The Personal Safety System provides animproved overall level of frontal crashprotection to front seat occupants and isdesigned to help further reduce the risk ofairbag-related injuries. The system is able toanalyze different occupant conditions andcrash severity before activating theappropriate safety devices to help betterprotect a range of occupants in a variety offrontal crash situations.
The Vehicle Personal Safety System consistsof:
•Driver and passenger dual-stage airbagsupplemental restraints.
•Front seat outboard seatbelts withpretensioners, energy managementretractors and seatbelt usage sensors.
•Driver seat position sensor.
•Passenger seat position sensor.
•Front passenger sensing system.
•Passenger airbag off and on indicatorlamp.
•Front crash severity sensors.
•Restraints control module with impactand safing sensors.
•Restraint system warning lamp and tone.
•The electrical wiring for the airbags, crashsensors, seatbelt pretensioners, frontseatbelt usage sensors, driver seatposition sensor, front passenger sensingsystem and indicator lights.
How Does the Personal Safety SystemWork?
The Personal Safety System can adapt thedeployment strategy of the safety devicesaccording to crash severity and occupantconditions. A collection of crash andoccupant sensors provides information tothe restraints control module. During a crash,the restraints control module may deploy theseatbelt pretensioners, one or both stagesof the dual-stage airbags based on crashseverity and occupant conditions.
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PRINCIPLE OF OPERATION
WARNINGS
Airbags do not inflate slowly or gently,and the risk of injury from a deployingairbag is the greatest close to the trimcovering the airbag module.
All occupants of your vehicle, includingthe driver, should always properly weartheir seatbelts, even when an airbagsupplemental restraint system is provided.Failure to properly wear your seatbelt couldseriously increase the risk of injury or death.
Even with advanced restraints systems,properly restrain children 12 and underin a rear seating position. Failure to followthis could seriously increase the risk of injuryor death.
Do not place your arms on the airbagcover or through the steering wheel.Failure to follow this instruction could resultin personal injury.
WARNINGS
Keep the areas in front of the airbagsfree from obstruction. Do not affixanything to or over the airbag covers.Objects could become projectiles duringairbag deployment or in a sudden stop.Failure to follow this instruction could resultin personal injury or death.
Airbags can kill or injure a child in achild restraint. Never place arear-facing child restraint in front of an activeairbag. If you must use a forward-facing childrestraint in the front seat, move the seat uponwhich the child restraint is installed all theway back.
Do not attempt to service, repair, ormodify the supplementary restraintsystem or associated components. Failureto follow this instruction could result inpersonal injury or death.
Several airbag system components gethot after inflation. To reduce the riskof injury, do not touch them after inflation.
WARNINGS
If a supplementary restraint systemcomponent has deployed, it will notfunction again. Have the system andassociated components inspected as soonas possible. Failure to follow this instructioncould result in personal injury or death.
The airbags are a supplemental restraintsystem and are designed to work with theseatbelts to help protect the driver and rightfront passenger from certain upper bodyinjuries. Airbags do not inflate slowly; thereis a risk of injury from a deploying airbag.
Note:You will hear a loud bang and see acloud of harmless powdery residue if anairbag deploys. This is normal.
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Proper Driver and Front PassengerSeating Adjustment
WARNING
National Highway Traffic SafetyAdministration (NHTSA) recommendsa minimum distance of at least 10 in (25 cm)between an occupant's chest and the driverairbag module.
To properly position yourself away from theairbag:
•Move your seat to the rear as far as youcan while still reaching the pedalscomfortably.
•Recline the seat slightly (one or twodegrees) from the upright position.
After all occupants have adjusted their seatsand put on seatbelts, it is very important thatthey continue to sit properly. A properlyseated occupant sits upright, leaning againstthe seatback, and centered on the seatcushion, with their feet comfortably extendedon the floor. Sitting improperly can increase
the chance of injury in a crash event. Forexample, if an occupant slouches, lies down,turns sideways, sits forward, leans forwardor sideways, or puts one or both feet up, thechance of injury during a crash is greatlyincreased.
Children and Airbags
WARNING
Airbags can kill or injure a child in achild restraint. Never place arear-facing child restraint in front of an activeairbag. If you must use a forward-facing childrestraint in the front seat, move the seat uponwhich the child restraint is installed all theway back.
Children must always be properly restrained.Accident statistics suggest that children aresafer when properly restrained in the rearseating positions than in the front seatingposition. Failure to follow these instructionsmay increase the risk of injury in a crash.
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FRONT PASSENGER SENSING
SYSTEM
WARNINGS
Even with advanced restraints systems,properly restrain children 12 and underin a rear seating position. Failure to followthis could seriously increase the risk of injuryor death.
Sitting improperly, out of position orwith the seatback reclined too far cantake weight off the seat cushion and affectthe decision of the passenger sensingsystem, resulting in serious injury or deathin the event of a crash. Always sit uprightagainst your seat back, with your feet on thefloor.
Any alteration or modification to thefront passenger seat may affect theperformance of the front passenger sensingsystem. This could seriously increase the riskof injury or death.
This system works with sensors that are partof the front passenger seat and seatbelt todetect the presence of a properly-seatedoccupant and determine if the frontpassenger frontal airbag should be enabled(may inflate) or not.
The front passenger sensing system uses apassenger airbag status indicator thatilluminates indicating that the frontpassenger frontal airbag is either ON(enabled) or OFF (disabled).
The indicator lamp is in the center stack ofthe instrument panel.
Note:The passenger airbag status indicatorOFF and ON indicator lamps illuminate fora short period of time when you first switchthe ignition on to confirm they are functional.
The front passenger sensing system isdesigned to disable (will not inflate) the frontpassenger frontal airbag when the frontpassenger seat is unoccupied, or a rearfacing infant seat, a forward-facing childrestraint, or a booster seat is detected. Evenwith this technology, parents are stronglyencouraged to always properly restrainchildren in the rear seat. The sensor alsoturns off the passenger front airbag andseat-mounted side airbag when thepassenger seat is empty.
•When the front passenger sensingsystem disables (will not inflate) the frontpassenger frontal airbag, the passengerairbag status indicator illuminates theOFF lamp and stays lit to remind you thatthe front passenger frontal airbag isdisabled.
•If you have installed the child restraintand the passenger airbag status indicatorilluminates the ON lamp, then switch thevehicle off, remove the child restraintfrom the vehicle and reinstall the restraintfollowing the child restraintmanufacturer's instructions.
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Note:When the passenger airbag statusindicator OFF light illuminates, the passenger(seat mounted) side airbag may be disabledto avoid the risk of airbag deploymentinjuries.
After all occupants have adjusted their seatsand put on seatbelts, it is very important thatthey continue to sit properly. A properlyseated occupant sits upright, leaning againstthe seat backrest, and centered on the seatcushion, with their feet comfortably extendedon the floor. Sitting improperly can increasethe chance of injury in a crash event. Forexample, if an occupant slouches, lies down,turns sideways, sits forward, leans forwardor sideways, or puts one or both feet up, thechance of injury during a crash greatlyincreases.
If you think that the status of the passengerairbag off indicator lamp is incorrect, checkfor the following:
•Objects lodged underneath the seat.
•Objects between the seat cushion andthe center console.
•Objects hanging off the seat backrest.
•Objects stowed in the seat backrest mappocket.
•Objects placed on the occupant's lap.
•Cargo interference with the seat
•Other passengers pushing or pulling onthe seat.
•Rear passenger feet and knees restingor pushing on the seat.
The conditions listed above may cause theweight of a properly seated occupant to beincorrectly interpreted by the front passengersensing system. The person in the frontpassenger seat may appear heavier or lighterdue to the conditions described in the listabove.
Make sure the front passengersensing system is operatingproperly. See Crash Sensors andAirbag Indicator (page 51).
If the airbag readiness light is lit, do thefollowing:
The driver and adult passengers shouldcheck for objects lodged underneath thefront passenger seat, or cargo interferingwith the seat.
If there are lodged objects, or cargo isinterfering with the seat, take the followingsteps to remove the obstruction:
•Pull the vehicle over.
•Switch the vehicle off.
•Driver and adult passengers shouldcheck for any objects lodged underneaththe front passenger seat or cargointerfering with the seat.
•Remove the obstruction(s) (if found).
•Restart the vehicle.
•Wait at least two minutes and verify thatthe airbag readiness light is no longerilluminated.
•If the airbag readiness light remainsilluminated, this may or may not be aproblem due to the front passengersensing system.
Do not attempt to repair or service thesystem. Take your vehicle immediately to anauthorized dealer.
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Note:The passenger sensing system willdeactivate the passenger seat-mounted sideairbag if it detects an empty passenger seat.
The design and development of the sideairbag system included recommendedtesting procedures that were developed bya group of automotive safety experts knownas the Side Airbag Technical Working Group.These recommended testing procedureshelp reduce the risk of injuries related to thedeployment of side airbags.
DRIVER KNEE AIRBAG
A driver's knee airbag is located under theinstrument panel. During a crash, therestraints control module may activate thedriver's knee airbag based on crash severityand occupant conditions. Under certain crashand occupant conditions, the driver’s kneeairbag may deploy but the driver’s frontairbag may not activate. As with front andside airbags, it is important to be properlyseated and restrained to reduce the risk ofdeath or serious injury.
Make sure the knee airbag isoperating properly. See CrashSensors and Airbag Indicator(page 51).
SAFETY CANOPY™
WARNINGS
Do not place objects or mountequipment on or near the headliner atthe siderail that may come into contact witha deploying curtain airbag. Failure to followthese instructions may increase the risk ofpersonal injury in the event of a crash.
Do not lean your head on the door. Thecurtain airbag could injure you as itdeploys from the headliner.
Do not attempt to service, repair, ormodify the supplementary restraintsystem or associated components. Failureto follow this instruction could result inpersonal injury or death.
WARNINGS
All occupants of your vehicle, includingthe driver, should always properly weartheir seatbelts, even when an airbagsupplemental restraint system is provided.Failure to properly wear your seatbelt couldseriously increase the risk of injury or death.
To reduce risk of injury, do not obstructor place objects in the deploymentpath of the airbag.
If a supplementary restraint systemcomponent has deployed, it will notfunction again. Have the system andassociated components inspected as soonas possible. Failure to follow this instructioncould result in personal injury or death.
The Safety Canopy deploys during significantside crashes or when a certain likelihood ofa rollover event is detected by the rolloversensor. The Safety Canopy is mounted tothe roof side rail sheet metal, behind theheadliner, above each row of seats. In certainsideways crashes or rollover events, the
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Safety Canopy will be activated, regardlessof which seats are occupied. The SafetyCanopy is designed to inflate between theside window area and occupants to furtherenhance protection provided in side impactcrashes and rollover events.
The system consists of the following:
•Safety Canopy curtain airbags above thetrim panels over the front and rear sidewindows identified by a label or wordingon the headliner or roof-pillar trim.
•A flexible headliner which opens abovethe side doors to allow air curtaindeployment
· Crash sensors and monitoringsystem with a readiness indicator.See Crash Sensors and AirbagIndicator (page 51).
Properly restrain children 12 years old andunder in the rear seats. The Safety Canopywill not interfere with children restrainedusing a properly installed child or boosterseat because it is designed to inflatedownward from the headliner above thedoors along the side window opening.
The design and development of the SafetyCanopy included recommended testingprocedures that were developed by a groupof automotive safety experts known as theSide Airbag Technical Working Group. Theserecommended testing procedures helpreduce the risk of injuries related to thedeployment of side airbags (including theSafety Canopy).
CRASH SENSORS AND AIRBAG
INDICATOR
WARNING
Modifying or adding equipment to thefront end of your vehicle (includinghood, bumper system, frame, front end bodystructure, tow hooks and hood pins) mayaffect the performance of the airbag system,increasing the risk of injury. Do not modifyor add equipment to the front end of yourvehicle.
Your vehicle has a collection of crash andoccupant sensors which provide informationto the restraints control module whichdeploys (activates) the front seatbeltpretensioners, driver airbag, passengerairbag, knee airbag(s), seat mounted sideairbags, and the Safety Canopy. Based onthe type of crash, the restraints controlmodule will deploy the appropriate safetydevices.
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The restraints control module also monitorsthe readiness of the above safety devicesplus the crash and occupant sensors. Awarning indicator light in the instrumentcluster indicates the readiness of the safetysystem. If this warning indicator light is notfunctioning and there is another fault withinthe system, the message cluster coulddisplay an airbag failure warning. A tonesounds, a warning indicator light illuminates,or both, until the problem is repaired. Routinemaintenance of the airbag is not required.
A difficulty with the system is indicated byone or more of the following:
The indicator light will notilluminate immediately after youswitch the ignition on.
•The indicator light either flashes or staysilluminated.
•You could hear five tones thatperiodically repeat until the problem isrepaired.
•A message could appear in theinformation display.
If any of these things happen, evenintermittently, have the supplementalrestraint system serviced at an authorizeddealer immediately. Unless serviced, thesystem may not function properly in theevent of a crash.
The seatbelt pretensioners and the airbagsupplemental restraint system are designedto activate when your vehicle sustains frontalor sideways deceleration sufficient to causethe restraints control module to deploy asafety device or when a certain likelihood ofa rollover event is detected by the rolloversensor.
The fact that the seatbelt pretensioners orairbags did not activate for both front seatoccupants in a crash does not mean thatsomething is wrong with the system. Rather,it means the restraints control moduledetermined the crash conditions (forexample, crash severity, belt usage) werenot appropriate to activate these safetydevices.
•The design of the front airbags is toactivate only in frontal and near-frontalcrashes (not rollovers, side impacts orrear impacts) unless the crash causessufficient frontal deceleration.
•The seatbelt pretensioners are designedto activate in frontal, near-frontal, sideand rollover crashes.
•The design of the side airbags is to inflatein certain side crashes. Side airbagscould activate in other types of crashesif the vehicle experiences sufficientsideways motion or deformation.
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