airbag SATURN RELAY 2007 User Guide

{CAUTION:
A child in a rear-facing child restraint can
be seriously injured or killed if the right
front passenger’s airbag inates. This is
because the back of the rear-facing child
restraint would be very close to the
inating airbag.
Even though the passenger sensing
system is designed to turn off the
passenger’s frontal airbag and
seat-mounted side impact airbag (if
equipped) under certain conditions, no
system is fail-safe, and no one can
guarantee that an airbag will not deploy
under some unusual circumstance, even
though it is turned off. General Motors
recommends that rear-facing child
restraints be secured in the rear seat,
even if the airbag is off.If you need to secure a forward-facing child
restraint in the right front seat position, move the
seat as far back as it will go before securing
the forward-facing child restraint. SeeManual
Seats on page 9orPower Seats on page 10.
If your child restraint has the LATCH system, see
Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children
(LATCH) on page 69.
There is no top tether anchor at the right front
seating position. Do not secure a child seat in this
position if a national or local law requires that
the top tether be anchored or if the instructions
that come with the child restraint say that the top
tether must be anchored. SeeLower Anchors
and Tethers for Children (LATCH) on page 69if
the child restraint has a top tether.
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You will be using the lap-shoulder belt to secure
the child restraint in this position. Be sure to follow
the instructions that came with the child restraint.
Secure the child in the child restraint when and as
the instructions say.
1. Your vehicle has a right front passenger’s
airbag. SeePassenger Sensing System on
page 93. We recommend that rear-facing child
restraints be secured in a rear seat, even if
the airbag or airbags are off. If your child
restraint is forward-facing, move the seat as
far back as it will go before securing the
child restraint in this seat. SeeManual Seats
on page 9orPower Seats on page 10.
When the passenger sensing system has
turned off the right front passenger’s airbag or
airbags, the off indicator in the passenger
airbag status indicator should light and stay lit
when you turn the ignition to RUN or
START. SeePassenger Airbag Status
Indicator on page 224.
2. Put the child restraint on the seat.3. Pick up the latch plate, and run the lap and
shoulder portions of the vehicle’s safety belt
through or around the restraint. The child
restraint instructions will show you how.
4. Buckle the belt. Make sure the release button
is positioned so you would be able to unbuckle
the safety belt quickly if you ever had to.
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8. If the airbag or airbags are off, the off indicator
on the instrument panel will be lit and stay lit
when the key is turned to RUN or START.
If a child restraint has been installed and the on
indicator is lit, turn the vehicle off. Remove
the child restraint from the vehicle and reinstall the
child restraint.
If, after reinstalling the child restraint and restarting
the vehicle, the on indicator is still lit, check to
make sure that the vehicle’s seatback is not
pressing the child restraint into the seat cushion. If
this happens, slightly recline the vehicle’s
seatback and adjust the seat cushion if possible.
Also make sure the child restraint is not trapped
under the vehicle head restraint. If this happens,
adjust the head restraint.
If the on indicator is still lit, secure the child in the
child restraint in a rear seat position in the
vehicle and check with your retailer.
To remove the child restraint, just unbuckle the
vehicle’s safety belt and let it go back all the way.
The safety belt will move freely again and be
ready to work for an adult or larger child
passenger.Airbag System
Your vehicle has a frontal airbag for the driver and
a frontal airbag for the right front passenger.
Your vehicle may also have side impact airbags.
Side impact airbags are available for the driver, the
right front passenger and the second row
captain’s chairs (if equipped).
If your vehicle has a side impact airbag, the word
AIRBAG will appear on the airbag covering on
the side of the seatback closest to the door.
Frontal airbags are designed to help reduce the
risk of injury from the force of an inating
frontal airbag. But these airbags must inate very
quickly to do their job and comply with federal
regulations.
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Here are the most important things to know about
the airbag system:
{CAUTION:
You can be severely injured or killed in a
crash if you are not wearing your safety
belt — even if you have airbags. Wearing
your safety 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 safety belts. All airbags are designed
to work with safety belts but do not
replace them.
CAUTION: (Continued)
CAUTION: (Continued)
Frontal airbags for the driver and right
front passenger are designed to deploy in
moderate to severe frontal and near
frontal crashes. They are not designed to
inate in rollover, rear crashes, or in many
side crashes. And, for some unrestrained
occupants, frontal airbags may provide
less protection in frontal crashes than
more forceful airbags have provided in
the past.
Side impact airbags are designed to
inate in moderate to severe crashes
where something hits the side of your
vehicle. They are not designed to inate in
frontal, in rollover, or in rear crashes.
Everyone in your vehicle should wear a
safety belt properly — whether or not
there is an airbag for that person.
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{CAUTION:
Both frontal and side impact airbags
inate with great force, faster than the
blink of an eye. If you are too close to an
inating airbag, as you would be if you
were leaning forward, it could seriously
injure you. Safety belts help keep you in
position for airbag ination before and
during a crash. Always wear your safety
belt even with frontal airbags. The driver
should sit as far back as possible while
still maintaining control of the vehicle.
Occupants should not lean on or sleep
against the door.
{CAUTION:
Anyone who is up against, or very close
to, any airbag when it inates can be
seriously injured or killed. Airbags plus
lap-shoulder belts offer the best
protection for adults, but not for young
children and infants. Neither the vehicle’s
safety belt system nor its airbag system is
designed for them. Young children and
infants need the protection that a child
restraint system can provide. Always
secure children properly in your vehicle.
To read how, seeOlder Children on
page 56orInfants and Young Children on
page 59.
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There is an airbag
readiness light on the
instrument panel 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. SeeAirbag Readiness Light on
page 223for more information.Where Are the Airbags?
The driver’s frontal airbag is in the middle of the
steering wheel.
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The right front passenger’s frontal airbag is in the
instrument panel on the passenger’s side.If your vehicle has a side impact airbag for the
driver, it is in the side of the driver’s seatback
closest to the door.
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If your vehicle has a side impact airbag for the
right front passenger and/or the second row
captain’s chairs (if equipped), it is in the side of
the seatback closest to the door.
{CAUTION:
If something is between an occupant and
an airbag, the airbag might not inate
properly or it might force the object into
that person causing severe injury or even
death. The path of an inating 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 let seat
covers block the ination path of a side
impact airbag.
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When Should an Airbag Inate?
The driver’s and right front passenger’s frontal
airbags are designed to inate in moderate
to severe frontal or near-frontal crashes. But
they are designed to inate only if the impact
exceeds a predetermined deployment threshold.
Deployment thresholds take into account a
variety of desired deployment and non-deployment
events and are used to predict how severe a
crash is likely to be in time for the airbags to inate
and help restrain the occupants. Whether your
frontal airbags will or should deploy is not based
on how fast your vehicle is traveling. It depends
largely on what you hit, the direction of the impact
and how quickly your vehicle slows down.In addition, your vehicle has “dual stage” frontal
airbags, which adjust the restraint according
to crash severity. For moderate frontal impacts,
these airbags inate at a level less than full
deployment. Your vehicle has electronic frontal
sensors, which help the sensing system distinguish
between a moderate frontal impact and a more
severe frontal impact. For more severe frontal
impacts, full deployment occurs. If the front of
your vehicle goes straight into a wall that does
not move or deform, the threshold level for
the reduced deployment is about 12 to 18 mph
(19 to 29 km/h), and the threshold level for
a full deployment is about 18 to 25 mph
(29 to 40.2 km/h). The threshold level can vary,
however, with specic vehicle design, so that it
can be somewhat above or below this range.
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Frontal airbags may inate at different crash
speeds. For example:
If the vehicle hits a stationary object, the
airbags could inate at a different crash speed
than if the vehicle hits a moving object.
If the vehicle hits an object that deforms, the
airbags could inate at a different crash
speed than if the vehicle hits an object that
does not deform.
If the vehicle hits a narrow object (like a pole),
the airbags could inate at a different crash
speed than if the vehicle hits a wide object
(like a wall).
If the vehicle goes into an object at an angle,
the airbags could inate at a different crash
speed than if the vehicle goes straight into the
object.
The frontal airbags (driver and right front
passenger) are not intended to inate during
vehicle rollovers, rear impacts, or in many side
impacts.Your vehicle may or may not have side impact
airbags. SeeAirbag System on page 83.
Side impact airbags are intended to inate in
moderate to severe side crashes. A side impact
airbag will inate if the crash severity is above the
system’s designed “threshold level.” The
threshold level can vary with specic vehicle
design. Side impact airbags are not intended to
inate in frontal or near-frontal impacts, rollovers or
rear impacts. A side impact airbag is intended to
deploy on the side of the vehicle that is struck.
In any particular crash, no one can say whether an
airbag should have inated simply because of
the damage to a vehicle or because of what the
repair costs were. For frontal airbags, ination
is determined by what the vehicle hits, the angle
of the impact, and how quickly the vehicle
slows down. For side impact airbags, ination is
determined by the location and severity of
the impact.
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