
01 Safety
Front airbags 01
24
The front airbag system
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The front airbags supplement the three-point seat belts. For these airbags to provide theprotection intended, seat belts must be wornat all times. The front airbag system includes gas genera- tors surrounded by the airbags, and decelera-tion sensors that activate the gas generators,causing the airbags to be inflated with nitro-gen gas.
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Location of the passenger's side front airbagAs the movement of the seats' occupants compresses the airbags, some of the gas isexpelled at a controlled rate to provide bettercushioning. Both seat belt pretensioners alsodeploy, minimizing seat belt slack. The entireprocess, including inflation and deflation ofthe airbags, takes approximately one fifth of asecond. The location of the front airbags is indicated by SRS AIRBAG embossed on the steering
wheel pad and above the glove compartment,and by decals on both sun visors and on thefront and far right side of the dash. •
The driver's side front airbag is folded and located in the steering wheel hub.
• The passenger's side front airbag isfolded behind a panel located above theglove compartment.
WARNING
• The airbags in the vehicle are designed to be a SUPPLEMENT to–not areplacement for–the three-point seatbelts. For maximum protection, wearseat belts at all times. Be aware thatno system can prevent all possibleinjuries that may occur in an accident.
• Never drive a vehicle with your handson the steering wheel pad/airbaghousing.
• The front airbags are designed to helpprevent serious injury. Deploymentoccurs very quickly and with consider-able force. During normal deploymentand depending on variables such asseating position, one may experienceabrasions, bruises, swellings, or otherinjuries as a result from deployment ofone or both of the airbags.
• When installing any accessory equip-ment, make sure that the front airbagsystem is not damaged. Any interfer-ence in the system could cause mal-function.

01 Safety
Front airbags 01
26
WARNING
•Do not use child safety seats or child booster cushions/backrests in thefront passenger's seat. We also rec-ommend that occupants under 4 feet7 inches (140 cm) in height who haveoutgrown these devices sit in the rearseat with the seat belt fastened.
• Never drive with the airbags deployed.The fact that they hang out can impairthe steering of your vehicle. Othersafety systems can also be damaged.
• The smoke and dust formed when theairbags are deployed can cause skinand eye irritation in the event of pro-longed exposure.
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Airbag decal on the outside of both sun visors
Passenger's side airbag decal
WARNING
•Children must never be allowed in the front passenger's seat.
• Occupants in the front passenger'sseat must never sit on the edge of theseat, sit leaning toward the instrumentpanel or otherwise sit out of position.
• The occupant's back must be asupright as comfort allows and beagainst the seat back with the seatbelt properly fastened.
• Feet must be on the floor, e.g., not onthe dash, seat or out of the window.

01 Safety
Front airbags01
27
WARNING
•No objects or accessory equipment, e.g. dashboard covers, may be placedon, attached to, or installed near theair bag hatch (the area above the glovecompartment) or the area affected byairbag deployment.
• There should be no loose articles, e.g.coffee cups, on the floor, seat, ordashboard area.
• Never try to open the airbag cover onthe steering wheel or the passenger'sside dashboard. This should only bedone by a trained and qualified Volvoservice technician.
Failure to follow these instructions can result in injury to the vehicle occupants.

01 Safety
Occupant Weight Sensor 01
28
Disabling the passenger's side front airbag
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Occupant Weight Sensor (OWS) indicator light
Volvo recommends that ALL occupants (adults and children) shorter than 4 feet7 inches (140 cm) be seated in the rear seatof any vehicle with a passenger's side frontairbag, and be properly restrained. Childrenshould always be seated in child restraintsappropriate for their size and weight. Forchild safety recommendations, seepage 38. The Occupant Weight Sensor (OWS) is designed to meet the regulatory requirementsof Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard(FMVSS) 208 and is designed to disable (will not inflate) the passenger's side front airbagunder certain conditions. The OWS works with sensors that are part of the front passenger's seat and seat belt. Thesensors are designed to detect the presenceof a properly seated occupant and determineif the passenger's side front airbag should beenabled (may inflate) or disabled (will notinflate). The OWS will disable (will not inflate) the pas- senger's side front airbag when:
• the front passenger's seat is unoccupied, or has small/medium objects in the frontseat,
• the system determines that an infant ispresent in a rear-facing infant seat that isinstalled according to the manufacturer'sinstructions,
• the system determines that a small childis present in a forward-facing childrestraint that is installed according to themanufacturer's instructions,
• the system determines that a small childis present in a booster seat,
• a front passenger takes his/her weight offof the seat for a period of time,
• a child or a small person occupies thefront passenger's seat. The OWS uses a
PASSENGER AIRBAG OFF
indicator lamp which will illuminate and stay on to remind you that the passenger's sidefront airbag is disabled. The PASSENGER
AIRBAG OFF indicator lamp is located in the
overhead console, near the base of the rear-view mirror.
NOTE
The PASSENGER AIRBAG OFF indicator
lamp will illuminate for a short period of time when the ignition is turned on to con-firm it is functional. When the front pas-senger's seat is not occupied (empty seat)or in the event that the passenger's sidefront airbag is enabled (may inflate), thePASSENGER AIRBAG OFF indicator lamp
will be off.
However, if a fault is detected in the sys- tem: • The OWS indicator light will stay on
• The SRS warning light (see page 23) will come on and stay on
• The message
PASS. AIRBAG OFF
SERVICE URGENT will be displayed in
the information display.

01 Safety
Occupant Weight Sensor01
29
WARNING
•If a fault in the system is detected and indicated as explained, be aware thatthe passenger's side front airbag willnot deploy in the event of a collision.
• In this case, the safety systems andOccupant Weight Sensor should beinspected by a trained and qualifiedVolvo service technician as soon aspossible.
WARNING
•Never try to open, remove, or repair any components in the OWS system.This could result in system malfunc-tion. Maintenance or repairs shouldonly be carried out by a trained andqualified Volvo service technician.
• The front passenger's seat should notbe modified in any way. This couldreduce pressure on the seat cushion,which might interfere with the OWSsystem's function.
The OWS is designed to disable (will not inflate) the passenger's side front airbagwhen a rear facing infant seat, a forward-fac-ing child restraint, or a booster seat isdetected. The
PASSENGER AIRBAG OFF indicator lamp will illuminate and stay on toremind you that the passenger's side frontairbag is disabled (see the following table).
Passeng- er's seatoccu-pancystatusOWS indicatorlight sta-tusPasseng- er's sidefront air-bag status
Seat unoc- cupiedOWS indi- cator light
is not
lit
Passenger's side front air-bag disabled
Seat occu- pied by lowweightoccupant/ object AOWS indi- cator light
lights
up
Passenger's side front air-bag disabled
Seat occu- pied byheavy occu-pant/objectOWS indi- cator light
is not
lit
Passenger's side front air-bag enabled
A
Volvo recommends that children always be properly restrained in appropriate child restraints in the rear seats.Inrare situations when the seat belt is not properly fastened,some child restraints may not be detected by the OWSbecause there is very little weight on the vehicle seat cush-ion. In these cases the passenger's side front airbag maybe disabled, but the PASSENGER AIRBAG OFF indicator
lamp will not be lit. Do not assume that the passenger'sside front airbag is disabled unless the PASSENGERAIRBAG OFF
indicator lamp is lit. Make sure the child
restraint is properly installed (turn the vehicle off, removethe child restraint from the vehicle and reinstall the restraintfollowing the child restraint manufacturer's instructions)and that the PASSENGER AIRBAG OFF indicator lamp is
on, or move the child restraint to the rear seat.
The OWS is designed to enable (may inflate) the passenger's side front airbag in the eventof a collision anytime the system senses thata person of adult size is sitting properly in thefront passenger's seat. The PASSENGER
AIRBAG OFF indicator lamp will be off and
remain off. If a person of adult size is sitting in the front passenger's seat, but the PASSENGER
AIRBAG OFF indicator lamp is on, it is possi-
ble that the person isn't sitting properly in theseat. If this happens:
1. Turn the vehicle off and ask the person to place the seat back in an upright position.
2. Have the person sit upright in the seat, centered on the seat cushion, with the person's legs comfortably extended.
3. Restart the vehicle and have the person remain in this position for about twominutes. This will allow the system todetect that person and enable the pas-senger's frontal airbag.
4. If the PASSENGER AIRBAG OFF indica-
tor lamp remains on even after this, the

01 Safety
Occupant Weight Sensor 01
30
person should be advised to ride in the rear seat.
This condition reflects limitations of the OWSclassification capability. It does not indicateOWS malfunction.
ModificationsIf you are considering modifying your vehiclein any way to accommodate a disability, forexample by altering or adapting the driver'sor front passenger's seat(s) and/or airbagsystems, please contact Volvo at: In the USA Volvo Cars of North America, LLC Customer Care Center1 Volvo DriveP.O. Box 914 Rockleigh,New Jersey 076471-800-458-1552 In Canada Volvo Cars of Canada Corp. National Customer Service9130 Leslie Street, Suite 101Richmond Hill, Ontario L4B 0B91-800-663-8255
WARNING
• No objects that add to the total weight on the seat should be placed on thefront passenger's seat. If a child isseated in the front passenger's seatwith any additional weight, this extraweight could cause the OWS systemto enable the airbag, which mightcause it to deploy in the event of a col-lision, thereby injuring the child.
• The seat belt should never be wrappedaround an object on the front pas-senger's seat. This could interfere withthe OWS system's function.
• The front passenger's seat belt shouldnever be used in a way that exertsmore pressure on the passenger thannormal. This could increase the pres-sure exerted on the weight sensor by achild, and could result in the airbagbeing enabled, which might cause it todeploy in the event of a collision,thereby injuring the child.
WARNING
Keep the following points in mind with respect to the OWS system. Failure to fol-low these instructions could adverselyaffect the system's function and result inserious injury to the occupant of the frontpassenger's seat:
• The full weight of the front seat pas- senger should always be on the seatcushion. The passenger should neverlift him/herself off the seat cushionusing the armrest in the door or thecenter console, by pressing the feet onthe floor, by sitting on the edge of theseat cushion, or by pressing againstthe backrest in a way that reducespressure on the seat cushion. Thiscould cause OWS to disable the frontpassenger's side airbag.
• Do not place any type of object on thefront passenger's seat in such a waythat jamming, pressing, or squeezingoccurs between the object and thefront seat, other than as a direct resultof the correct use of the AutomaticLocking Retractor/Emergency LockingRetractor (ALR/ELR) seat belt (seepage 39).
• No objects should be placed under thefront passenger's seat. This could

01 Safety
Side impact protection airbags01
33
WARNING
•The SIPS airbag system is a supple- ment to the structural Side ImpactProtection System and the three-pointseat belt system. It is not designed todeploy during collisions from the frontor rear of the vehicle or in rollover sit-uations.
• The use of seat covers on the frontseats may impede SIPS airbag deploy-ment.
• No objects, accessory equipment orstickers may be placed on, attached toor installed near the SIPS airbag sys-tem or in the area affected by SIPS air-bag deployment.
• Never try to open or repair any compo-nents of the SIPS airbag system. Thisshould be done only by a trained andqualified Volvo service technician.
• In order for the SIPS airbag to provideits best protection, both front seatoccupants should sit in an uprightposition with the seat belt properly fas-tened.
• Failure to follow these instructions canresult in injury to the occupants of thevehicle in the event of an accident.

01 Safety
Inflatable Curtain 01
34
The Inflatable Curtain (IC)
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This system consists of inflatable curtains located along the sides of the roof liners,stretching from the front side windows to therear edge of the rear side windows. It isdesigned to help protect the heads of theoccupants of the front seats and the occu-pants of the outboard rear seating positions,including the outboard passenger in the thirdrow of seats in certain side impact collisions.
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The inflatable curtains in the Volvo XC90 are also designed to help protect the occupantsof the vehicle in a roll-over situation, and tohelp prevent them from being thrown fromthe vehicle if a roll-over occurs.
NOTE
The Inflatable Curtains extend to protect all three rows of seats.
By design, the IC system deploys only on the side of the vehicle affected by the impact. However, in certain side impacts, or in a roll- over situation, BOTH the Inflatable Curtains
and the Side Impact Airbag System (SIPS- bag) will deploy, whereas, in some cases,ONLY
the Inflatable Curtain will deploy. In
cases where BOTH the Inflatable Curtain and
the SIPS-bag deploy, deployment will occursimultaneously.
NOTE
If the Inflatable Curtain deploys, it remains inflated for approximately 5 seconds.
WARNING
• The IC system is a supplement to the Side Impact Protection System. It isnot designed to deploy during colli-sions from the front or the rear of thevehicle.
• Never try to open or repair any compo-nents of the IC system. This should bedone only by a trained and qualifiedVolvo service technician.
• Never hang heavy items from the ceil-ing handles. This could impededeployment of the Inflatable curtain.