SAFETY
}}
* Option/accessory.47
WARNING
Do not squeeze box-like cargo between the rear seat cushion and the front seat backrest. If the rear seat backrests are folded down, cargo must be secured to prevent it from slid-ing forward against the front seat backrests inthe event of a collision.
WARNING
If a rear seat backrest is folded down or if a rear-facing child restraint is being used in therear seat, the seat in front must be moved for-ward so that it does not come into contactwith the backrest or child restraint.
Seating positionFor WHIPS to provide optimal protection, the driver and passenger must be seated correctlyand the system's function must not be impededin any way. Set the front seat to the correct seating position before starting to drive. The driver and the front seat passenger should sit in the center of the seat with their heads asclose as possible to the head restraints.
Related information
•Safety (p. 42)
• Manual front seats (p. 188)
• Power front seats
* (p. 189) •
Rear Collision Warning (p. 345)
Seat belts
Seat belts should always be worn by all occu- pants in your vehicle. Children should be prop-erly restrained using an infant seat, adjustablechild seat or booster cushion as determined byage, weight and height.
Most states and provinces make it mandatory for occupants of a vehicle to use seat belts.
Seat belt maintenanceCheck periodically that the seat belts are in goodcondition. Use water and a mild detergent forcleaning. Check the seat belt mechanism's func-tion as follows: attach the seat belt and pull rap-idly on the strap.
||
SAFETY
48
WARNING
•Never repair the belt yourself. Repairs should only be performed by a trainedand qualified Volvo service technician.
• Any device used to induce slack into theshoulder belt portion of the three-pointbelt system will have a detrimental effecton the amount of protection available inthe event of a collision.
• The seat back should not be tilted too farback. The shoulder belt must be taut inorder to function properly.
• Do not use any type of child restraint inthe front passenger seat. We recommendthat children who have outgrown thesedevices sit in the rear seat with the seatbelt properly fastened.
Related information
• Safety (p. 42)
• Seat belt tensioners (p. 50)
• Buckling and unbuckling seat belts (p. 48)
• Door and seat belt reminders (p. 51)
Buckling and unbuckling seat belts
Make sure that all passengers have buckled their seat belts before starting to drive.Buckling seat belts1. Pull out the belt slowly and make sure it is not twisted or damaged. If the seat belt in the second row center seating position is used, make sure it is prop-erly positioned in the correct seat belt guide.
NOTE
Each seat belt is equipped with a retractor that will lock up in the following situations:
• if the belt is pulled out rapidly
• during braking and acceleration
• if the vehicle is leaning excessively
• when driving in turns
• if the automatic locking retractor/emer-gency locking retractor (ALR/ELR) is acti-vated. Each seat belt (except for the driv-er's) is equipped with an ALR function,which is designed to keep the seat belttaut when installing a child restraint. ALRis activated when the seat belt is pulledout as far as possible. If this is done, asound from the seat belt retractor will beaudible, which is normal. The seat belt cannow only be fed into the retractor, notpulled out. This function is automaticallydisabled when the seat belt is unbuckledand fully retracted.
||
SAFETY
56
Passenger's side airbag decal
WARNING
•Children must never be allowed in the front passenger's seat.
• Occupants in the front passenger's seatmust never sit on the edge of the seat, sitleaning toward the instrument panel orotherwise sit out of position.
• The occupant's back must be as uprightas comfort allows and be against the seatback with the seat belt properly fastened.
• Feet must be on the floor, e.g., not on thedash, seat or out of the window.
WARNING
• No objects or accessory equipment, e.g. dashboard covers, may be placed on,attached to, or installed near the air bagcover (the area above the glove compart-ment) or the area affected by airbagdeployment.
• There should be no loose articles, suchas coffee cups on the floor, seat, or dash-board area.
• Never try to open the airbag cover on thesteering wheel or the passenger's sidedashboard. This should only be done by atrained and qualified Volvo service techni-cian.
• Failure to follow these instructions canresult in injury to the vehicle's occupants.
Related information
• Airbags (p. 52)
• Occupant weight sensor (p. 56)
Occupant weight sensor
The Occupant Weight Sensor (OWS) is designed to meet the regulatory requirements ofFederal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS)208 and is designed to disable (will not inflate)the passenger's side front airbag under certainconditions.
Occupant Weight Sensor (OWS) indicator light
Disabling the passenger's side front airbag
Volvo recommends that ALL occupants (adults and children) shorter than 140 cm (4 feet7 inches) be seated in the back seat of any vehi-cle with a front passenger side airbag and beproperly restrained for their size and weight. The OWS works with sensors that are part of the front passenger's seat and seat belt. The sensors are designed to detect the presence of a properly
||
SAFETY
58
Passenger'sseat occu-pancy status
OWS indi-cator lightstatus
Passenger'sside front air-bag status
Seat unoccu- pied OWS indi-cator lightlights up.Passenger'sside front air-bag disabled
Seat occu-pied by lowweight occu- pant/object AOWS indi-
cator light lights up Passenger'sside front air-
bag disabled
Seat occu-pied by heavyoccupant/object OWS indi-cator light is
not lit Passenger'sside front air-bag enabled
A
Volvo recommends that children always be properly restrained in appropriate child restraints in the rear seats. Do not assumethat the passenger's side front airbag is disabled unless thePASSENGER AIRBAG OFF indicator lamp is lit. Make sure thechild restraint is properly installed. If there is any doubt as to thestatus of the passenger's side front airbag, move the childrestraint to the rear seat.
The OWS is designed to enable (may inflate) the passenger's side front airbag in the event of acollision anytime the system senses that a per-son of adult size is sitting properly in the frontpassenger's seat. The PASSENGER AIRBAGOFF indicator lamp will be off and remain off. If a person of adult size is sitting in the front pas- senger's seat, but the PASSENGER AIRBAGOFF indicator lamp is on, it is possible that the person isn't sitting properly in the seat. If thishappens:
• Turn the vehicle off and ask the person toplace the backrest in an upright position.
• Have the person sit upright in the seat, cen-tered on the seat cushion, with the person'slegs comfortably extended.
• Restart the vehicle and have the personremain in this position for about two minutes.This will allow the system to detect that per-son and enable the passenger's frontal air-bag.
• If the PASSENGER AIRBAG OFF indicatorlamp remains on even after this, the personshould be advised to ride in the rear seat.
This indicates limitations in OWS classificationcapability. It does not indicate OWS malfunction.
ModificationsIf you are considering modifying your vehicle inany way to accommodate a disability, for exampleby altering or adapting the driver's or front pas-senger's seat(s) and/or airbag systems, pleasecontact Volvo at: In the United States Volvo Car USA, LLC Customer Care Center1 Volvo DriveP.O. Box 914 Rockleigh, New Jersey 076471-800-458-1552 In Canada Volvo Car Canada Ltd. Customer Care Centre9130 Leslie Street, Suite 101Richmond Hill, Ontario L4B 0B91-800-663-8255
SAFETY
}}
63
Related information
•Safety mode (p. 61)
• Starting the vehicle (p. 404)
• Recovery (p. 455)
Child safety
Children should always be seated safely when traveling in the vehicle.
General informationVolvo recommends the proper use of restraint systems for all occupants including children.Remember that, regardless of age and size, achild should always be properly restrained in avehicle. Your vehicle is also equipped with ISOFIX/ LATCH attachments, which make it more conven-ient to install child seats. Some restraint systems for children are designed to be secured in the vehicle by lap belts or thelap portion of a lap-shoulder belt. Such childrestraint systems can help protect children invehicles in the event of an accident only if theyare used properly. However, children could beendangered in a crash if the child restraints arenot properly secured in the vehicle. Failure to fol-low the installation instructions for your childrestraint can result in your child striking the vehi-cle's interior in a sudden stop. Holding a child in your arms is NOT a suitable substitute for a child restraint system. In an acci-dent, a child held in a person's arms can becrushed between the vehicle's interior and anunrestrained person. The child could also beinjured by striking the interior, or by being ejectedfrom the vehicle during a sudden maneuver or impact. The same can also happen if the infant orchild rides unrestrained on the seat. Other occu-pants should also be properly restrained to helpreduce the chance of injuring or increasing theinjury of a child. All states and provinces have legislation govern- ing how and where children should be carried ina vehicle. Find out the regulations existing in yourstate or province. Recent accident statistics haveshown that children are safer in rear seatingpositions than front seating positions when prop-erly restrained. A child restraint system can helpprotect a child in a vehicle. Here's what to lookfor when selecting a child restraint system: It should have a label certifying that it meets applicable Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Stand-ards (FMVSS 213) - or in Canada, CMVSS 213. Make sure the child restraint system is approved for the child's height, weight and development -the label required by the standard or regulation,or instructions for infant restraints, typically pro-vide this information. In using any child restraint system, we urge you to carefully look over the instructions that areprovided with the restraint. Be sure you under-stand them and can use the device properly andsafely in this vehicle. A misused child restraintsystem can result in increased injuries for boththe infant or child and other occupants in thevehicle.
||
SAFETY
64When a child has outgrown the child safety seat, you should use the rear seat with the standardseat belt fastened. The best way to help protectthe child here is to place the child on a cushionso that the seat belt is properly located on thehips. Legislation in your state or province maymandate the use of a child seat or cushion incombination with the seat belt, depending on thechild's age and/or size. Please check local regu-lations. A specially designed and tested booster cushion and backrest can be obtained from your Volvoretailer. See also the article "Integrated boostercushion."
WARNING
•
Do not use child safety seats or child booster cushions/backrests in the frontpassenger's seat. We also recommendthat children under 140 cm (4 feet7 inches) in height who have outgrownthese devices sit in the rear seat with theseat belt fastened.
• On hot days, the temperature in the vehi-cle interior can rise very quickly. Exposureto these high temperatures for even ashort period of time can cause heat-rela-ted injury or death. Small children are par-ticularly at risk. Never leave children unat-tended in a vehicle.
Child seats should always be registered.
Volvo's recommendationsWhy does Volvo believe that no child should sit inthe front seat of a vehicle? It's quite simple really.A front airbag is a very powerful device designed,by law, to help protect an adult. Because of the size of the airbag and its speed of inflation, a child should never be placed in thefront seat, even if he or she is properly belted orstrapped into a child safety seat. Volvo has beenan innovator in the field of safety since it wasfounded. And we have no intention of resting onour laurels. But we need your help. Please remember to put your children in the back seat,and buckle them up.
WARNING
A child restraint should never be reused if:
• The vehicle has been involved in a colli- sion, no matter how minor
• Its history is unknown
• It is older than the manufacturer's expira-tion date
Volvo has some very specific
recommendations
•Always wear your seat belt.
• Airbags are a SUPPLEMENTAL safety device which, when used with a three-pointseat belt can help reduce serious injuriesduring certain types of accidents. Volvo rec-ommends that you do not disconnect the air-bag system in your vehicle.
• Volvo strongly recommends that everyone inthe vehicle be properly restrained.
• Volvo recommends that ALL occupants(adults and children) shorter than 140 cm(4 feet 7 inches) be seated in the rear seatof any vehicle with a front passenger side air-bag.
• Drive safely!
SAFETY
}}
65
Related information
•Safety (p. 42)
• Child restraints (p. 65)
• Activating and deactivating child safety locks (p. 257)
Child restraints
Suitable child restraints should always be used when children travel in the vehicle.
Child restraint systems
Infant seat
There are three main types of child restraint sys- tems: infant seats, convertible seats and boostercushions. They are classified according to thechild's age and size. The child restraint should be secured using a three-point seat belt, ISOFIX/LATCH anchors ortop tether anchors.
Convertible seat
WARNING
A child seat should never be used in the front passenger seat of any vehicle with a frontpassenger airbag - not even if the "Passengerairbag off" symbol near the rear-view mirror isilluminated. If the severity of an accident wereto cause the airbag to inflate, this could leadto serious injury or death to a child seated inthis position.
||
SAFETY
66
Booster cushion
WARNING
Always refer to the child restraint manufactur- er's instructions for detailed information onsecuring the restraint.
WARNING
•When not in use, keep the child restraint system secured or remove it from thepassenger compartment to help prevent itfrom injuring passengers in the event of asudden stop or collision.
• A small child's head represents a consid-erable part of its total weight and its neckis still very weak. Volvo recommends thatchildren up to age 4 travel, properlyrestrained, facing rearward. In addition,Volvo recommends that children shouldride rearward facing, properly restrained,as long as possible.
Automatic Locking Retractor/ Emergency Locking Retractor (ALR/ELR)
To make child seat installation easier, each seat belt (except for the driver's belt) is equipped witha locking mechanism to help keep the seat belttaut.
When attaching the seat belt to a child seat:
1. Attach the seat belt to the child seat accord-
ing to the child seat manufacturer's instruc- tions.
2. Pull the seat belt out as far as possible.
3. Insert the seat belt latch plate into the buckle (lock) in the usual way. 4. Release the seat belt and pull it taut around
the child seat.
A sound from the seat belt retractor will be audi- ble at this time and is normal. The belt will nowbe locked in place. This function is automaticallydisabled when the seat belt is unlocked and thebelt is fully retracted.
WARNING
Do not use child safety seats or child booster cushions/backrests in the front passenger'sseat. We also recommend that children whohave outgrown these devices sit in the rearseat with the seat belt properly fastened.
Child restraint registration and recallsChild restraints could be recalled for safety rea- sons. You must register your child restraint to bereached in a recall. To stay informed about childsafety seat recalls, be sure to fill out and returnthe registration card that comes with new childrestraints. Child restraint recall information is readily availa- ble in both the U.S. and Canada. For recall infor-mation in the U.S., call the U.S. Government'sAuto Safety Hotline at 1-800-424-9393 or go tohttp://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/problems/recalls/register/childseat/index.cfm. In Canada,visit Transport Canada's Child Safety website athttp://www.tc.gc.ca/roadsafety/childsafety/menu.htm.