Child restraints on the front seat - some
important things to know
.. Be sure to read the important informat ion
and heed the WARNINGS for important de
tai ls about chi ldren and Advanced Airbags
i=> page 138.
Even though your vehicle is equipped with an
Advanced Airbag System, make certain that
a ll chi ldren, especially those 12 years and
younger, are properly restrained for their age and s ize. The airbag on the passenger side
makes the front seat a potentially dangerous
p lace for a child to ride . The front seat is not
the safest place for a child in a forward-facing
chi ld safety seat. It can be a very dangerous
p lace for an infant or a c hild in a rearward-fac
ing seat.
The Advanced Airbag System i n your veh icle
h as been cert ified to comp ly with the require
men ts of Uni ted States Federa l Mo to r Veh icle
Safety Standard
208 as applicable at the time
your ve hicle was manufactured.
The Standard requires the fron t air bag on the
passenger side to be turne d off ("sup
p ressed") if a chi ld up to about one year of
age restrained in one of the rear -facing or for
ward -facing infant restraints listed i n Federal
Motor Vehicle Safety Standard
208 with wh ich
the Advanced Airbag System in your vehicle
was certified has been installed o n the front
passenger seat . For a listing of the child re
straints that we re used to certify compliance
w ith the US Safety Sta ndard
c> page 140.
T he PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light in the in
strument panel te lls you when the front Ad
vanced A irbag on the passenger side has been
turned off by the e lectronic control u nit.
Each t ime you tur n on the ignition, the
PAS
SENGER AIR BAG OFF
l ight w ill come on for a
few seconds a nd:
- will stay on if the front passenger seat is not
occup ied ,
- will stay on if there is a small child or ch ild
restraint on the front passenger seat,
A irbag sys tem 119
- will go off if the front passenger seat is oc
cupied by an adult as registered by the
weight -sensing mat
c> page 128, Monitor
ing the Advanced Airbag System.
T he PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on
whe n the contro l unit detects a tota l weight
on the front passenger seat that req uires the
front a irbag to be turned off.
If the total weight on the front passenge r
seat is more than that of a typical
1 year-o ld
c h il d but less than the weight of a small
adult, the front airbag on the passenger side can deploy (the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
li ght does not come on). If the PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on, the
front a irbag on the passenger side has not
been turned off by the elect roni c con trol unit
and can deploy if the control unit se nses an
impact that meets the cond it ions stored i n its
memory .
For example, th e airb ag may deplo y if:
- a small ch ild that is heav ie r than a typical 1
year-old ch ild is o n the front passenger seat
(regard less of whether the child is in one of
the ch ild safety seats listed
c> page 140), or
- a child who has outgrown chi ld restraints is
on the front passenge r seat.
If the front passenger airbag is turned off, the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light in the center
of the instrument panel will come on and stay
o n.
The front airbag on the passenger side may
not deploy (t he PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not illum inate and stay lit) ev en if a
small ad ult o r teenager, or a passenge r who is
not si tt ing upr ight w ith their b ack against a
non -recli ned ba ck rest w ith their feet on the
vehicle floor in front of the sea t is on t he front
passenger seat
c> page 100, Proper seating
position for the driver.
If t he fron t passenger airbag dep loys, the
Federa l Standar d requ ires the airbag to meet
the "low risk" dep loyment criteria to red uce
the risk of injury th ro ugh interaction with the
airbag. "Low risk" dep loyment occurs in those .,.. •
•
122 Airbag sys te m
conditio ns is impossible in a ll co nceiva
ble situati ons t hat may happen during
t h e usef ul lif e of your vehicle.
- The Adva nced Airbag System can deploy
in accor dance with the "low risk" opt ion
under the U.S. Federal Sta ndard if a child
that is heavier than the typical one-year old child is on the front passenger seat
and the othe r cond itions for airbag de
ployment are met.
- For their own safety, all children, espe
cially 1 2 yea rs and younger, sho uld a l
ways ride p roperly rest rained for their
age and size.
Advanced front airbag system
Your veh icle is eq uipped wit h a front Advanced
Airbag System in compliance with United
States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard
208 as applicab le at the time your vehicle was
manufactured.
The front Advanced Airbag System supp le
ments the safety belts to provide addit iona l
protection for the driver's and front passeng
er's heads and upper bodies in frontal crashes.
The airbags inflate only in frontal impacts
when the vehicle dece lerat io n is high enough .
The front Advanced Airbag System for the
front seat occupants is not a substitute for
your safety belts. Rather, it is part of t he over
all occupa nt restraint system in your ve hicle.
A lways remember that the airbag system can
on ly help to protect you, if you are s itting up
r ight, wearing yo ur safety belt and wea ring it
p roperly. This is w hy you and yo ur passenge rs
must always be properly restrained , not just
beca use the law requires you to be.
The Advanced Airbag System in your veh icle
h as been cer tified to meet the " low r is k " re
qu irements for 3 and 6 year -o ld children on
the passenger side and very small adu lts on
the driver side. The low risk deployment crite
ria are intended to he lp red uce the risk of in
jury through interaction with the front airbag that can occur, fo r example, by be ing too cl
ose to the steering wheel and instrument
pane l when the airbag inflates .
In add ition, the system has been certified to
comply wi th the "s uppression" re qu iremen ts
of the Sa fe ty Standard, to turn off the front
airbag for infants 12 months o ld and younger
who are rest rained on the front passenger
seat in child restraints that are listed in the Standard
¢ page 140, Child restraints and
Advanced Airbags .
"Suppression" requires the front a irbag on the
passenger side to be turned off if:
- a child up to abo ut one year o f age is re
strained on the front passenger seat i n one
of the rear-fac ing or forward -facing infant
restraints listed in Federal Motor Vehicle
Safety Standard
208 with which the Ad
vanced Airbag System in your vehicle was
cert ified . For a listing o f the ch ild res traints
that were used to certify your vehicle 's com
plia nce w it h t he US Safety Standa rd
¢ page 140,
-we ight less than a threshold level stored in
the co ntrol uni t is de te cted on the fron t pas
senger seat.
When a person is detected on the front pas
senger seat, weighing more than t he total
we ight of a ch ild tha t is abou t 1 year old re
stra ined in one of the rear-fac ing or forward
f acing infant res traints ( listed in Fede ral Mo
tor Vehicle Safety Standar d
208 with which
the A dvanced Airbag System in your vehicle
was certif ied), the front airbag on the passen
ger side may or may not deploy.
The
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on
whe n the electronic contro l unit detects a to
ta l we ight on the front passenger seat that re
quires t he front airbag to be t urned off. If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does not
come on, the front a irbag on the passenger
s ide has not been t urned off by the cont ro l
u ni t and ca n dep loy if the control un it senses
an imp act that meets the cond itions store d in
i ts memory.
If the total weight on the fro nt passenge r
seat is more than that of a typ ical 1 yea r-old , .,.