Safety
Seat belts
Front seat belts
The front seat belts are fitted with a pretensioning and force limiting system. This system improves safety in the front seats in the event of a front impact.
Depending on the severity of the impact, the pretensioning system instantly tightens the seat belts against the body of the occupants. The pretensioning seat belts are active when the ignition is on. The force limiter reduces the pressure of the seat belt on the chest of the occupant, so improving their protection. Fastening
Pull the strap, then inser t the tongue in the buckle. Check that the seat belt is fastened correctly by pulling the strap.
Unfastening
Press the red button on the buckle. Guide the seat belt as it is reeled in.
Seat belt not fastened/unfastened warning lamp
When the ignition is switched on, this warning lamp comes on in the instrument panel, if the driver and/or the front passenger has not fastened their seat belt. From approximately 12 mph (20 km/h) this warning lamp flashes for two minutes accompanied by an audible signal of increasing volume. Once these two minutes have elapsed,
this warning lamp remains on until the driver and/or the front passenger fastens their seat belt.
Airbags
System designed to maximise the safety of the occupants (with the exception of the rear centre passenger) in the event of violent collisions. It supplements the action of the force-limiting
seat belts (with the exception of the rear centre passenger). If a collision occurs, the electronic detectors record and analyse the front and side impacts sustained in the impact detection zones: - in the case of a serious impact, the airbags are triggered instantly and protect the occupants of the vehicle (with the exception of the rear centre passenger); immediately after the impact, the airbags deflate rapidly so that they do not hinder visibility or the exit of the occupants, - in the case of a minor or rear impact or in cer tain roll-over conditions, the airbags will not be triggered; the seat belt alone is sufficient to provide optimum protection in these situations.
The airbags do not operate when the ignition is switched off. This equipment will only deploy once. If a second impact occurs (during the same or a subsequent accident), the airbag will not be triggered again.
Impact detection zones
A. Front impact zone. B. Side impact zone.
Triggering of the airbag(s) is
accompanied by a slight emission of harmless smoke and a noise, due to the activation of the pyrotechnic
car tridge incorporated in the system. This smoke is not harmful, but sensitive individuals may experience slight irritation. The noise of the detonation may result in a slight loss of hearing for a short time.