Airbag syste m
about children and Advanced Airbags
¢page 166 .
Even tho ugh yo ur vehicle is equ ipped with an Ad
vanced Ai rbag System, make certain that all chi l
dren, especially those 12 years and younger, al
ways ride in the back seat properly restrained for
their age and size. The airbag on the passenger
side makes the front seat a potentially dangerous
place for a child to ride. The front seat is not the
safest place for a child in a forward-facing child
seat . It ca n be a very dangerous place for an in
fant or a c hild in a rea rwa rd-fac ing seat.
The Advanced Airbag System in your veh icle has
been cert ified to comply with the requ irements
of United States Federal Moto r Vehicle Safety
Standard ( FMVSS) 208, as well as Canada Motor
Ve hicle Safety Standa rd (CMVSS) 208 as applica
b le at the time your veh icle was ma nufactu red.
Acco rding to requi rements, the front Advanced
Airbag System on the passenger side has been
certifi ed for "suppression" for infants of about
12 month old and younger and for "low risk de
p loyment" for children aged 3 to 6 years o ld (as
defined in the standard) .
Th e
PASSENGER AIR BAG O FF light in the instru
ment panel tells you when the front Advanced
Airbag on the passenger side has been turned off by the electronic control un it .
Each time yo u switch on the ignition, the
PAS·
S ENGER AIR BAG OFF
light will come on for a
few seconds and:
- will stay on if the front passenger seat is not
occupied,
- will stay on if the electrical capacitance meas
u red by the capacitive passenger detection sys
tem for the front passenger seat equals the combined capacitance of an infant up to about
one year of age and one of the rearward-facing
or forward-facing child restraints listed in Fed
eral Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS)
208 with wh ich the Advanced Airbag System in
yo ur vehicle was ce rt ified. For a listing of the
c hi ld rest raints t hat we re used to ce rtify yo ur
vehicle 's compliance with the Safety Standard
¢ page 168 .
144 -
w ill stay on if there is a sma ll child o r chil d re
straint on the front passenger seat,
- w ill go off if the front passenger seat is occu
pied by an adu lt as registered by the capacitive
passenger detection system ¢
page 154, Mon
itoring the Advanced Airbag System.
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF lig ht comes on
when e lectrica l capacitance registered on the
front passenger seat is equal to or less t han the
combined capacitance of a typical
1 year-old in
fant and one of the rearward-facing or forward
facing child restrai nts listed in Federa l Motor Ve
hicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 208 with which
the Advanced A irbag System in yo ur vehicle was
ce rt ified.
If the to tal e lectr ica l capacitance registered o n
the front passenger seat is more than that of a
typ ical 1 yea r-old ch ild but less than the weight
of a sma ll adult, the front airbag on the passen
ger side can deploy (the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light does no t come on).
If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does not
come on, the front airbag on the passenger s ide
has not been turned off by the electroni c con trol
u nit a nd can dep loy if the con trol unit senses an
i mpact t hat meets the cond itions stored in its
memory.
For exampl e, the airbag ma y deplo y if:
- a small ch ild that is heav ier than a typ ical 1
year-old child is on the front passenger seat (regard less of whethe r the child is in one of t he
child seats listed
¢ page 168), or
- a child who has outgrown c hild rest raints is on
the front passenge r seat.
If the front passenger a irbag is turned off, the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on in the
i nst rument cluster and stays on .
If the front passenger a irbag deploys, the Feder
al Standard requires the airbag to meet the "low
risk" deployment cr iteria to reduce the r isk of in
j u ry th rough interact ion w ith the airbag .
"Low
risk " dep loyment oc curs in t hose crashes tha t
t a ke place at lowe r decele ra tions as defined in
t h e e lec tronic co ntro l unit
¢ page 154 , PASSEN-
GER AIR BAG OFF light.
..,_
Airbag syste m
The front Advanced Airbag System for the front
seat occupants is not a substitute for your safety
be lts. Rather, it is part of the overa ll occupant re
stra int system in your vehicle. Always remember
that the airbag system can on ly help to protect
you, if you are sitting upr ight, wearing your safe
ty belt and wearing it properly . This is why you
and your passengers must always be properly re
stra ined, not just because the law requ ires you to
be.
The Advanced Airbag System in your veh icle has
been cert ified to meet the " low r isk" requ ire
ments for 3 and 6 yea r-o ld children o n the pas
senge r side and very sma ll adul ts on the d river
side . The low r isk dep loymen t cr iteria are intend
ed to he lp reduce t he risk of injury through inter
action with the front airbag that can occur, for
examp le, by being too close to the steering wheel
and instrument panel when the airbag inflates .
I n addition, the system has been certified to
comp ly with the "suppression" requirements of
the Safety Standard, to turn off the front airbag
for infants 12 months old and younger who are
restrained on the front passenger seat in ch ild re
stra ints that are listed in the Standard
c::> page 168, Child restraints and Advanced front
airbag system.
"Suppression" requ ires the front a irbag on the
passenger side to be turned off if:
- a chi ld up to about one year of age is restra ined
on the front passenger seat in one of the rear
facing or forward-facing infant restraints listed
in Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208
with wh ich the Advanced Airbag System in your
vehicle was ce rt ified . For a listing of the ch ild
r estra ints tha t were used to certify your veh i
cle's compl ian ce with the US Safety Standard
c::> page 168,
-When a person is detected on the fron t passen
ger seat th at has an electr ica l capacitance t hat
is mo re than the tota l electrical capac itance of
a chi ld that is about 1 year old restrained in one
of the rear -facing or forward-facing infant re
straints (listed in Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208 with w hich the Advanced A irbag
System in your veh icle was certified) , the front
148
airbag on the passenger side may or may not
dep loy.
The
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF lig ht comes o n
whe n the ele ct ronic control unit detec ts a t otal
e lectrica l capacitance on the front passenger seat
that requires the front airbag to be turned off. If
t h e
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does not
come on, the front airbag on the passenger side
has not been turned off by the contro l unit and
can deploy if the contro l unit senses an impact
that meets the cond itions stored in its memory .
If the total e lectr ica l capacitance registered on
the front passenger seat is more than that of a
typ ica l 1 year-old, but less than the weight of a
small adult, the front a irbag on the passenger
s ide may deploy (the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
li ght does not come on).
For e xample, th e airb ag may deploy if :
- a small ch ild that is heav ier than a typica l 1
year-old child is on the front passenger seat (regard less of whether the child is i n one of the
child seats listed
c::> page 168),
-a child who has outgrown c hild restraints is on
the front passenger seat .
If the front passenger airbag is turned off, the
PAS SENGER AIR BAG O FF light in the center of
the instrument panel will come on and stay on.
If the front passenger airbag dep loys, the Feder
al Standard requires the airbag to meet the "low
risk" dep loyment criteria to help reduce the r isk
of injury t hrough interaction with the airbag.
"Low risk" deployment occurs in those crashes
that take p lace at lower decelerations as defined
i n the elect ronic co ntrol unit
c::> page 154 .
Always remember : Even though your vehicle is
equipped with Advanced Airbags, the safest place
for ch ildre n is properly restra ined on the back
seat. Please be su re to read the impo rtant info r
mation in the sect ions that fo llow and be sure to
heed all of the WARNINGS.
_&. WARNING
T o redu ce the r is k of injury when an air ba g i n-
flates, always wear safety be lts prope rly.
II)>