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Seat belt pretensioners The vehicle's seat belts are equipped with stand- ard and electric pretensioners that can help pullthe seat belts taut in a critical situation or a colli-sion.
Seat belt pretensioners in collisionsThe seat belts are equipped with standard pre- tensioners that are triggered according to theseverity of a collision.
Seat belt pretensioners in criticalsituations
The seat belts in the front seats are also equip-ped with electric pretensioners. The pretensioners interact and can be triggered along with the active safety systems City Safetyand Rear Collision Warning. In critical situationssuch as sudden braking, evasive maneuvers, etc.,the seat belt can be pulled taut by the preten-sioner's electric motor. The electric pretensioner positions the occupant in the seat to help reduce the risk of striking theinterior of the passenger compartment andimproves the effect of other safety systems suchas the airbags.
Resetting the electric pretensionersWhen a critical situation has passed, the seat belt and the electric pretensioner are reset automati-cally. If the seat belt should remain taut:
1. Stop the vehicle safely.
2. Unbuckle the seat belt and rebuckle it.
> The seat belt and the electric preten-sioner will be reset.
Related information
• Seat belts (p. 58)
• Door and seat belt reminders (p. 61)
• Buckling and unbuckling seat belts (p. 59)
Buckling and unbuckling seat belts
Seat belts should be used by all occupants in the vehicle when it is in motion.
Buckling a seat belt1. Pull the belt out slowly. It should not be twis- ted or turned.
NOTE
Each seat belt is equipped with a seat belt retractor that will lock up in the following sit-uations:
• if the belt is pulled out rapidly
• during braking and acceleration
• if the vehicle is leaning excessively
• when driving in turns
• if the Automatic Locking Retractor/Emer- gency Locking Retractor (ALR/ELR) isactivated (each seat belt (except for thedriver's belt) is equipped with theALR/ELR function, which is designed tohelp keep the seat belt taut. ALR/ELRactivates if the seat belt is pulled out as faras possible. If this is done, a sound fromthe seat belt retractor will be audible,which is normal, and the seat belt will bepulled taut and locked in place. This func-tion is automatically disabled when theseat belt is unbuckled and fully retracted).
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* Option/accessory, for more information, see Introduction.
78
Press down on the center of the booster cushion to return it to the stowed position.
NOTE
The booster cushion must be in the stowed position before the rear seat backrests arefolded down.
CAUTION
Be sure there are no loose objects under the booster cushion before it is stowed.
WARNING
DEATH or SERIOUS INJURY can occur Follow all instructions on the booster cushion and in the vehicle's owner'smanual. MAKE SURE THE BOOSTER CUSHION IS SECURELY LOCKEDBEFORE THE CHILD IS SEATED. • Use this booster cushion only with chil- dren whose height and weight are withinthe permitted limits.
• In the event of a collision while the inte-grated booster cushion was occupied, theentire booster cushion and seat belt mustbe replaced. The booster cushion shouldalso be replaced if it is badly worn ordamaged in any way. This work should beperformed by a trained and qualifiedVolvo service technician only.
Related information
•
Integrated booster cushion
* (p. 75)
• Raising the integrated booster cushion
*
(p. 76)
Occupant weight sensor
The Occupant Weight Sensor (OWS) is designed to meet the regulatory requirements ofFederal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS)208 and is designed to disable (will not inflate)the passenger's side front airbag under certainconditions.
Occupant Weight Sensor (OWS) indicator light
Disabling the passenger's side front airbag
Volvo recommends that ALL occupants (adults and children) shorter than 4 feet 7 inches(140 cm) be seated in the back seat of any vehi-cle with a front passenger side airbag and beproperly restrained for their size and weight. The OWS works with sensors that are part of the front passenger's seat and seat belt. The sensorsare designed to detect the presence of a properly
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seated occupant and determine if the passeng- er's side front airbag should be enabled (mayinflate) or disabled (will not inflate). 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 front seat,
• the system determines that an infant is pres-ent in a rear-facing infant seat that is instal-led according to the manufacturer's instruc-tions,
• the system determines that a small child ispresent in a forward-facing child restraintthat is installed according to the manufactur-er's instructions,
• the system determines that a small child ispresent in a booster seat,
• a front passenger takes his/her weight off ofthe seat for a period of time,
• a child or a small person occupies the frontpassenger's seat.
The OWS uses a PASSENGER AIRBAG OFF
indicator lamp which will illuminate and stay on to remind you that the passenger's side front airbagis disabled. The PASSENGER AIRBAG OFF indi-cator lamp is located in the overhead console,near the base of the rearview mirror.
NOTE
When the ignition is switched on, the OWS indicator light will go on for up to 10 secondswhile the system performs a self-diagnostictest.
However, if a fault is detected in the system:
• The OWS indicator light will stay on
• The SRS warning light will come on and stay on
• The message
Pass. Airbag OFF Service
urgent will be displayed in the information
display.
WARNING
If a fault in the system is detected and indi- cated as described, be aware that the pas-senger's side front airbag will not deploy inthe event of a collision. In this case, the SRSsystem and Occupant Weight Sensor shouldbe inspected by a trained and qualified Volvoservice technician as soon as possible.
WARNING
• Never try to open, remove, or repair any components in the OWS system. Thiscould result in system malfunction. Main-tenance or repairs should only be carriedout by an a trained and qualified Volvoservice technician.
• The front passenger's seat should not bemodified in any way. This could reducepressure on the seat cushion, whichmight interfere with the OWS system'sfunction.
Passenger's seat occu-pancy statusOWS indi- cator lightstatusPassenger's side front air-bag status
Seat unoccu- piedOWS indi- cator lightlights up.Passenger's side front air-bag disabled
Seat occupied by low weightoccupant/ object AOWS indi- cator lightlights upPassenger's side front air-bag disabled
Seat occupied by heavyoccupant/objectOWS indi- cator light is not
litPassenger's side front air-bag enabled
A
Volvo recommends that children always be properly restrained in appropriate child restraints in the rear seats. Do not assume
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that the passenger's side front airbag is disabled unless the PASSENGER AIRBAG OFF indicator lamp is lit. Make sure thechild restraint is properly installed. If there is any doubt as to thestatus of the passenger's side front airbag, move the childrestraint to the rear seat.
The OWS is designed to enable (may inflate) the passenger's side front airbag in the event of acollision anytime the system senses that a per-son of adult size is sitting properly in the frontpassenger's seat. The PASSENGER AIRBAGOFF indicator lamp will be off and remain off. If a person of adult size is sitting in the front pas- senger's seat, but the PASSENGER AIRBAGOFF indicator lamp is on, it is possible that theperson isn't sitting properly in the seat. If thishappens:• Turn the vehicle off and ask the person to place the seatback in an upright position.
• Have the person sit upright in the seat, cen-tered on the seat cushion, with the person'slegs comfortably extended.
• Restart the vehicle and have the personremain in this position for about two minutes.This will allow the system to detect that per-son and enable the passenger's frontal air-bag.
• If the PASSENGER AIRBAG OFF indicatorlamp remains on even after this, the personshould be advised to ride in the rear seat.
This condition reflects limitations of the OWS classification capability. It does not indicate OWSmalfunction.
ModificationsIf you are considering modifying your vehicle inany way to accommodate a disability, for exampleby altering or adapting the driver's or front pas-senger's seat(s) and/or airbag systems, pleasecontact Volvo at: In the USA Volvo Cars of North America, LLC Customer Care Center1 Volvo DriveP.O. Box 914Rockleigh, New Jersey 076471-800-458-1552 In Canada Volvo Cars of Canada Corp. National Customer Service9130 Leslie Street, Suite 101Richmond Hill, Ontario L4B 0B91-800-663-8255WARNING
• No objects that add to the total weight on the seat should be placed on the frontpassenger's seat. If a child is seated inthe front passenger's seat with any addi-tional weight, this extra weight couldcause the OWS system to enable the air-bag, which might cause it to deploy in theevent of a collision, thereby injuring thechild.
• The seat belt should never be wrappedaround an object on the front passeng-er's seat. This could interfere with theOWS system's function.
• The front passenger's seat belt shouldnever be used in a way that exerts morepressure on the passenger than normal.This could increase the pressure exertedon the weight sensor by a child, andcould result in the airbag being enabled,which might cause it to deploy in theevent of a collision, thereby injuring thechild.
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WARNING
•Keep the following points in mind with respect to the OWS system. Failure tofollow 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 passen-ger should always be on the seat cushion.The passenger should never lift him/herself off the seat cushion using thearmrest in the door or the center console,by pressing the feet on the floor, by sit-ting on the edge of the seat cushion, orby pressing against the backrest in a waythat reduces pressure on the seat cush-ion. This could cause OWS to disable thefront, passenger's side airbag.
WARNING
•Do not place any type of object on the front passenger's seat in such a way thatjamming, pressing, or squeezing occursbetween the object and the front seat,other than as a direct result of the correctuse of the Automatic Locking Retractor/Emergency Locking Retractor (ALR/ELR)seat belt.
• No objects should be placed under thefront passenger's seat. This could inter-fere with the OWS system's function.
Related information
• Airbag system (p. 83)
Safety mode As a safety precaution after a collision, the func- tionality of some of the vehicle's systems may bereduced.
If the vehicle has been involved in a collision, the text Safety mode may appear in the information
display.
NOTE
This text can only be shown if the display is undamaged and the vehicle's electrical sys-tem is intact.
Safety mode is a feature that is triggered if one or more of the safety systems such as the front/side airbags inflatable curtain, etc., or one ormore of the seat belt pretensioners has deployed.The collision may have damaged an importantfunction in the vehicle, such as the fuel lines,sensors for one of the safety systems, the brakesystem, etc.