2009 BUICK ENCLAVE Owner's Manual

Airbag System
The 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,
passenger seated directly
behind the driver, and the third
row outboard passenger position.
A roof-rail airbag for the right
front passenger, passenger
seated directly behind the right
front passenger, and the third row
outboard passenger position.All of the airbags in the 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. Airbags are
designed to work with safety
belts, but do not replace them.
Also, airbags are not designed to
deploy in every crash. In some
crashes safety belts are your only
restraint. SeeWhen Should an
Airbag Inflate? on page 1-48.
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. Everyone in your
vehicle should wear a safety belt
properly — whether or not there is
an airbag for that person.
Seats and Restraint System 1-45

{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.
{CAUTION
Children who are up against, or
very close to, any airbag when it
inates can be seriously injured or
killed. Airbags plus lap-shoulder
belts offer protection for adults
and older children, 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 1-26orInfants and Young
Children on page 1-28.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 3-31for
more information.
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Where Are the Airbags?
The driver frontal airbag is in the
middle of the steering wheel.The right front passenger frontal
airbag is in the instrument panel on
the passenger side.
The seat-mounted side impact
airbags for the driver and right front
passenger are in the side of the
seatbacks closest to the door.
Driver Side shown, Passenger
Side similar
Seats and Restraint System 1-47

The roof-rail airbags for the driver,
right front passenger, passengers
behind the driver and right front
passenger, and the third row
outboard passengers are in the
ceiling above the side windows.
{CAUTION
If something is between an
occupant and an airbag, the
airbag might not inate properly or
it might force the object into that
person causing severe injury or
even death. The path of an
inating airbag must be kept
clear. Do not put anything
between an occupant and an
airbag, and do not attach or put
anything on the steering wheel
hub or on or near any other
airbag covering.
Do not use seat accessories that
block the ination path of a
seat-mounted side impact airbag.
Never secure anything to the roof
of a vehicle with roof-rail airbags
by routing a rope or tie down
through any door or window
opening. If you do, the path of an
inating roof-rail airbag will be
blocked.
When Should an Airbag
Inate?
Frontal airbags are designed to
inate in moderate to severe frontal
or near-frontal crashes to help
reduce the potential for severe
injuries mainly to the driver’s or right
front passenger’s head and chest.
However, they are only designed to
inate if the impact exceeds a
predetermined deployment
threshold. Deployment thresholds
are used to predict how severe
a crash is likely to be in time for the
airbags to inate and help restrain
the occupants.
Whether the frontal airbags will or
should deploy is not based on
how fast your vehicle is traveling. It
depends largely on what you hit,
the direction of the impact, and how
quickly your vehicle slows down. Driver Side shown, Passenger
Side similar
1-48 Seats and Restraint System

Frontal airbags may inate at
different crash speeds. For example:
If the vehicle hits a stationary
object, the airbags could
inate at a different crash
speed than if the vehicle hits a
moving object.
If the vehicle hits an object that
deforms, the airbags could
inate at a different crash speed
than if the vehicle hits an
object that does not deform.
If the vehicle hits a narrow object
(like a pole), the airbags could
inate at a different crash speed
than if the vehicle hits a wide
object (like a wall).
If the vehicle goes into an object
at an angle, the airbags could
inate at a different crash speed
than if the vehicle goes straight
into the object.
Thresholds can also vary with
specic vehicle design.Frontal airbags are not intended to
inate during vehicle rollovers, rear
impacts, or in many side impacts.
In addition, the vehicle has
dual-stage frontal airbags.
Dual-stage airbags adjust the
restraint according to crash severity.
The 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.
The vehicle has seat-mounted side
impact and roof-rail airbags. See
Airbag System on page 1-45.
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 during
a rollover or in a severe frontal
impact. Seat-mounted side impact
and roof-rail airbags will inate if the
crash severity is above thesystem’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
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 if the sensing
system predicts that the vehicle
is about to roll over, 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
Seats and Restraint System 1-49

is determined by the location and
severity of the side impact. In
a rollover event, roof-rail airbag
deployment is determined by
the direction of the roll.
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 modulesin 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.Rollover capable roof-rail airbags
are designed to help contain
the head and chest of occupants in
the outboard seating positions in
the rst, second, and third rows. The
rollover capable roof-rail airbags
are designed to help reduce the risk
of full or partial ejection in rollover
events, although no system can
prevent all such ejections.
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 1-48for more information.
Airbags should never be regarded
as anything more than a supplement
to safety belts.
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What Will You See After
an Airbag Inates?
After the frontal airbags and
seat-mounted side impact airbags
inate, they quickly deate, so
quickly that some people may not
even realize an airbag inated.
Roof-rail airbags may still be at least
partially inated for some time
after they deploy. Some components
of the airbag module may be hot
for several minutes. For location of
the airbag modules, seeWhat
Makes an Airbag Inflate? on
page 1-50.
The parts of the airbag that come
into contact with you may be warm,
but not too hot to touch. There
may be some smoke and dust
coming from the vents in the
deated airbags. Airbag ination
does not prevent the driver
from seeing out of the windshield or
being able to steer the vehicle,
nor does it prevent people from
leaving the vehicle.
{CAUTION
When an airbag inates, there
may be dust in the air. This dust
could cause breathing problems
for people with a history of
asthma or other breathing trouble.
To avoid this, everyone in the
vehicle should get out as soon as
it is safe to do so. If you have
breathing problems but cannot get
out of the vehicle after an airbag
inates, then get fresh air by
opening a window or a door. If
you experience breathing
problems following an airbag
deployment, you should seek
medical attention.
The vehicle has a feature that may
automatically unlock the doors,
turn the interior lamps on, and turn
the hazard warning ashers on
when the airbags inate. You can
lock the doors, turn the interiorlamps off, and turn the hazard
warning ashers off by using the
controls for those features.
In many crashes severe enough to
inate the airbag, windshields
are broken by vehicle deformation.
Additional windshield breakage
may also occur from the right front
passenger airbag.
Airbags are designed to inate
only once. After an airbag
inates, you will need some new
parts for the airbag system. If
you do not get them, the airbag
system will not be there to
help protect you in another crash.
A new system will include
airbag modules and possibly
other parts. The service manual
for your vehicle covers the
need to replace other parts.
The vehicle has a crash sensing
and diagnostic module which
records information after a crash.
SeeVehicle Data Recording and
Privacy on page 7-14andEvent
Data Recorders on page 7-15.
Seats and Restraint System 1-51

Let only qualied technicians work
on the airbag systems. Improper
service can mean that an airbag
system will not work properly. See
your dealer/retailer for service.
Passenger Sensing
System
The vehicle has a passenger
sensing system for the right front
passenger position. The passenger
airbag status indicator will be
visible on the instrument panel when
the vehicle is started.The words ON and OFF, or the
symbol for on and off, are visible
during the system check. If you are
using remote start, if equipped,
to start the vehicle from a distance,
you may not see the system
check. When the system check is
complete, either the word ON
or OFF, or the symbol for on or off,
will be visible. SeePassenger
Airbag Status Indicator on
page 3-31.
The passenger sensing system
turns off the right front passenger
frontal airbag under certain
conditions. The driver airbag,
seat-mounted side impact airbagsand the roof-rail airbags are not
affected by the passenger sensing
system.
The passenger sensing system
works with sensors that are part of
the right front passenger seat.
The sensors are designed to detect
the presence of a properly-seated
occupant and determine if the
right front passenger frontal airbag
should be enabled (may inate)
or not.
According to accident statistics,
children are safer when properly
secured in a rear seat in the correct
child restraint for their weight
and size.
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. United States
Canada
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