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Safety
The vehicle is equipped with a number of safety systems that work together to helpprotect the vehicle's driver and passengers inthe event of an accident.
The vehicle is equipped with a number of sen- sors that may react in the event of an accidentand activate different safety systems, such asthe airbag system and seat belt tensioners.Depending on the specific conditions of theaccident, e.g. collisions at certain angles, over-turning or swerving, the systems react differ-ently to help provide good protection. There are also mechanical safety systems such as the Whiplash Protection System. Thevehicle is also built so that a large part of theforce of a collision is distributed to the vehi-cle's members, pillars, floor, roof and otherparts of the body. After an accident, the vehicle's safety mode may be activated if any important function inthe vehicle has been damaged.
Warning symbol in the instrument
panel
The warning symbol in the instru-ment panel illuminates when thevehicle's electrical system is in igni-tion mode II. The symbol will go out
after approx. 6 seconds if no faults aredetected in the vehicle's safety systems.
WARNING
If the warning symbol remains illuminated or switches on while driving and the mes- sage
SRS airbag Service urgent Drive to
workshop is displayed in the instrument
panel, this indicates that something in the safety system is not functioning properly.Volvo recommends contacting an author-ized Volvo workshop for repairs as soon aspossible.
WARNING
Never attempt to alter or repair any of the vehicle's safety systems yourself. Incor-rectly performed repairs to any systemcould impair function and lead to seriousinjury. Volvo recommends contacting anauthorized Volvo workshop.
If this dedicated warning symbol is not functioning, the general warningsymbol will illuminate instead andthe same message will be displayed
in the instrument panel.
Related information
Safety during pregnancy (p. 43)
Occupant safety (p. 43)
Reporting safety defects (p. 44)
Recall information (p. 45)
Seat belts (p. 47)
Airbags (p. 52)
Whiplash Protection System (p. 46)
Safety mode (p. 61)
Child safety (p. 63)
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Safety during pregnancy
It is important that seat belts are worn cor- rectly during pregnancy and that pregnantdrivers adjust their seating position accord-ingly.
Seat belt
The seat belt should fit closely against the shoulder, with the diagonal section betweenthe breasts and to the side of the stomach. The lap section of the seat belt should lie flat over the thighs and as far as possible underthe stomach. Never let it ride upward. Removeunnecessary slack and make sure the seat beltfits as close as possible to the body. Makesure there are no twists in the seat belt.
Seating positionAs pregnancy progresses, pregnant driversshould adjust the seat and steering wheel to a position that allows them to retain full controlof the vehicle (which means they should beable to easily reach the steering wheel andfoot pedals). Try to maintain as much distanceas possible between the stomach and thesteering wheel.
Related information
Safety (p. 42)
Seat belts (p. 47)
Manual front seats (p. 182)
Power
* front seats (p. 183)
Occupant safety
Safety is Volvo's cornerstone.
Volvo's concern for safetyOur concern for safety dates back to 1927 when the first Volvo rolled off the productionline. Three-point seat belts (a Volvo invention),safety cages, and energy-absorbing impactzones were designed into Volvo vehicles longbefore it was fashionable or required by gov-ernment regulation. We will not compromise our commitment to safety. We continue to seek out new safetyfeatures and to refine those already in ourvehicles. You can help. We would appreciatehearing your suggestions about improvingautomobile safety. We also want to know ifyou ever have a safety concern with your vehi-cle. Call us in the U.S. at: 1-800-458-1552 orin Canada at: 1-800-663-8255.
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Related information
Safety (p. 42)
Reporting safety defects (p. 44)
Occupant safety (p. 43)
Whiplash Protection System The Whiplash Protection System (WHIPS) is designed to help reduce the risk of whiplash-type injuries. The system consists of energyabsorbing backrests and seat cushions aswell as specially designed head restraints inthe front seats.
WHIPS is activated in the event of a rear-end collision and adapted to the angle and speedof the collision and to the characteristics ofthe colliding vehicle. When WHIPS is activated, the front seat backrests move rearward and the seat cush-ions move downward to change the seatingpositions of the driver and front seat passen-ger. This movement helps absorb some of theforces that could result in whiplash.
WARNING
WHIPS is a supplement to the seat belt. Always wear your seat belt.
WARNING
Do not attempt to alter or repair the seat or WHIPS on your own. Volvo recommendscontacting an authorized Volvo workshop. If the front seats have been subjected to severe stress, e.g. in a collision, the seatsmust be replaced. Even if the seats appearundamaged, some of their protective prop-erties may have been lost.
Do not place any objects on the floor behind or under the front seats or on the rear seat that could preventWHIPS from functioning correctly.
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WARNING
Do not squeeze box-like cargo between the rear seat cushion and the front seat back-rest. If the rear seat backrests are folded down, cargo must be secured to prevent it fromsliding forward against the front seat back-rests in the event of a collision.
WARNING
If a rear seat backrest is folded down or if a rear-facing child restraint is being used inthe rear seat, the seat in front must bemoved forward so that it does not comeinto contact with the backrest or childrestraint.
Seating positionFor WHIPS to provide good protection, the driver and passenger must be seated correctlyand the system's function must not be impe-ded in any way. Set the front seat to the correct seating posi- tion 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. 182)
Power
* front seats (p. 183)
Rear Collision Warning
* (p. 326)
Seat belts
Seat belts should always be worn by all occu- pants in your vehicle. Children should beproperly restrained using an infant seat,adjustable child seat or booster cushion asdetermined by age, 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 ingood condition. Use water and a mild deter-gent for cleaning. Check the seat belt mecha-nism's function as follows: attach the seat beltand pull rapidly on the strap.
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WARNING
Never repair the belt yourself. Repairs should only be performed by a trainedand qualified Volvo service technician.
Any device used to induce slack intothe shoulder belt portion of the three-point belt system will have a detrimen-tal effect on the amount of protectionavailable in the event of a collision.
The seat back should not be tilted toofar back. The shoulder belt must betaut in order to function properly.
Do not use any type of child restraint inthe front passenger seat. We recom-mend that children who have outgrownthese devices sit in the rear seat withthe seat belt 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.
NOTE
The seat belt is equipped with a seat belt retractor that will lock up in the followingsituations: if the belt is pulled out too quickly.
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) isactivated. Each seat belt (except for thedriver's) is equipped with an ALR func-tion, which is designed to keep the seatbelt taut when installing a childrestraint. ALR is activated when the seatbelt is pulled out as far as possible. Ifthis is done, a sound from the seat beltretractor will be audible, which is nor-mal. The seat belt can now only be fedinto the retractor, not pulled out. Thisfunction is automatically disabled whenthe seat belt is unbuckled and fullyretracted.
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2. Buckle the seat belt by pushing the latch
plate into the receptacle.
> A distinct "click" indicates that the beltis locked into place.
WARNING
Always insert the seat belt latch plate into the belt buckle on the correct side. Failureto do so could cause the seat belts and beltbuckles to malfunction in a collision. Thereis a risk of serious injury. 3. The height of the seat belts in the front
seats can be adjusted.
Press the button on the seat belt holder and move the belt up or down. Position the belt as high as possible with- out it chafing against the neck.
The belt should be positioned closely over the shoul- der (against the collarbone, not down over the arm).
4. Tighten the lap section of the seat beltover the hips by pulling the diagonal sec- tion upward toward the shoulder.
The lap section of the seat belt should be positioned low on the hips (not against the abdomen).
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WARNING
Never use a seat belt for more than one occupant. Never wear the shoulder portionof the belt under the arm, behind the backor otherwise out of position. Such usecould cause injury in the event of an acci-dent. As seat belts lose much of theirstrength when exposed to violent stretch-ing, they should be replaced after any colli-sion, even if they appear to be undamaged.
WARNING
Do not use clips or fasten the belts around hooks or other parts of the interior. This willprevent the seat belt from fitting properly.
WARNING
Never damage the seat belts and never insert any foreign objects into the beltbuckle. This may cause the seat belts andbelt buckles to malfunction in a collision.There is a risk of serious injury.
Unbuckling seat belts1. Press the red button on the seat beltreceptacle and make sure the seat belt retracts fully into the retractor slot.
2. If it does not fully retract, guide the belt manually into the slot and make sure itdoes not hang loose.
Related information
Seat belts (p. 47)
Seat belt tensioners (p. 50)
Door and seat belt reminders (p. 51)
Seat belt tensioners The vehicle is equipped with standard and electric seat belt tensioners that can help ten-sion the seat belt in a critical situation or colli-sion.
Standard seat belt tensionersAll seat belts are equipped with a standard seat belt tensioner. In a collision of sufficiently violent force, the seat belt tensioners will tension the seat beltsin order to more effectively restrain the occu-pants.
Electric seat belt tensionersThe driver's and front passenger's seat beltsare equipped with electric seat belt tensioners. The seat belt tensioners interact and can be activated in conjunction with the City Safetyand Rear Collision Warning driver support sys-tems. In critical situations, such as if the vehi-cle brakes suddenly, begins to skid or runs offthe road (e.g if the vehicle rolls into a ditch,lifts off the ground or hits an obstacle in theroad), or if there is a risk of collision, the seatbelts can be pulled taut by the seat belt ten-sioner's electric motor. The electric seat belt tensioner helps to posi- tion the occupant more effectively in the seat,which reduces the risk of the occupant strik-ing the interior of the passenger compartment
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and improves the effect of other safety sys- tems such as the airbags. When a critical situation has passed, the seat belt and the electric seat belt tensioner arereset automatically. However, they can also bereset manually.
WARNING
Never attempt to alter or repair the seat belt on your own. Volvo recommends con-tacting an authorized Volvo workshop. If the seat belt has been exposed to extreme forces, e.g. in conjunction with acollision, the entire seat belt must bereplaced. Even if the seat belt appearsundamaged, some of its protective proper-ties may have been lost. Also replace theseat belt if it is worn or damaged. The newseat belt must be type approved andintended for the same seating position asthe replaced seat belt.
Related information
Seat belts (p. 47)
Buckling and unbuckling seat belts (p. 48)
Resetting the electric seat belt tensioners (p. 51)
City Safety
™ (p. 312)
Rear Collision Warning
* (p. 326)
Resetting the electric seat belt tensioners
The electric seat belt tensioners are designed to be reset automatically, but if the seat beltremains taut it can be reset manually.
1. Stop the vehicle in a safe location.
2. Unbuckle the seat belt and then rebuckle it.
> The seat belt and the electric seat belttensioner will be reset.
WARNING
Never attempt to alter or repair the seat belt on your own. Volvo recommends con-tacting an authorized Volvo workshop. If the seat belt has been exposed to extreme forces, e.g. in conjunction with acollision, the entire seat belt must bereplaced. Even if the seat belt appearsundamaged, some of its protective proper-ties may have been lost. Also replace theseat belt if it is worn or damaged. The newseat belt must be type approved andintended for the same seating position asthe replaced seat belt.
Related information
Seat belt tensioners (p. 50)
Seat belts (p. 47)
Door and seat belt reminders
This system is intended to remind occupants to buckle their seat belts and to alert thedriver if a door, hood or other opening (trunk,sunroof, etc.) is open.
Graphics in the instrument panel
Graphics in the instrument panel with various types of warnings. The warning colors for the doors/trunklid vary depending on the vehicle's speed.
The instrument panel graphic shows the seats where seat belts are buckled and not buckled. The same graphic also indicates if the hood, trunk lid or any door is open. Confirm the graphic by briefly pressing the O
button on the right-side steering wheel key- pad.