airbag CHRYSLER CROSSFIRE 2008 1.G User Guide

side of the vehicle is not fastened. This also does not
mean something is wrong with your airbag system.
If you do have a collision which deploys the airbags, any
or all of the following may occur:
²The nylon airbag material may sometimes cause abra-
sions and/or skin reddening to the driver and passen-
ger as the airbags deploy and unfold. The abrasions
are similar to friction rope burns or those you might
get sliding along a carpet or gymnasium floor. They
are not caused by contact with chemicals. They are not
permanent and normally heal quickly. However, if you
haven't healed significantly within a few days, or if
you have any blistering, see your doctor immediately.
²As the airbags deflate, you may see some smoke-like
particles. The particles are a normal by-product of the
process that generates the nontoxic nitrogen gas used
for airbag inflation. These airborne particles may irri-
tate the skin, eyes, nose, or throat. If you have skin oreye irritation, rinse the area with cool water. For nose
or throat irritation, move to fresh air. If the irritation
continues, see your doctor. If these particles settle on
your clothing, follow the garment manufacturer's in-
structions for cleaning.
²It is not advisable to drive your vehicle after the
airbags have been deployed. If you are involved in
another collision, the airbags will not be in place to
protect you.
How the Side Impact Airbag System Works
²
The side impact airbags are located in the doors above
the armrest.
²The ORC determines if a side impact is severe enough
to require the airbag on the side of the vehicle sub-
jected to an impact. As with the frontal system, the
sensors are connected to the diagnostic unit and the
airbag/inflator units.
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2

²When a side impact above a predetermined threshold
occurs, the sensors signal the inflator on the impacted
side of the vehicle. A large quantity of nontoxic
nitrogen gas is generated to inflate the airbag. The
door panel opens to allow the airbag to inflate to its
full size.WARNING!
²Do not put anything on or around the airbag
covers or attempt to manually open them. You may
damage the airbags and you could be injured
because the airbags are not there to protect you.
These protective covers are designed to open only
when the airbags are inflated.
²Do not attach cup holders or any other objects on
or around the door. The inflating side airbag could
drive the objects into occupants, causing serious
injury.
42 THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE

²The operational readiness of the side airbag system is
verified by the airbag indicator light in the instrument
cluster when turning the key in the ignition switch to
the ON/RUN position. If no fault is detected, the light
will go out after approximately four seconds. After the
light goes out, the system continues to monitor the
components and circuitry of the airbag system and
will indicate a malfunction by coming on again. If the
light does not come on at all, or if it fails to go out after
the four seconds, or if it comes on thereafter, a mal-
function in the system has been detected. See your
authorized dealer for service.WARNING!
²The door mounted side airbag deploys with consid-
erable force. Being too close to the door panel during
airbag deployment could cause serious injury or
death.
²All occupants must be in the appropriate restraint for
their size and age, especially children 12 and under.
²To help avoid the potential for serious injury and
death should the side airbag be activated, please
follow these guidelines:
1. Occupants, especially children, should never lean
against the door in the area where the side airbag
inflates;
2. Occupants need to sit upright in the center of the seat
to give the side airbag room to inflate;
3. Always use the appropriate restraint for the occupant
and ensure it is properly used.
THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE 43
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How the Occupant Classification System (OCS)
System Works
The Occupant Classification System (OCS) will classify
an occupant in the front passenger seat into a size
category based on sensor readings from within the seat
cushion. Occupants should try to remain in a normally
seated position. If the occupant's weight is transferred to
another object in the vehicle (i.e. feet on the dashboard),
the OCS may not be able to properly approximate
occupant size. Furthermore, the occupant size may ap-
pear to increase or decrease due to objects hanging on the
seat, other passengers pushing on the seat, or objects
lodged underneath the seat. If there is a rapid change in
temperature or humidity, the OCS may not be able to
properly approximate occupant size. If your seat includ-
ing your trim cover and cushion needs to be serviced in
any way, take the vehicle to your authorized dealer. Only
manufacturer approved seat accessories may be used. If
there is a fault present in the system, the AIRBAGwarning light will light indicating that you should take
the vehicle to an authorized dealer. In the presence of an
occupant in the passenger seat, if both the Passenger
Airbag Disable (PAD) indicator light (located in the
center console) and AIRBAG warning light (located in
the instrument cluster) are illuminated the airbag will be
disabled. The Occupant Restraint Controller (ORC) will
not allow front airbag deployment in the event of a
collision for occupants classified into the empty or child
size categories. The PAD indicator light will illuminate
indicating that the Passenger Airbag is OFF when the
OCS has determined that the occupant size category is a
child. Also, when the seat is empty or an object that
weighs less than a predetermined threshold is placed on
the seat, the light will remain OFF. (The PAD indicator
light is an amber light located in the center console.) For
almost all sizes of properly seated adults, the passenger
frontal airbag will be enabled in the event of a collision.
For small teenagers and some small adults, depending on
44 THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE

size, the airbag may or may not be enabled in the event
of a collision. Both drivers and passengers should always
use the PAD indicator light as an indication if the front
passenger is properly positioned or not. If the PAD
indicator light comes on when an adult is in the passen-
ger seat, have the passenger re-position themselves in the
seat until the light goes out. Remember, if the PAD
indicator light is illuminated the passenger front airbag
will not inflate. For most children properly seated on the
front seat and most properly installed child restraint
systems, the airbag will be disabled and the PAD indica-
tor light will be on. However, under certain conditions
even with the child restraint system has been installed
properly, the PAD indicator light may not be on even
though the air bag is disabled. This can occur if the child
restraint is lighter than the threshold weight necessary to
turn the PAD indicator light on. If this happens to you,
you can check to ensure the airbag is disabled by
performing the following simple procedure. Place theignition key in the RUN position and apply downward
pressure to the child restraint on the surface that the child
will be sitting on. Slowly count to 10 and watch the PAD
indicator light. The PAD indicator light should turn on.
When you release the pressure, the PAD indicator light
may stay on or may turn off but the airbag is disabled. If
at all possible, place children 12 years and younger in a
back seat.
The following requirements must be strictly adhered to:
²Do not modify the front passenger seat assembly or
components in any way.
²Do not modify the front seat center console or center
position seat in any way.
²Do not use prior or future model year seat covers not
designated for the specific model being repaired.
²Always use the correct seat cover specified for the
vehicle.
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²Do not replace the seat cover with an aftermarket seat
cover.
²Do not add a secondary seat cover other than those
approved by DaimlerChrysler/Mopart.
²At no time should any supplemental restraint system
(SRS) component or SRS related component or fas-
tener be modified or replaced with any part except
those which are approved by DaimlerChrysler/
Mopart.
How the Occupant Classification Module (OCM)
Works
The Occupant Classification Module (OCM) is located
beneath the passenger seat. The OCM classifies the
occupant into one of three size categories based on the
input from the Bladder Assembly and a Belt Tension
Sensor. The size categories include empty, child, and
adult. The OCM sends the Occupant Classification to theORC to determine if a front passenger airbag is allowed.
If a fault is present, the AIRBAG warning light is illumi-
nated.
How the Passenger Airbag Disabled (PAD)
Indicator Light Works
The Passenger Airbag Disabled (PAD) Indicator Light
indicates to the driver and passenger when the airbag is
turned OFF. In the presence of a properly seated occu-
pant, when the PAD indicator light is illuminated, the
airbag is OFF. Also, when the Occupant Classification
System detects either an empty seat or a weight less than
the predetermined threshold, the ORC will not illuminate
the PAD indicator light even though the airbag is turned
OFF.
How the Belt Tension Sensor (BTS) Works
The Belt Tension Sensor (BTS) is located at the outboard
passenger lap belt anchor. The BTS creates a signal based
on outboard lap belt tension. This signal is sent to the
46 THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE

OCM to ensure that the resultant bladder pressure in-
crease due to applied lap belt tension does not cause a
small occupant to be classified as a larger occupant
How the Bladder Mat and Pressure Sensor Works
The Bladder Mat and Pressure Sensor are located beneath
the seat cushion foam. The pressure sensor sends a signal
to the OCM. The passenger seat assembly contains criti-
cal components that affect the passenger airbag deploy-
ment. Correctly functioning passenger seat components
are critical for the Occupant Classification System (OCS)
to properly classify the passenger and calculate the
proper airbag deployment. Do not make any modifica-
tions to the passenger seat components, assembly, or to
the seat cover.
How the Driver/Passenger Inflatable Knee
Blockers Works
When the ORC and the impact sensors detect a collision
requiring the Driver/Passenger Inflatable Knee Blockers,it signals the inflator unit. A quantity of nontoxic gas is
generated to inflate the Driver/Passenger Inflatable Knee
Blockers. The Driver/Passenger Inflatable Knee Blockers
inflates rearward towards the driver 's knees to help
protect the knees and position you for the best interaction
with the front airbag. The Driver/Passenger Inflatable
Knee Blockers fully inflates in about 50 milliseconds, this
is only about half of the time it takes you to blink your
eyes. It then quickly deflates while helping to protect the
driver 's knees.
The Knee Impact Blockers help protect the knees and
position the occupant.
Passenger Front Airbag On/Off Switch
The ON/OFF switch is located at the right end of the
instrument panel and is accessible by opening the pas-
senger door.
THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE 47
2

NOTE:When using certain types of child seats, the
passenger airbag light will remain off even though the
passenger front airbags are disabled.
It is always recommended to turn off the passenger front
air bags using the passenger front airbags on/off switch
located at the right end of the instrument panel when the
passenger is:
²an infant (less than 1 year old),
²a child, age 1 to 12,
²an adult with a medical condition which makes pas-
senger airbag inflation (deployment) a greater risk for
the passenger than the risk of hitting the dashboard
(instrument panel) or windshield in a crash.
The on/off switch is accessible by opening the passenger
door.If the airbag is turned off when there is any other
occupant at that position, the supplemental restraint
provided by the airbag will not be available.
To turn OFF the passenger front airbag, use the on/off
switch located on the instrument panel.
48 THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE

NOTE:When the passenger airbag is turned off, the
yellow airbag off light will illuminate.
To Shut Off the Passenger Airbag:
²Place the ignition key in the on/off switch, turn the
key clockwise, and remove the key from the switch.
This will shut off the passenger front airbag.
²The air bag will remain off until the switch is turned
back to the ON position.
²The switch does NOT turn off the side airbag.
THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE 49
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To Turn On the Passenger Airbag:
²Place the ignition key in the on/off switch, turn the
key counterclockwise, and remove the key from the
switch. This will turn on the passenger airbag. The
Passenger Airbag Off light on the console will turn off,
or will not be illuminated when the ignition is turned
to the ON position.
WARNING!
The airbag may malfunction and serious injury could
result if key is left in the airbag shut off switch.
Always remove the key.
Maintaining Your Airbag System
WARNING!
²Unapproved modifications or service procedures to
the front passenger seat assembly, its related compo-
nents, or seat cover may inadvertently change the
airbag deployment in case of a frontal crash. This
could result in death or serious injury to the front seat
passenger if the vehicle is involved in an accident. A
modified vehicle may not comply with required Fed-
eral Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS).
²You need proper knee impact protection in a collision.
Do not mount or locate any aftermarket equipment on
or behind the knee impact blocker.
²You can be injured if you are too close to either airbag
cover when the airbags inflate. It is dangerous to try
to repair any part of the airbag system yourself. Don't
try to repair the airbag system. Be sure to tell anyone
who works on your vehicle that it has airbags.
50 THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE