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6. To tighten the belt, push down on the child restraint,pull the shoulder portion of the belt to tighten thelap portion of the belt and feed the shoulderbelt back into the retractor. When installing aforward-facing child restraint, it may be helpful touse your knee to push down on the child restraint asyou tighten the belt.
7. Push and pull the child restraint in differentdirections to be sure it is secure.
If the airbags are off, the off indicator in the passengerairbag status indicator will come on and stay onwhen the vehicle is started.
If a child restraint has been installed and the onindicator is lit, see “If the On Indicator is Lit for aChild Restraint ” underPassenger Sensing System onpage 2-67for more information.
To remove the child restraint, unbuckle the vehiclesafety belt and let it return to the stowed position.
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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.
The vehicle may also have the following airbags:
•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 rightfront passenger.
All of the airbags in your vehicle will have the wordAIRBAG embossed in the trim or on an attached labelnear the deployment opening.
For frontal airbags, the word AIRBAG will appear on themiddle part of the steering wheel for the driver andon the instrument panel for the right front passenger.
With seat-mounted side impact airbags, the wordAIRBAG will appear on the side of the seatback closestto the door.
With roof-rail airbags, the word AIRBAG will appearalong the headliner or trim.
Airbags are designed to supplement the protectionprovided by safety belts. Even though today’s airbagsare also designed to help reduce the risk of injuryfrom the force of an inflating bag, all airbags must inflatevery quickly to do their job.
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Here are the most important things to know about theairbag system:
{WARNING:
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 2-63.
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.
{WARNING:
Airbags inflate with great force, faster than the
blink of an eye. Anyone who is up against, or very
close to, any airbag when it inflates 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.
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{WARNING:
Children who are up against, or very close to, any
airbag when it inflates 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 2-33or
Infants and Young Children on page 2-37.
There is an airbagreadiness light on theinstrument panel, whichshows the airbag symbol.
The system checks the airbag electrical system formalfunctions. The light tells you if there is an electricalproblem. SeeAirbag Readiness Light on page 4-50for more information.
Where Are the Airbags?
The driver frontal airbag is in the middle of thesteering wheel.
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The right front passenger frontal airbag is in theinstrument panel on the passenger’s side.The seat-mounted side impact airbags for the driver andright front passenger are in the side of the seatbacksclosest to the door.
Driver Side shown, Passenger Side similar
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If the vehicle has roof-rail airbags for the driver, rightfront passenger, and second row outboard passengers,they are in the ceiling above the side windows.
{WARNING:
If something is between an occupant and an airbag,
the airbag might not inflate properly or it might force
the object into that person causing severe injury or
even death. The path of an inflating 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 inflation
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 inflating roof-rail airbag will be blocked.
Driver Side shown, Passenger Side similar
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When Should an Airbag Inflate?
Frontal airbags are designed to inflate in moderate tosevere frontal or near-frontal crashes to help reduce thepotential for severe injuries mainly to the driver’s orright front passenger’s head and chest. However, theyare only designed to inflate if the impact exceeds apredetermined deployment threshold. Deploymentthresholds are used to predict how severe a crash islikely to be in time for the airbags to inflate andhelp restrain the occupants.
Whether your frontal airbags will or should deploy is notbased on how fast your vehicle is traveling. It dependslargely on what you hit, the direction of the impact,and how quickly your vehicle slows down.
Frontal airbags may inflate at different crash speeds.For example:
•If the vehicle hits a stationary object, the airbags
could inflate at a different crash speed than if thevehicle hits a moving object.
•If the vehicle hits an object that deforms, the
airbags could inflate at a different crash speed thanif the vehicle hits an object that does not deform.
•If the vehicle hits a narrow object (like a pole), the
airbags could inflate at a different crash speedthan if the vehicle hits a wide object (like a wall).
•If the vehicle goes into an object at an angle, the
airbags could inflate at a different crash speedthan if the vehicle goes straight into the object.
Thresholds can also vary with specific vehicle design.
Frontal airbags are not intended to inflate during vehiclerollovers, rear impacts, or in many side impacts.
Your vehicle has a seat position sensor which enablesthe sensing system to monitor the position of the rightfront passenger’s seat. The passenger seat positionsensor and passenger safety belt buckle switch provideinformation that is used to determine if the airbags shoulddeploy at a reduced level or at full deployment.
In addition, your vehicle has a dual-stage driver airbag.Dual-stage airbags adjust the restraint according tocrash severity. Your vehicle has electronic frontalsensors, which help the sensing system distinguishbetween a moderate frontal impact and a more severefrontal impact. For moderate frontal impacts, dual-stageairbags inflate at a level less than full deployment.For more severe frontal impacts, full deployment occurs.
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Your vehicle also has a dual-depth passenger airbagthat adjusts the restraint according to crash severity,seat location, and safety belt status using electronicfrontal sensor(s) and other special sensors which enablethe sensing system to monitor the position of the frontpassenger seat. The passenger airbag inflates to areduced depth when the passenger seat is in a forwardposition. For more rearward front seating positions,the passenger airbag may inflate to an increased depth(a full deployment), based on safety belt status andthe crash severity measured early in the event. (Alwayswear your safety belt, even with frontal airbags.)
Your vehicle has seat-mounted side impact airbags.Your vehicle may have roof-rail airbags. SeeAirbagSystem on page 2-58. Seat-mounted side impact androof-rail airbags are intended to inflate in moderateto severe side crashes. Seat-mounted side impact androof-rail airbags will inflate if the crash severity isabove the system’s designed threshold level. Thethreshold level can vary with specific vehicle design.
Seat-mounted side impact and roof-rail airbags arenot intended to inflate in frontal impacts, near-frontalimpacts, rollovers, or rear impacts. A seat-mounted sideimpact airbag is intended to deploy on the side of thevehicle that is struck. Both roof-rail airbags willdeploy when either side of the vehicle is struck.
In any particular crash, no one can say whether anairbag should have inflated simply because of thedamage to a vehicle or because of what the repair costswere. For frontal airbags, inflation is determined bywhat the vehicle hits, the angle of the impact, and howquickly the vehicle slows down. For seat-mountedside impact and roof-rail airbags, deployment isdetermined by the location and severity of theside impact.
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