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How To Disengage The Automatic Locking Mode
Unbuckle the combination lap/shoulder belt and allow it
to retract completely to disengage the Automatic Locking
Mode and activate the vehicle sensitive (emergency)
locking mode.
WARNING!
•The seat belt assembly must be replaced if the
switchable Automatic Locking Retractor (ALR) fea-
ture or any other seat belt function is not working
properly when checked according to the proce-
dures in the Service Manual.
• Failure to replace the seat belt assembly could
increase the risk of injury in collisions.
• Do not use the Automatic Locking Mode to restrain
occupants who are wearing the seat belt or children
who are using booster seats. The locked mode is
(Continued)
WARNING! (Continued)
only used to install rear-facing or forward-facing
child restraints that have a harness for restraining
the child.
Supplemental Restraint System (SRS)
Air Bag System Components
Your vehicle may be equipped with the following air bag
system components:
•Occupant Restraint Controller (ORC)
• Air Bag Warning Light
•Steering Wheel and Column
• Instrument Panel
• Knee Impact Bolsters
• Advanced Front Air Bags
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THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE 47
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•Supplemental Side Air Bags
• Front and Side Impact Sensors
• Seat Belt Pretensioners
• Seat Belt Buckle Switch
• Seat Track Position Sensors
• Occupant Classification System
Advanced Front Air Bags
This vehicle has Advanced Front Air Bags for both the
driver and front passenger as a supplement to the seat
belt restraint systems. The driver ’s Advanced Front Air
Bag is mounted in the center of the steering wheel. The
passenger ’s Advanced Front Air Bag is mounted in the
instrument panel, above the glove compartment. The
words “SRS AIRBAG” or “AIRBAG” are embossed on
the air bag covers.
Advanced Front Air Bag And Knee Impact Bolster
Locations
1 — Driver And Passenger Advanced Front Air Bags
2 — Driver And Passenger Knee Impact Bolster
48 THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE
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WARNING!
•Being too close to the steering wheel or instrument
panel during Advanced Front Air Bag deployment
could cause serious injury, including death. Air
bags need room to inflate. Sit back, comfortably
extending your arms to reach the steering wheel or
instrument panel.
• Never place a rear-facing child restraint in front of
an air bag. A deploying Passenger Advanced Front
Air Bag can cause death or serious injury to a child
12 years or younger, including a child in a rear-
facing child restraint.
• Only use a rear-facing child restraint in a vehicle
with a rear seat.
Advanced Front Air Bag Features
The Advanced Front Air Bag system has multistage
driver and front passenger air bags. This system provides output appropriate to the severity and type of collision as
determined by the Occupant Restraint Controller (ORC),
which may receive information from the front impact
sensors or other system components.
The first stage inflator is triggered immediately during an
impact that requires air bag deployment. A low energy
output is used in less severe collisions. A higher energy
output is used for more severe collisions.
This vehicle may be equipped with driver and/or front
passenger seat track position sensors that may adjust the
inflation rate of the Advanced Front Air Bags based upon
seat position.
This vehicle may be equipped with a driver and/or front
passenger seat belt buckle switch that detects whether
the driver or front passenger seat belt is buckled. The seat
belt buckle switch may adjust the inflation rate of the
Advanced Front Air Bags.
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THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE 49
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Advanced Air Bag Features
This vehicle has an Occupant Classification System
(“OCS”) in the front passenger seat. The OCS is designed
to activate or deactivate the Passenger Advanced Front
Air Bag depending on the occupant’s seated weight. It is
designed to deactivate the Passenger Advanced Front Air
Bag for an unoccupied seat and for occupants whose
seated weight classifies them in a category other than a
properly seated adult. This could be a child, teenager, or
even an adult.
The Passenger Air Bag Disable (“PAD”) Indicator Light
(an amber light located in the center of the instrument
panel) tells the driver and front passenger when the
Passenger Advanced Front Air Bag is deactivated. The
PAD Indicator Light illuminates the words “PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF” to show that the Passenger Advanced
Front Air Bag will not deploy during a collision.NOTE:
When the front passenger seat is empty or when
very light objects are placed on the seat, the Passenger
Advanced Front Air Bag will not deploy even though the
Passenger Air Bag Disable (PAD) System Indicator Light
is NOT illuminated.
WARNING!
• No objects should be placed over or near the air
bag on the instrument panel or steering wheel,
because any such objects could cause harm if the
vehicle is in a collision severe enough to cause the
air bags to inflate.
• Do not put anything on or around the air bag
covers or attempt to open them manually. You may
damage the air bags and you could be injured
because the air bags may no longer be functional.
The protective covers for the air bag cushions are
(Continued)
50 THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE
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WARNING!(Continued)
designed to open only when the air bags are
inflating.
• Relying on the air bags alone could lead to more
severe injuries in a collision. The air bags work
with your seat belt to restrain you properly. In
some collisions, air bags won’t deploy at all. Al-
ways wear your seat belts even though you have air
bags.
Advanced Front Air Bag Operation
Advanced Front Air Bags are designed to provide addi-
tional protection by supplementing the seat belts. Ad-
vanced Front Air Bags are not expected to reduce the risk
of injury in rear, side, or rollover collisions. The Ad-
vanced Front Air Bags will not deploy in all frontal
collisions, including some that may produce substantial vehicle damage — for example, some pole collisions,
truck underrides, and angle offset collisions.
On the other hand, depending on the type and location of
impact, Advanced Front Air Bags may deploy in crashes
with little vehicle front-end damage but that produce a
severe initial deceleration.
Because air bag sensors measure vehicle deceleration
over time, vehicle speed and damage by themselves are
not good indicators of whether or not an air bag should
have deployed.
Seat belts are necessary for your protection in all colli-
sions, and also are needed to help keep you in position,
away from an inflating air bag.
When the ORC detects a collision requiring the Ad-
vanced Front Air Bags, it signals the inflator units. A large
quantity of non-toxic gas is generated to inflate the
Advanced Front Air Bags.
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THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE 51
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The steering wheel hub trim cover and the upper right
side of the instrument panel separate and fold out of the
way as the air bags inflate to their full size. The Advanced
Front Air Bags fully inflate in less time than it takes to
blink your eyes. The air bags then quickly deflate while
helping to restrain the driver and front passenger.
Occupant Classification System (OCS) - Front
Passenger Seat
The OCS is part of a Federally regulated safety system for
this vehicle. It is designed to activate or deactivate the
Passenger Advanced Front Air Bag depending on the
occupant’s seated weight. It is designed to deactivate the
Passenger Advanced Front Air Bag for an unoccupied
seat and for occupants whose seated weight classifies
them in a category other than a properly seated adult.
This could be a child, teenager, or even an adult.
WARNING!
•If an occupant in the front passenger seat is seated
improperly, the occupant may provide an output
signal to the OCS that is different from the occu-
pant’s properly seated weight input. This may
result in serious injury or death in a collision.
• Always wear your seat belt and sit properly, with
the seatback in an upright position, your back
against the seatback, sitting upright, facing for-
ward, in the center of the seat, with your feet
comfortably on or near the floor.
• Do not carry or hold any objects (e.g., backpacks,
boxes, etc.) while seated in the front passenger seat.
Holding an object may provide an output signal to
the OCS that is different than the occupant’s prop-
erly seated weight input, which may result in
serious injury or death in a collision.
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The Occupant Classification System (OCS) consists of
the following:
•Occupant Restraint Controller (ORC)
• Occupant Classification Module (OCM) and Sensor
located in the front passenger seat
• Passenger Air Bag Disabled (PAD) Indicator Light – an
amber light located in the center of the instrument
panel (show icon)
• Air Bag Warning Light
Occupant Classification Module (OCM) And Sensor
The Occupant Classification Module (OCM) is located
underneath the front passenger seat. The Sensor is lo-
cated beneath the passenger seat cushion foam. Any
weight on the seat will be sensed by the Sensor. The OCM uses input from the Sensor to determine the front pas-
senger ’s most probable classification. The OCM commu-
nicates this information to the ORC. The ORC uses the
classification to determine whether it should activate or
deactivate the Passenger Advanced Front Air Bag. In
order for the OCS to operate as designed, it is important
for the front passenger to be seated properly and prop-
erly wearing the seat belt. Properly seated passengers are:
•
Sitting upright
• Facing forward
• Sitting in the center of the seat with their feet comfort-
ably on or near the floor.
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•Sitting with their back against the seat back and the
seat back in an upright position The OCS may deactivate the deployment of the Passen-
ger Advanced Front Air Bag if the OCS estimates that:
•
The front passenger seat is unoccupied or has very
light objects in it.
• The front passenger seat is occupied by a rear-facing
child restraint.
• The front passenger seat is occupied by a child,
including a child seated in a forward-facing child
restraint or booster seat.
• The front passenger seat is occupied by a small pas-
senger, including a child or small adult.
• The front passenger is not properly seated or his or her
weight is taken off of the seat for a period of time.
Seated Properly
54 THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE