2018 CADILLAC XTS warning

Cadillac XTS Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada-11354412) -
2018 - crc - 11/16/17
SEATS AND RESTRAINTS 75
Airbag System
Vehicles with a standard wheelbase
and a factory installed rear seat have
the following airbags:
.A frontal airbag for the driver and
for the front outboard passenger
. A knee airbag for the driver and
for the front outboard passenger
. A seat-mounted side impact airbag
for the driver and the front
outboard passenger
. Seat-mounted side impact airbags
for the second row outboard
passengers
. A roof-rail airbag for the driver
and the passenger seated directly
behind the driver
. A roof-rail airbag for the front
outboard passenger and the
passenger seated directly behind
the front outboard passenger
Vehicles with an extended wheelbase
or without a rear seat have the
following airbags:
. A frontal airbag for the driver and
for the front outboard passenger .
A knee airbag for the driver and
for the front outboard passenger
. A seat-mounted side impact airbag
for the driver and the front
outboard passenger
. A roof-rail airbag for the driver
and front outboard passenger
All vehicle airbags have the word
AIRBAG on the trim or on a label near
the deployment opening.
For frontal airbags, the word AIRBAG
is on the center of the steering wheel
for the driver and on the instrument
panel for the front outboard
passenger.
For knee airbags, the word AIRBAG is
on the lower part of the instrument
panel.
For seat-mounted side impact airbags,
the word AIRBAG is on the side of the
seatback closest to the door.
For roof-rail airbags, the word AIRBAG
is on the ceiling or trim.
Airbags are designed to supplement
the protection provided by seat belts.
Even though today's airbags are also
designed to help reduce the risk of injury from the force of an inflating
bag, all airbags must inflate very
quickly to do their job.
Here are the most important things to
know about the airbag system:
{Warning
You can be severely injured or
killed in a crash if you are not
wearing your seat belt, even with
airbags. Airbags are designed to
work with seat belts, not replace
them. Also, airbags are not designed
to inflate in every crash. In some
crashes seat belts are the only
restraint. See
When Should an
Airbag Inflate? 078.
Wearing your seat belt during a
crash helps reduce your chance of
hitting things inside the vehicle or
being ejected from it. Airbags are
“supplemental restraints” to the
seat belts. Everyone in the vehicle
should wear a seat belt properly,
whether or not there is an airbag
for that person.

Cadillac XTS Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada-11354412) -
2018 - crc - 11/16/17
76 SEATS AND RESTRAINTS
{Warning
Because airbags inflate with great
force and faster than the blink of an
eye, anyone who is up against,
or very close to, any airbag when it
inflates can be seriously injured or
killed. Do not sit unnecessarily
close to any airbag, as you would be
if sitting on the edge of the seat or
leaning forward. Seat belts help
keep you in position before and
during a crash. Always wear a seat
belt, even with airbags. The driver
should sit as far back as possible
while still maintaining control of
the vehicle. The seat belts and the
front outboard passenger airbags
are most effective when you are
sitting well back and upright in the
seat with both feet on the floor.
Occupants should not lean on or
sleep against the door or side
windows in seating positions with
seat-mounted side impact airbags
and/or roof-rail airbags.
{Warning
Children who are up against,
or very close to, any airbag when it
inflates can be seriously injured or
killed. Always secure children
properly in the vehicle. To read
how, seeOlder Children 087 or
Infants and Young Children 089.
There is an airbag readiness light on
the instrument cluster, which shows
the airbag symbol. The system checks
the airbag electrical system for
malfunctions. The light tells you if
there is an electrical problem. See
Airbag Readiness Light 0126.
Where Are the Airbags?
The driver frontal airbag is in the
center of the steering wheel.
The front outboard passenger frontal
airbag is in the passenger side
instrument panel.

Cadillac XTS Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada-11354412) -
2018 - crc - 11/16/17
78 SEATS AND RESTRAINTS
Driver Side Shown, Passenger SideSimilar
The roof-rail airbags, for vehicles with
an extended wheelbase or vehicles
without a factory installed rear seat,
are in the ceiling above the front row
side windows, for the driver and front
outboard passenger only.
{Warning
If something is between an
occupant and an airbag, the airbag
might not inflate properly or it
might force the object into that (Continued)
Warning (Continued)
person causing severe injury or
even death. The path of an inflating
airbag must be kept clear. Do not
put anything between an occupant
and an airbag, and do not attach or
put anything on the steering wheel
hub or on or near any other airbag
covering.
Do not use seat accessories that
block the inflation path of a
seat-mounted side impact airbag.
Never secure anything to the roof of
a vehicle with roof-rail airbags by
routing a rope or tie‐down through
any door or window opening. If you
do, the path of an inflating roof-rail
airbag will be blocked.
When Should an Airbag
Inflate?
This vehicle is equipped with airbags.
SeeAirbag System 075. Airbags are
designed to inflate if the impact
exceeds the specific airbag system's deployment threshold. Deployment
thresholds are used to predict how
severe a crash is likely to be in time
for the airbags to inflate and help
restrain the occupants. The vehicle
has electronic sensors that help the
airbag system determine the severity
of the impact. Deployment thresholds
can vary with specific vehicle design.
Frontal airbags are designed to inflate
in moderate to severe frontal or near
frontal crashes to help reduce the
potential for severe injuries, mainly to
the driver's or front outboard
passenger's head and chest.
Whether the frontal airbags will or
should inflate is not based primarily
on how fast the vehicle is traveling.
It depends on what is hit, the
direction of the impact, and how
quickly the vehicle slows down.
Frontal airbags may inflate at
different crash speeds depending on
whether the vehicle hits an object
straight on or at an angle, and
whether the object is fixed or moving,
rigid or deformable, narrow or wide.

Cadillac XTS Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada-11354412) -
2018 - crc - 11/16/17
80 SEATS AND RESTRAINTS
ejection in rollover events, although
no system can prevent all such
ejections.
But airbags would not help in many
types of collisions, primarily because
the occupant's motion is not toward
those airbags. SeeWhen Should an
Airbag Inflate? 078.
Airbags should never be regarded as
anything more than a supplement to
seat belts.
What Will You See after an
Airbag Inflates?
After frontal, knee, and seat-mounted
side impact airbags inflate, they
quickly deflate, so quickly that some
people may not even realize the
airbags inflated. Roof-rail airbags may
still be at least partially inflated for
some time after they inflate. Some
components of the airbag module may
be hot for several minutes. For
location of the airbags, see Where Are
the Airbags? 076.
The parts of the airbag that come into
contact with you may be warm, but
not too hot to touch. There may be some smoke and dust coming from
the vents in the deflated airbags.
Airbag inflation does not prevent the
driver from seeing out of the
windshield or being able to steer the
vehicle, nor does it prevent people
from leaving the vehicle.
{Warning
When an airbag inflates, there may
be dust in the air. This dust could
cause breathing problems for
people with a history of asthma or
other breathing trouble. To avoid
this, everyone in the vehicle should
get out as soon as it is safe to do
so. If you have breathing problems
but cannot get out of the vehicle
after an airbag inflates, then get
fresh air by opening a window or a
door. If you experience breathing
problems following an airbag
deployment, you should seek
medical attention.
The vehicle has a feature that may
automatically unlock the doors, turn
on the interior lamps and hazard warning flashers, and shut off the fuel
system after the airbags inflate. The
feature may also activate, without
airbag inflation, after an event that
exceeds a predetermined threshold.
After turning the ignition off and then
on again, the fuel system will return
to normal operation; the doors can be
locked, the interior lamps can be
turned off, and the hazard warning
flashers can be turned off using the
controls for those features. If any of
these systems are damaged in the
crash they may not operate as normal.
{Warning
A crash severe enough to inflate the
airbags may have also damaged
important functions in the vehicle,
such as the fuel system, brake and
steering systems, etc. Even if the
vehicle appears to be drivable after
a moderate crash, there may be
concealed damage that could make
it difficult to safely operate the
vehicle.
(Continued)

Cadillac XTS Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada-11354412) -
2018 - crc - 11/16/17
SEATS AND RESTRAINTS 81
Warning (Continued)
Use caution if you should attempt
to restart the engine after a crash
has occurred.
In many crashes severe enough to
inflate the airbag, windshields are
broken by vehicle deformation.
Additional windshield breakage may
also occur from the front outboard
passenger airbag.
. Airbags are designed to inflate
only once. After an airbag inflates,
you will need some new parts for
the airbag system. If you do not
get them, the airbag system will
not be there to help protect you in
another crash. A new system will
include airbag modules and
possibly other parts. The service
manual for the vehicle covers the
need to replace other parts.
. The vehicle has a crash sensing
and diagnostic module which
records information after a crash. See
Vehicle Data Recording and
Privacy 0345 and Event Data
Recorders 0345.
. Let only qualified technicians
work on the airbag systems.
Improper service can mean that
an airbag system will not work
properly. See your dealer for
service.
Passenger Sensing System
The vehicle has a passenger sensing
system for the front outboard
passenger position. The passenger
airbag status indicator will light on
the overhead console when the vehicle
is started.
United States
Canada
The words ON and OFF, or the
symbols for on and off, will be visible
during the system check. When the
system check is complete, either the
word ON or OFF, or the symbol for on
or off will be visible. See Passenger
Airbag Status Indicator 0126.
The passenger sensing system turns
off the front outboard passenger
frontal airbag and knee airbag under
certain conditions. No other airbag is
affected by the passenger sensing
system.
The passenger sensing system works
with sensors that are part of the front
outboard passenger seat. The sensors
are designed to detect the presence of
a properly seated occupant and
determine if the front outboard

Cadillac XTS Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada-11354412) -
2018 - crc - 11/16/17
82 SEATS AND RESTRAINTS
passenger frontal airbag and knee
airbag should be allowed to inflate
or not.
According to accident statistics,
children are safer when properly
secured in a rear seat in the correct
child restraint for their weight
and size.
Whenever possible, children aged
12 and under should be secured in a
rear seating position.
Never put a rear-facing child seat in
the front. This is because the risk to
the rear-facing child is so great, if the
airbag inflates.
{Warning
A child in a rear-facing child
restraint can be seriously injured or
killed if the passenger frontal airbag
inflates. This is because the back of
the rear-facing child restraint would
be very close to the inflating airbag.
A child in a forward-facing child
restraint can be seriously injured or(Continued)
Warning (Continued)
killed if the passenger frontal airbag
inflates and the passenger seat is in
a forward position.
Even if the passenger sensing
system has turned off the front
outboard passenger airbag(s), no
system is fail-safe. No one can
guarantee that an airbag will not
deploy under some unusual
circumstance, even though the
airbag(s) are off.
Never put a rear-facing child
restraint in the front seat, even if
the airbag is off. If securing a
forward-facing child restraint in the
front outboard passenger seat,
always move the seat as far back as
it will go. It is better to secure child
restraints in the rear seat. Consider
using another vehicle to transport
the child when a rear seat is not
available. The passenger sensing system is
designed to turn off the front
outboard passenger frontal airbag and
knee airbag if:
.
The front outboard passenger seat
is unoccupied.
. The system determines an infant
is present in a child restraint.
. A front outboard passenger takes
his/her weight off of the seat for a
period of time.
. There is a critical problem with
the airbag system or the passenger
sensing system.
When the passenger sensing system
has turned off the front outboard
passenger frontal airbag and knee
airbag, the off indicator will light and
stay lit as a reminder that the airbags
are off. See Passenger Airbag Status
Indicator 0126.
The passenger sensing system is
designed to turn on the front
outboard passenger frontal airbag and
knee airbag anytime the system

Cadillac XTS Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada-11354412) -
2018 - crc - 11/16/17
SEATS AND RESTRAINTS 83
senses that a person of adult size is
sitting properly in the front outboard
passenger seat.
When the passenger sensing system
has allowed the airbags to be enabled,
the on indicator will light and stay lit
as a reminder that the airbags are
active.
For some children, including children
in child restraints, and for very small
adults, the passenger sensing system
may or may not turn off the front
outboard passenger frontal airbag and
knee airbag, depending upon the
person’s seating posture and body
build. Everyone in the vehicle who has
outgrown child restraints should wear
a seat belt properly—whether or not
there is an airbag for that person.
{Warning
If the airbag readiness light ever
comes on and stays on, it means
that something may be wrong with
the airbag system. To help avoid
injury to yourself or others, have
(Continued)
Warning (Continued)
the vehicle serviced right away. See
Airbag Readiness Light0126 for
more information, including
important safety information.
If the On Indicator Is Lit for a
Child Restraint
The passenger sensing system is
designed to turn off the front
outboard passenger frontal airbag and
knee airbag if the system determines
that an infant is present in a child
restraint. If a child restraint has been
installed and the on indicator is lit:
1. Turn the vehicle off.
2. Remove the child restraint from the vehicle.
3. Remove any additional items from the seat such as blankets,
cushions, seat covers, seat
heaters, or seat massagers.
4. Reinstall the child restraint following the directions provided
by the child restraint manufacturer and refer to
Securing Child Restraints (With the
Seat Belt in the Front Seat)
0102
or Securing Child Restraints (With
the Seat Belt in the Rear Seat)
0 100.
5. If, after reinstalling the child restraint and restarting the
vehicle, the on indicator is still
lit, turn the vehicle off. Then
slightly recline the vehicle
seatback and adjust the seat
cushion, if adjustable, to make
sure that the vehicle seatback is
not pushing the child restraint
into the seat cushion.
Also make sure the child
restraint is not trapped under the
vehicle head restraint. If this
happens, adjust the head
restraint. See Head Restraints
0 53.
6. Restart the vehicle. The passenger sensing system
may or may not turn off the
airbags for a child in a child
restraint depending upon the
child’s size. It is better to secure

Cadillac XTS Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada-11354412) -
2018 - crc - 11/16/17
84 SEATS AND RESTRAINTS
the child restraint in a rear seat.
Consider using another vehicle to
transport the child when a rear
seat is not available. Never put a
rear-facing child restraint in the
front seat, even if the on
indicator is not lit.
If the Off Indicator Is Lit for an
Adult-Sized Occupant
If a person of adult size is sitting in
the front outboard passenger seat, but
the off indicator is lit, it could be
because that person is not sitting
properly in the seat. Use the following
steps to allow the system to detectthat person and enable the front
outboard passenger frontal airbag and
knee airbag:
1. Turn the vehicle off.
2. Remove any additional material from the seat, such as blankets,
cushions, seat covers, seat
heaters, or seat massagers. Also
remove laptops, or other
electronic devices.
3. Place the seatback in the fully upright position.
4. Have the person sit upright in the seat, centered on the seat
cushion, with legs comfortably
extended.
5. Restart the vehicle and have the person remain in this position
for two to three minutes after
the on indicator is lit.{Warning
If the front outboard passenger
airbag is turned off for an
adult-sized occupant, the airbag will
(Continued)
Warning (Continued)
not be able to inflate and help
protect that person in a crash,
resulting in an increased risk of
serious injury or even death. An
adult-sized occupant should not
ride in the front outboard passenger
seat, if the passenger airbag off
indicator is lit.
Additional Factors Affecting
System Operation
Seat belts help keep the passenger in
position on the seat during vehicle
maneuvers and braking, which helps
the passenger sensing system
maintain the passenger airbag status.
See“Seat Belts” and“Child Restraints”
in the Index for additional
information about the importance of
proper restraint use.
A thick layer of additional material,
such as a blanket or cushion,
or aftermarket equipment such as seat
covers, seat heaters, and seat
massagers can affect how well the