94 Driving Safely
-Passengers who are unbelted, out of po
sition or too close to the airbag can be
seriously injured by an airbag as it de
ploys with great force in the blink of an
eye.
- Always make sure that there are at least
10 inches (25 cm) between the front
passenger's breastbone and the instru
ment panel.
- Always make sure that there are at least
4 inches (10 cm) between the front pas
senger's knees and the lower part of the
instrument panel.
- Each passenger must always sit on a seat
of their own and properly fasten and
wear the safety belt belonging to that
seat.
- Before driving, always adjust the front
passenger seat and head restraint prop
erly.
- Always keep your feet on the floor in
front of the seat. Never rest them on the
seat, instrument panel, out of the win
dow, etc. The airbag system and safety
belt will not be able to protect you prop
erly and can even increase the risk of in
jury in a crash.
- Never drive with the backrest reclined or
tilted far back! The farther the backrests
are tilted back, the greater the risk of in
jury due to incorrect positioning of the
safety belt and improper seating posi
tion.
- Children must always ride in child seats
r:::;, page 130. Special precautions apply
when installing a child seat on the front
passenger seat
r:::;, page 109.
Proper adjustment of head restraints
Fig. 105 Head restra int: v iewed from the front
The head restraints must be correctly adjust
ed to achieve the best protection.
.,. For adjustable head restraints : adjust the
head restraint so the upper edge is as even
as possible with the top of your head. If that
is not possible, try to adjust the head re
straint so that it is as close to this position
as possible
r:::;, fig. 1 OS .
Adjusting head restraints<=> page 61.
A WARNING ~
Driving without head restraints or with im-
properly adjusted head restraints increases
the risk of serious injuries in a collision . To
help reduce the risk of injury:
- Always drive with the head restraints in
place and properly adjusted.
- Every person in the vehicle must have a properly adjusted head restraint.
- Always make sure each person in the ve
hicle properly adjusts their head re
straint . Adjust the head restraints so the
upper edge is as even as possible with
the top of your head.
If that is not possi
ble, try to adjust the head restraint so
that it is as close to this position as pos
sible,
- Never attempt to adjust head restraint
while driving. If you have driven off and
must adjust the driver headrest for any
reason, first stop the vehicle safely be
fore attempting to adjust the head re
straint .
Active rollover protection system
Function
The active rollover protection system helps
protect vehicle occupants in the event of a
rollover.
I ~
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I
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l
t1
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Fig . 106 Rollbar deployment range
Fig. 107 Rollbar deployed
The active rollover protection system cons ists
of:
- two rollbars
- the safety belts with belt tens ioners
- the windshield frame
- the rollover sensors .
The active rollover protection system provides
additional safety in the event of a rollover.
W ith in mill iseconds, sensors deploy two roll
bars located behind the headrests
¢fig . 107.
The rollbars, reinforced windshield frame and
belt tensioners help protect vehicle occupants
in the event of a rollover.
The rollover protection system functions
when the convertible top is both open and
closed.
Dr ivin g Sa fely 99
A WARNING
Do not use the area behind the headrests
¢ fig. 106 as a storage area . This is the
area where the rollbars deploy .
If the roll
over protection system is triggered, ob
jects placed there can be prope lled
through the vehicle and make it more diffi
cult for the rollbars to dep loy. This inc reas
es the risk for serious or life -threatening
i njuries.
When is rollover protection deployed?
Rollover protection deploys in a collision or
rollover .
Depending on the colli sion, sensors through
out the vehicle a nd the contro l module trigge r
the rollover system to deploy.
For safety reasons, rollover protection also de
ploys during front, side a nd rear co llisions
above a certa in level of sever ity.
Retracting rollover protection
Fig . 1 08 Dep loyed rollbar with release loop
Fig. 109 Deployed rollbar with convert ible top frame
facing upward
If t he ro llbars deployed but the vehicle was
not involved in a collision or rollover, you can
Ill-