CADILLAC ESCALADE 2007 3.G Owners Manual

CAUTION: (Continued)
And, for some unrestrained occupants,
frontal airbags may provide less
protection in frontal crashes than more
forceful airbags have provided in
the past.
Roof-mounted rollover airbags are
designed to inate in moderate to severe
crashes where something hits the side of
your vehicle, during a vehicle rollover, or
in a severe frontal impact. They are not
designed to inate in rear crashes. If your
vehicle has roof-mounted airbags, they
are designed to provide both side impact
protection and rollover protection.
Everyone in your vehicle should wear a
safety belt properly — whether or not
there is an airbag for that person.
{CAUTION:
Both frontal and roof-mounted rollover
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 in the rst or second row
seats, or the rear windows in the third row
seat, if your vehicle has roof-mounted
rollover airbags.
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{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 60orInfants and Young Children on
page 63.
Occupants should not lean on or sleep
against the door in the rst or second row
seats, or the rear windows in the third row
seat, if your vehicle has roof-mounted
rollover airbags.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 232for more information.
92

Where Are the Airbags?
The driver’s airbag is in the middle of the steering
wheel.The right front passenger’s airbag is in the
instrument panel on the passenger’s side.
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The roof-mounted rollover airbag for the driver and
the person seated directly behind the driver is
located in the ceiling above the side windows.The roof-mounted rollover airbag for the right front
passenger and the person directly behind that
passenger is located in the ceiling above the side
windows.
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If your vehicle has a third row seat, the
roof-mounted rollover airbag is located in the
ceiling above the rear windows for the outside
passenger positions.
{CAUTION:
If something is between an occupant
and an airbag, the bag 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. And, if your vehicle
has roof-mounted rollover airbags, 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 side
impact airbag will be blocked. 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.In addition, your vehicle has “dual stage” frontal
airbags, which adjust the restraint according
to crash severity. Your vehicle has electronic
frontal sensors, which help the sensing system
distinguish between a moderate frontal impact
and a more severe frontal impact. For moderate
frontal impacts, these airbags inate at a level less
than full deployment. 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 9 to 16 mph
(14 to 26 km/h), and the threshold level for a full
deployment is about 18 to 25 mph (29 to 40 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 has a seat position sensor which
enables the sensing system to monitor the
fore and aft position of the driver’s seat. Seat
position sensors provide information that is used
to determine if the airbags should deploy at a
reduced level or at full deployment.
97

Your vehicle has roof-mounted rollover airbags
and a rollover sensor. SeeAirbag System on
page 90. These “rollover capable” airbags
are intended to inate in moderate to severe side
crashes, during a rollover or in a severe frontal
impact. A roof-mounted rollover airbag will inate if
the crash severity is above the system’s designed
“threshold level.” The threshold level can vary
with specic vehicle design. Roof-mounted rollover
airbags are not intended to inate in rear
impacts. Both roof-mounted rollover airbags will
deploy when either side of the vehicle is struck or
during a rollover, or in a severe frontal impact.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 roof-mounted rollover airbags,
ination is determined by the location and severity
of the impact or a rollover event.
The airbag system is designed to work properly
under a wide range of conditions, including off-road
usage. Observe safe driving speeds, especially
on rough terrain. As always, wear your safety belt.
SeeOff-Road Driving on page 338for tips on
off-road driving.
98

What Makes an Airbag Inate?
In an impact of sufficient severity, the airbag
sensing system detects that the vehicle is
in a crash. In the case of a roof-mounted rollover
airbag, the sensing system detects that the
vehicle is about to roll over or has been in a severe
frontal impact. 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 and in the instrument panel in front
of the right front passenger. For vehicles with
roof-mounted rollover airbags, the airbag modules
are located in the ceiling of the vehicle, near
the side windows.
If your vehicle has a third row seat with
roof-mounted rollover airbags, the airbag modules
are located inside the rear-most pillar trim and
above in the ceiling above the xed rear glass.
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.
Roof-mounted rollover 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 the airbag. 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 roof-mounted rollover airbags.
99

What Will You See After an Airbag
Inates?
After a frontal airbag inates, it quickly deates, so
quickly that some people may not even realize
an airbag inated. Roof-mounted rollover airbags
are designed to deate more slowly and may
still be at least partially inated minutes after the
vehicle comes to rest. Some components of
the airbag module — the steering wheel hub for
the driver’s airbag, the instrument panel for
the right front passenger’s airbag, and the area
along the ceiling of the vehicle near the side
windows for vehicles with roof–mounted side
impact airbags — may be hot for a short time. The
parts of the airbag 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. You can lock the
doors again and turn the interior lamps off by
using the controls for those features.
100