continu etop erform thei rp rotective function for
the vehicle occupants in the event of ac rash.
G WARNING
Emergency Tensioning Devices that have
deployed pyrotechnicall ya re no longer opera-
tiona la nd are unabl etop erform thei ri nten-
ded protective function. Thi sp oses an
increase dr is kofi njury or eve nf ata li njury.
Have pyrotechnicall yt riggere dE mergency
Tensioning Devices replaced immediatel yata
qualified specialist workshop.
An electri cm otor is used by PRE-SAFE ®
to trig-
ger the tightening of the sea tb el tinh az ardous
situations. Thi sp rocedure is reversible.
If Emergency Tensioning Devices are triggered
or ai rb ag sa re deployed, yo uw il lh ea rab an g,
and some powder may also be released .T he
u restraint system warning lamp lights up.
Only in rar ec ase sw il lt he bang affect your hear-
ing. The powder that is released generally does
not constitute ah ealth hazard ,b ut it may cause
short-term breathing difficulties in peopl ew it h
asthma or othe rr espiratory problems. Provided
it is saf etodos o, yo us houl dl ea ve the vehicle
immediatel yoro pe nt he window in order to pre-
vent breathing difficulties.
Air bags and pyrotechnic Emergency Tensioning
Devices (ETDs) contai np erchlorate material,
which may require specia lh an dling and regard
for the environment. National guidelines must
be observe dd ur ing disposal .InC alif ornia, see
www.dtsc.ca.gov/HazardousWaste/
Perchlorate/index.cfm .
Metho dofo perationDuring the firs ts tag eofac ollision, the restraint
system control uni te valuates important physi-
cal data relating to vehicle deceleration or accel-
eration, such as: R
duration R
direction R
intensity
Base dont he evaluation of this data, the
restraint system control uni tt riggers the Emer-
gency Tensioning Devices during af ronta lo r
rea rc ollision. An Emergency Tensioning Device can only be
triggered, if: R
the ignition is switched on R
the components of the restraint system are
operational .Y ou can find further information
under "Restraint system warning lamp"
( Y
page 38) R
the sea tb el tb uc kle tongu eh as engaged in
the bel tb uc kle of the respectiv es eat
If the restraint system control uni td etects a
more severe accident, further components of
the restraint system are activate di ndepend-
ently of each othe rinc ertain fronta lc ollision
situations: R
Front ai rb ag sasw el lasd river' sa nd front-
passenger knee bags
The front-passenger front ai rb ag is activate do r
deactivated depending on the person on the
front-passenger seat. The front-passenger front
ai rb ag can only deploy in an accident if the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF indicator lamp is off.
Observe the information on the PASSENGER AIR
BAG indicator lamps ( Y
page 39).
You rv ehicle ha st wo-stage front ai rb ag s. In the
firs td eployment stage, the front ai rb ag is filled
with propellant gas. The front ai rb ag is fully
deployed with the maximum amount of prop el-
l
ant ga sifas econd deployment threshol di s
reached within af ew milliseconds.
The activation threshol doft he Emergency Ten-
sioning Devices and the ai rb ag sisd etermined
by evaluating the rate of vehicle deceleration or
acceleration which occurs at variou sp oints in
the vehicle .T hi sp rocess is pre-emptive in
nature. Deployment shoul dt ake place in good
time at the star toft he collision.
The rate of vehicle deceleration or acceleration
and the direction of the force are essentially
determine db y: R
the distribution of force sd ur ing the collisionR
the collision angle R
the deformation characteristics of the vehicle R
the characteristics of the object with which
the vehicle ha sc ollided
Factor sw hich can only be see na nd measured
afte rac ollision ha so ccurred do not play ad eci-
siv er ol eint he deployment of an ai rb ag .N or do
they provid eani ndication of ai rb ag deploy-
ment.
The vehicle can be deforme dc onsiderably ,w it h-
ou tana ir ba gb eing deployed. Thi sist he case if
only parts which are relativel ye as il yd eformedOccupan ts afety 51
Safety Z