airbag FIAT PANDA 2009 169 / 2.G Owners Manual

98
KNOW YOUR
VEHICLE
SAFETY
CORRECT USE
OF THE CAR
WARNING LIGHTS
AND MESSAGES
IN AN EMERGENCY
CAR
MAINTENANCE
TECHNICAL
SPECIFICATIONS
INDEX
CARRYING CHILDREN SAFELYFor optimal protection in the event of a collision, all pas-
sengers must be seated and wearing adequate restraint
systems.
This is even more important for children.
This prescription is compulsory in all EC countries ac-
cording to EC Directive 2003/20/EC.
Compared with adults, a child’s head is proportionally larg-
er and heavier than the rest of the body, while muscles and
bone structure are not fully developed.
Therefore, correct restraint systems are necessary other
than adult seat belts.
The results of research on the best child restraint system
are contained in the European Standard ECE-R44, which
enforces the use of restraint systems classified into five
groups:
Group 0 0 – 10 kg in weight
Group 0+ 0 – 13 kg in weight
Group 1 9 – 18 kg in weight
Group 2 15 – 25 kg in weight
Group 3 22 – 36 kg in weight
SERIOUS DANGER: never place cradle
child’s seats facing backwards on the front
passenger’s seat of cars fitted with pas-
senger’s air bag. Deployment of the airbag
in an accident could cause fatal injuries
to the baby. It is advisable to carry children always
on the rear seat which is the most protected po-
sition in the event of an accident. Never fit child
seats systems on the front seat if the car is pro-
vided with passenger’s air bag: as the airbag could
cause even fatal injury independently from the
severity of the collision which caused its deploy-
ment. If necessary, children can stay on the front
seat, only if the passenger’s airbag can be disabled.
It is absolutely necessary to check the warning
light
F
on the dashboard to make sure that the
deactivation has actually taken place (see “Pas-
senger’s front air bag”, paragraph “Front air
bags”). Move the passenger’s seat as far back as
possible to avoid contact between the child seat
and the dashboard.
WARNING
All child restraint devices must bear the certification da-
ta, together with the control brand, on a solidly fixed la-
bel which must absolutely never be removed.
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104
KNOW YOUR
VEHICLE
SAFETY
CORRECT USE
OF THE CAR
WARNING LIGHTS
AND MESSAGES
IN AN EMERGENCY
CAR
MAINTENANCE
TECHNICAL
SPECIFICATIONS
INDEX
AIR BAGThe car is fitted with front air bags (for versions/markets
where provided) for the driver and the passenger and front
side bags (side bag – window bag).
FRONT AIR BAGS
The front driver/passenger air bags have been designed to
protect the occupants in the event of head-on crashes of
medium-high severity, by placing the cushion between the
occupant and the steering wheel or dashboard.
Front air bags are designed to protect car’s passengers in
head-on crashes and therefore non-activation in other
types of collisions (side collisions, rear shunts, roll-overs,
etc.) is not a system malfunction.
An electronic control unit will make the bag inflate in the
event of a front crash.
The bag will inflate instantaneously placing itself between
the front passengers’ body and the structures which could
cause injury. It will deflate immediately afterwards.
Driver and passenger front airbags are not a replacement
of but complementary to the seat belts, which should al-
ways be worn, as specified by law in Europe and most non-
European countries.
In the event of an impact, those not wearing a seat belt will
move forward and come into contact with the bag which
is still inflating. The protection offered by the air bag cush-
ion is reduced in such a case.Front air bags may not be activated in the following situ-
ations:
❒
in collisions against highly deformable objects not af-
fecting the car front surface (e.g. bumper collision against
guard rail, etc.);
❒
car wedging under other vehicles or protective barri-
ers (e.g. trucks or guard rails);
they could not provide any additional protection compared
with seat belts, so their activation would be improper.
Therefore, failure to come into action in the above cir-
cumstances does not mean that the system is not work-
ing properly.
Do not apply stickers or other objects to
the steering wheel, to the passenger’s side
air bag cover side or on the side roof lining. Nev-
er put objects (e.g. mobile phones) on the pas-
senger’s side dashboard since they could interfere
with proper air bag inflation and also cause seri-
ous injury to the passengers.
WARNING
091-110 PANDA EN 7-10-2009 13:46 Pagina 104

105KNOW YOUR
VEHICLESAFETYCORRECT USE
OF THE CAR
WARNING LIGHTS
AND MESSAGES
IN AN EMERGENCY
CAR
MAINTENANCE
TECHNICAL
SPECIFICATIONS
INDEX
F0Z0693m
fig. 111
F0Z0057m
fig. 112
DRIVER’S FRONT AIR BAG fig. 111
It consists of an instant inflating bag contained in a special
recess in the centre of the steering wheel.
PASSENGER’S FRONT AIR BAG fig. 112
This consists of an instant inflating bag contained in a spe-
cial recess in the dashboard: this bag has a larger volume
than that of the driver’s. The driver’s and passenger’s front air bags have been de-
signed and calibrated to protect front seat occupants wear-
ing seat belts.
At their maximum inflation, their volume fills most of
the space between the steering wheel and the driver and
between the dashboard and the passenger.
The airbags are not deployed in the event of minor front
collisions (for which the withholding action of the seat belts
is sufficient). Safety belts must always be worn. In the event
of front crash they guarantee correct positioning of
the passenger.
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106
KNOW YOUR
VEHICLE
SAFETY
CORRECT USE
OF THE CAR
WARNING LIGHTS
AND MESSAGES
IN AN EMERGENCY
CAR
MAINTENANCE
TECHNICAL
SPECIFICATIONS
INDEX
F0Z0170m
fig. 113
IMPORTANT Only operate the switch with the engine off
and the ignition key removed.
The key-operated switch has two positions, fig. 113:❒
passenger’s front air bag activated (position ON
P):
warning light
F
on instrument panel off; it is absolutely
forbidden to carry a child on the front seat.
❒
front passenger air bag deactivated, warning light on (po-
sition OFF
F
): warning light
F
on instrument panel
on; child protected by special restraint system can be
carried on the front seat.
The warning
F
light on the instrument panel remains
on constantly until the passenger’s air bag is reactivated.
Deactivation of the passenger’s front air bag does not in-
hibit operation of the side air bag.
SERIOUS DANGER: never place cradle
child seats facing backwards on the front
passenger’s seat of cars fitted with pas-
senger’s air bag. Deployment of the airbag
in an accident could cause fatal injuries
to the baby. Always deactivate the passenger air
bag when placing a child seat on the front seat.
Move the passenger’s seat as far back as possi-
ble to avoid contact between the child seat and
the dashboard. Although this is not mandatory by
law, the air bag should be immediately reactivat-
ed when children are no longer carried to ensure
better protection for adults.
WARNING
MANUALLY DEACTIVATING
THE PASSENGER’S FRONT AIR BAG
Should it be absolutely necessary to carry a child on the
front seat, the passenger’s front air bag on the car can be
deactivated.
Deactivation/reactivation takes place with ignition key at
STOP and operating it in the special key switch in the glove
compartment.
The key can be fitted and removed in both positions.
091-110 PANDA EN 7-10-2009 13:46 Pagina 106

107KNOW YOUR
VEHICLESAFETYCORRECT USE
OF THE CAR
WARNING LIGHTS
AND MESSAGES
IN AN EMERGENCY
CAR
MAINTENANCE
TECHNICAL
SPECIFICATIONS
INDEX
F0Z0058m
fig. 114
F0Z0059m
fig. 115
IMPORTANT In the event of side crash, you can obtain
the best protection by the system keeping a correct po-
sition on the seat, allowing thus a correct window bag
deployment.
IMPORTANT The front air bags and/or side bags may be de-
ployed if the car is subject to heavy collisions or accidents
involving the underbody area, such as for example violent
shocks against steps, kerbs or low obstacles, falling of the car
in big holes or sags in the road.
IMPORTANT A small amount of dust will be released
when the air bags are deployed. The dust is harmless
and does not indicate the beginning of a fire. Furthermore,
the surface of the deployed bag and the interior of the
car may be covered with residual dust. This dust can irri-
tate skin and eyes.
SIDE AIRBAGS
(Side bag – Front Window bag)SIDE BAG fig. 114
It consists of an instant inflation bag housed in the back-
rest of the front seat and increases protection of the pas-
sengers’ chest in the event of a side crash of medium-high
severity.WINDOW BAG fig. 115The two “curtain” window bags are located behind the
side roof upholstery and are covered by special trimming.
They were designed to protect the head of front and rear
passengers in case of side collisions, thanks to the wide
cushion inflation surface.
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110
KNOW YOUR
VEHICLE
SAFETY
CORRECT USE
OF THE CAR
WARNING LIGHTS
AND MESSAGES
IN AN EMERGENCY
CAR
MAINTENANCE
TECHNICAL
SPECIFICATIONS
INDEX
The front air bag is triggered in case of
stronger shocks with respect to that of pre-
tensioners. For collisions in the range between the
two thresholds, it is normal for only the preten-
sioners to be activated.
WARNING
Do not hook rigid objects to the coat
hooks and to the support handles.
WARNING
The air bag does not replace seat belts but
increases their efficiency. Furthermore,
since front air bags are not deployed in low speed
collisions, side collisions, rear-end shunts or roll-
overs, the passengers are only protected by the
seat belts which must be fastened at all times.
WARNING
If the car has been stolen or in case of at-
tempt to steal it, if it has been subjected
to vandals or floods, have the air bag system
checked by Fiat Dealership.
WARNING
Do not wash the seats with water or pres-
surized vapour (hand washing or auto-
matic seat washing stations).
WARNING
Turning the ignition key to MAR, the warn-
ing light
F
(airbag on passenger’s side en-
abled) goes on and flashes for a few seconds, thus
reminding the passenger that the airbag on his/her
side will deploy in the event of a collision, then it
switches off.
WARNING
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SEAT BELTS NOT FASTENED (red)
The car is equipped with an S.B.R. system (Seat
Belt Reminder): the warning light
<
on the in-
strument panel switches on and warns the driver
that the seat belt is not fastened.
124
KNOW YOUR
VEHICLE
SAFETY
CORRECT USE
OF THE CAR
WARNING LIGHTS
AND MESSAGES
IN
AN EMERGENCY
CAR
MAINTENANCE
TECHNICAL
SPECIFICATIONS
INDEX
AIRBAG FAILURE (red)
Turning the ignition key to MAR the warning light
turns on, but it should go off after a few seconds.
The warning light stays on constantly if there is a failure
in the air bag system.
On some versions the display shows the dedicated message.
¬
If, when turning the key to MAR the warn-
ing light ¬does not turn on or if it stays
on when travelling, there could be a failure in re-
taining systems; in this event air bags or preten-
sioners may not be deployed in case of impact or,
in a minor number of cases, they may deploy ac-
cidentally. Contact a Fiat Dealership immediate-
ly to have the system checked before driving off.
WARNING
The failure of the warning light
¬(warn-
ing light off) is indicated by flashing for
more than the standard 4 seconds of the front pas-
senger’s air bag deactivated warning light
F
.
WARNING
FRONT PASSENGER’S AIR BAG
DEACTIVATED (amber)
The warning light
F
comes on when the front
passenger’s air bag is deactivated.
With front passenger’s air bag on, when the ignition key
is turned to MAR the warning light F comes on constant-
ly for about 4 seconds, flashes for another 4 seconds and
then should go out.
The warning light
F
indicates failure of
warning light
¬. This condition is indicat-
ed by intermittent blinking of warning light
F
for
longer than 4 seconds. In this case, the warning
light ¬may not indicate failures in the retaining
system. Before resuming driving, contact a Fiat
Dealership immediately to have the system
checked.
WARNING
F<
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