12 years old and under must be
seated and properly secured in an
appropriate infant or child restraint
recommended for the size and weight of
the child.
The infant or child restraint must be
properly secured with the vehicle’s seat
belt, fully in accordance with the child
seat manufacturer's instructions.
Children can be killed or seriously
injured by an inflating air bag. Note the
following important information:
• Your vehicle is equipped with air bag
technology designed to turn off the
passenger front air bag in your vehicle
when the system senses the weight of a
typical 12
month
old child or less
along with the weight of a standard
appropriate child restraint on the
passenger seat.

Occupant safety
>> Safety.
63
i
Deployment of the driver front air bag
does not mean that the passenger front air
bag also should have deployed.
The Occupant Classification System
(

page 60) may have determined:
• that the seat was empty or occupied by the
weight up to or less than that of a typical
12
month
old child seated in a standard
child restraint – both instances where the
system suppresses deployment of the pas

senger front air bag even though the impact
met the criteria and was of sufficient
severity to deploy the driver front air bag.
• that the seat was occupied by a small indi

vidual (such as a young teenager or a small
adult) or a child weighing more than the
weight of a typical 12
month
old child in a
standard child restraint – instances where
the system may suppress deployment of the
passenger front air bag even though the
impact met the criteria and was of sufficient
severity to deploy the driver front air bag.
• A child in a rear
facing child restraint
on the passenger seat will be seriously
injured or even killed if the passenger
front air bag inflates in a collision
which could occur under some circum

stances, even with the air bag technol

ogy installed in your vehicle.
• If you install a rear
facing child
restraint on the passenger seat, make
sure that the57 indicator
lamp is illuminated, indicating that the
passenger front air bag is deactivated.
Should the57 indicator
lamp not illuminate or go out while the
restraint is installed, please check
installation.
Periodically check the57
indicator lamp while driving to make
sure the57 indicator
lamp is illuminated.
If the57 indicator lamp
goes out or remains out, do not trans

port a child on the passenger seat until
the system has been repaired.
A child in a rear
facing child restraint
on the passenger seat may be seriously
injured or even killed if the passenger
front air bag inflates.
• If you place a child in a forward
facing
child restraint on the passenger seat,
move the seat as far back as possible,
use the proper child restraint recom

mended for the age, size and weight of
the child by the seat manufacturer, and
secure child restraint with the vehi

cle’s seat belt according to the child
seat manufacturer’s instructions. For
children larger than the typical
12
month
old child, the passenger
front air bag may or may not be acti

vated (

page 60).