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Here are the most important things to know about the
airbag 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. See When Should an Airbag Inflate?
on
page 2‑81
.
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 2‑49
or Infants and Young Childrenon
page 2‑52
.
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. See Airbag Readiness Light
on page 4‑28for
more information.
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Where Are the Airbags?
The driver's frontal airbag is in the middle of the
steering wheel.
The right front passenger's frontal airbag is in the
instrument panel on the passenger's side.
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Driver Side Shown, Passenger Side Similar
If the vehicle has seat‐mounted side impact airbags for
the driver and right front passenger, they are in the side
of the seatbacks closest to the door.Driver Side shown, Passenger Side similar
The roof-rail airbags for the driver, right front passenger,
and second row outboard passengers are in the ceiling
above the side windows.
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Driver Side shown, Passenger Side similar
If the vehicle has a third row passenger seat, the
roof-rail airbags are located in the ceiling above the
rear windows for the outboard passenger positions in
the third row.
{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.
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When Should an Airbag Inflate?
Frontal airbags are designed to inflate 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 inflate 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 inflate and help
restrain the occupants.
Whether the frontal airbags will or should deploy is not
based on how fast the vehicle is traveling. It depends
largely on what you hit, the direction of the impact, and
how quickly the 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 the
vehicle hits a moving object.
.If the vehicle hits an object that deforms, the
airbags could inflate at a different crash speed
than if the vehicle hits an object does not deform.
.If the vehicle hits a narrow object (like a pole), the
airbags could inflate 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 inflate at a different crash speed
than if the vehicle goes straight into the object.
Thresholds can also vary with specific vehicle design.
Frontal airbags are not intended to inflate during vehicle
rollovers, rear impacts, or in many side impacts.
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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 inflate at a level less than full deployment. For
more severe frontal impacts, full deployment occurs.
The vehicle has a seat position sensor. Vehicles with
dual stage airbags also have seat position sensors
which enable the sensing system to monitor the
position of the driver seat.
The seat position sensor provides information that is
used to determine if the airbags should deploy at a
reduced level or at full deployment
The vehicle may or may not have seat‐mounted side
impact airbags. The vehicle has roof-rail airbags. See
Airbag System
on page 2‑75. Seat‐mounted side
impact airbags and roof-rail airbags are intended to
inflate in moderate to severe side crashes. In addition,
these roof-rail airbags are intended to inflate during a rollover or in a severe frontal impact. Seat‐mounted side
impact airbags and roof-rail airbags will inflate if the
crash severity is above the system's designed threshold
level. The threshold level can vary with specific vehicle
design.
Roof-rail airbags are not intended to inflate in rear
impacts. A seat‐mounted side impact airbag is intended
to deploy on the side of the veicle 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 inflated simply because of the
damage to a vehicle or because of what the repair costs
were. For frontal airbags, inflation 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 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.
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What Makes an Airbag Inflate?
In a deployment event, the sensing system sends an
electrical signal triggering a release of gas from the
inflator. Gas from the inflator fills the airbag causing the
bag to break out of the cover and deploy. The inflator,
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 airbags
modules in the side of the front seatbacks closest to the
door. For vehicles with roof-rail airbags, there are airbag
modules in 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 first, second, and third
rows, if equipped with a third row seat. 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. See
When Should an Airbag Inflate?
on
page 2‑81for more information.
Airbags should never be regarded as anything more
than a supplement to safety belts.
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