airbag BUICK LUCERNE 2006 User Guide

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.
Seat-mounted side impact airbags and
roof-mounted 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 1-30orInfants and
Young Children on page 1-33.
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There is an airbag
readiness light on the
instrument panel, 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 3-36
for 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.The seat-mounted side impact airbag for the driver is in
the side of the driver’s seatback closest to the door.
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The seat-mounted side impact airbag for the right front
passenger is in the side of the passenger’s seatback
closest to the door.The roof-mounted side impact airbag for the driver and
the person seated directly behind the driver is in the
ceiling above the side windows.
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The roof-mounted side impact airbag for the right front
passenger and the person seated directly behind
that passenger is in the ceiling above the side windows.
{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. Never secure anything to the
roof of your vehicle by routing the rope or
tie-down through any door or window opening.
If you do, the path of an inating airbag will be
blocked. Do not let seat covers block the
ination path of a side impact airbag. The path
of an inating airbag must be kept clear.
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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.
Your vehicle has a “dual stage” driver airbag, which
adjusts the restraint according to crash severity using
electronic frontal sensor(s) which help the sensing
system distinguish between a moderate frontal impact
and a more severe frontal impact. The “dual stage”
driver airbag inates to a level less than full deployment
for moderate frontal impacts and to a full deployment
for more severe frontal impacts.Your vehicle is also equipped with a “dual depth”
passenger airbag that adjusts the restraint according to
crash severity, seat location, and safety belt status
using electronic frontal sensor(s) and other special
sensors which enable the sensing system to monitor
the status of the front passenger safety belt and
the position of the front passenger seat. The passenger
airbag inates to a reduced depth when the passenger
seat is in a forward position. For more rearward
front seating positions, the passenger airbag may inate
to an increased depth (a full deployment), based on
safety belt status and the crash severity measured early
in the event. (Always wear your safety belt, even with
frontal airbags.)
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 16 mph
(19 to 26 km/h), and the threshold level for a full
deployment is about 17 to 22 mph (27 to 35 km/h)
if the other sensors do not over-ride this. 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 has special sensors which enable the
sensing system to monitor the position of the right front
passenger’s seat and whether the occupant is buckled
or unbuckled. The passenger seat position sensor
and passenger safety belt buckle switch provide
information which is used to determine if the airbags
should deploy at a reduced level or full deployment.
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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What Makes an Airbag Inate?
In an impact of sufficient severity, the airbag sensing
system detects that the vehicle is in a crash.
The sensing system triggers a release of gas from the
inator, which inates the airbag. The inator, airbag and
related hardware are all part of the airbag modules
inside the steering wheel, instrument panel, the side
of the front seatbacks closest to the door and the ceiling
of the vehicle, near the side windows.
How Does an Airbag Restrain?
In moderate to severe frontal or near frontal collisions,
even belted occupants can contact the steering wheel
or the instrument panel. In moderate to severe side
collisions, even belted occupants can contact the inside
of the vehicle. The airbag supplements the protection
provided by safety belts. Airbags distribute the force of
the impact more evenly over the occupant’s upper
body, stopping the occupant more gradually.But the frontal airbags would not help you in many
types of collisions, including rollovers, rear impacts, and
many side impacts, primarily because an occupant’s
motion is not toward the airbag. Side impact airbags
would not help you in many types of collisions, including
many frontal or near frontal collisions, and rear impacts,
primarily because an occupant’s motion is not toward
those airbags. Airbags should never be regarded
as anything more than a supplement to safety belts, and
then only in moderate to severe frontal or near-frontal
collisions for the driver’s and right front passenger’s
frontal airbags, and only in moderate to severe
side collisions for side impact airbags.
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What Will You See After an
Airbag Inates?
After the airbags inate, they quickly deate, so quickly
that some people may not even realize the airbags
inated. Some components of the airbag module — the
steering wheel hub for the driver’s airbag, the instrument
panel for the right front passenger’s bag, the side of the
seatback closest to the door for seat-mounted side
impact airbags, and the area along the ceiling of your
vehicle near the side windows for roof-mounted side
impact airbags — may be hot for a short time. The parts
of the bag that come into contact with you may be warm,
but not too hot to touch. There will be some smoke and
dust coming from the vents in the deated airbags. Airbag
ination does not prevent the driver from seeing out of the
windshield or being able to steer the vehicle, nor does it
stop people from leaving the vehicle.
{CAUTION:
When an airbag inates, there is dust in the air.
This dust could cause breathing problems
for people with a history of asthma or other
breathing trouble. To avoid this, everyone in the
vehicle should get out as soon as it is safe to do
so. If you have breathing problems but cannot
get out of the vehicle after an airbag inates,
then get fresh air by opening a window or a
door. If you experience breathing problems
following an airbag deployment, you should
seek medical attention.
Your vehicle has a feature that may automatically unlock
the doors and turn the interior lamps on when the airbags
inate (if battery power is available). You can lock the
doors again and turn the interior lamps off by using the
door lock and interior lamp controls. The hazard warning
ashers will also come on when the airbags deploy. If you
want to turn them off, press the hazard warning asher
button twice.
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