airbag GMC ENVOY 2007 Owner's Guide

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.
Airbags supplement 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.
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 or rollovers
for vehicles with roof-mounted rollover airbags.
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
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 may 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 prevent people from leaving the vehicle.
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{CAUTION:
When an airbag inates, there may be
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, turn the interior lamps on, and
ash the hazard warning ashers when the airbags
inate. You can lock the doors again, turn the
interior lamps off, and turn off the hazard warning
ashers by using the controls for those features.In many crashes severe enough to inate the
airbag, windshields are broken by vehicle
deformation. Additional windshield breakage may
also occur from the right front passenger airbag.Airbags are designed to inate only once.
After an airbag inates, you will need some
new parts for your airbag system. If you do not
get them, the airbag system will not be there
to help protect you in another crash. A new
system will include airbag modules and
possibly other parts. The service manual for
your vehicle covers the need to replace
other parts.
Your vehicle has a crash sensing and
diagnostic module which records information
after a crash. SeeVehicle Data Collection
and Event Data Recorders on page 538.
Let only qualied technicians work on the
airbag system. Improper service can mean
that an airbag system will not work properly.
See your dealer for service.
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Passenger Sensing System
Your vehicle has a passenger sensing system for
the right front passenger’s position. A passenger
airbag status indicator in the rearview mirror will
be visible when you turn your ignition key to
START or RUN.The words ON and OFF, or the symbol for on
and off, will be visible during the system check.
When the system check is complete, either
the word ON or the word OFF, or the symbol for
on or the symbol for off, will be visible. See
Passenger Airbag Status Indicator on page 202.
The passenger sensing system will turn off
the right front passenger’s frontal airbag under
certain conditions. The driver’s airbags are not
part of the passenger sensing system.
The passenger sensing system works with
sensors that are part of the right front passenger’s
seat and safety belt. The sensors are designed
to detect the presence of a properly-seated
occupant and determine if the passenger’s frontal
airbag should be enabled (may inate) or not.
Accident statistics show that children are safer
if they are restrained in the rear rather than
the front seat. We recommend that child restraints
be secured in a rear seat, including an infant
riding in a rear-facing infant seat, a child riding
in a forward-facing child seat, and an older
child riding in a booster seat.
United States
Canada
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If your vehicle has a rear seat that will
accommodate a rear-facing child restraint, a label
on your sun visor says, “Never put a rear-facing
child seat in the front.” This is because the risk
to the rear-facing child is so great, if the
airbag deploys.
{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 if the system
detects a rear-facing child restraint,
CAUTION: (Continued)
CAUTION: (Continued)
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. We recommend
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,
always move the front passenger seat as
far back as it will go. It is better to secure
the child restraint in a rear seat.
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If your vehicle does not have a rear seat that
will accommodate a rear-facing child restraint,
never put a child in a rear-facing child restraint
in the right front passenger seat unless the
passenger airbag status indicator shows off and
the airbag is off. Here is why:
{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.
Be sure the airbag is off before using
a rear-facing child restraint in the
right front seat position.
CAUTION: (Continued)
CAUTION: (Continued)
Even though the passenger sensing
system is designed to turn off the
passenger’s frontal airbag if the system
detects a rear-facing child restraint,
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. We recommend
that rear-facing child restraints be
transported in vehicles with a rear seat
that will accommodate a rear-facing child
restraint, whenever possible.
If you need to secure a forward-facing
child restraint in the right front seat,
always move the front passenger seat as
far back as it will go. It is better to secure
the child restraint in a rear seat.
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The passenger sensing system is designed to turn
off the right front passenger’s frontal airbag if:
The right front passenger seat is unoccupied.
The system determines that an infant is
present in a rear-facing infant seat.
The system determines that a small child is
present in a forward-facing child restraint.
The system determines that a small child is
present in a booster seat.
A right front passenger takes his/her weight off
of the seat for a period of time.
The right front passenger seat is occupied by
a smaller person, such as a child who has
outgrown child restraints.
Or, if there is a critical problem with the airbag
system or the passenger sensing system.
When the passenger sensing system has turned
off the passenger’s frontal airbag, the off indicator
in the rearview mirror will light and stay lit to
remind you that the airbag is off.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 following the child restraint
manufacturer’s directions and refer toSecuring a
Child Restraint in the Right Front Seat Position
on page 66.
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 dealer.
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The passenger sensing system is designed to
enable (may inate) the right front passenger’s
frontal airbag anytime the system senses
that a person of adult size is sitting properly in
the right front passenger’s seat. When the
passenger sensing system has allowed the airbag
to be enabled, the on indicator will light and
stay lit to remind you that the airbag is active.
For some children who have outgrown child
restraints and for very small adults, the passenger
sensing system may or may not turn off the right
front passenger’s frontal airbag, depending upon
the person’s seating posture and body build.
Everyone in your vehicle who has outgrown
child restraints should wear a safety belt
properly — whether or not there is an airbag for
that person.
If a person of adult-size is sitting in the right front
passenger’s seat, but the off indicator is lit, it
could be because that person is not sitting properly
in the seat. If this happens, turn the vehicle off
and ask the person to place the seatback in
the fully upright position, then sit upright in the
seat, centered on the seat cushion, with the
person’s legs comfortably extended.Restart the vehicle and have the person remain
in this position for about two minutes. This
will allow the system to detect that person and
then enable the passenger’s airbag.
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{CAUTION:
If the airbag readiness light in the
instrument panel cluster ever comes on
and stays on, it means that something
may be wrong with the airbag system.
If this ever happens, have the vehicle
serviced promptly, because an
adult-size person sitting in the right
front passenger’s seat may not have
the protection of the frontal airbag.
SeeAirbag Readiness Light on page 201
for more on this, including important
safety information.Aftermarket equipment, such as seat covers, can
affect how well the passenger sensing system
operates. You may want to consider not using
seat covers or other aftermarket equipment if
your vehicle has the passenger sensing system.
SeeAdding Equipment to Your Airbag-Equipped
Vehicle on page 89for more information about
modications that can affect how the system
operates.
{CAUTION:
Stowing of articles under the passenger’s
seat or between the passenger’s seat
cushion and seatback may interfere with
the proper operation of the passenger
sensing system.
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Servicing Your Airbag-Equipped
Vehicle
Airbags affect how your vehicle should be
serviced. There are parts of the airbag system
in several places around your vehicle. You do not
want the system to inate while someone is
working on your vehicle. Your dealer and the
service manual have information about servicing
your vehicle and the airbag system. To purchase
a service manual, seeService Publications
Ordering Information on page 545.
{CAUTION:
For up to 10 seconds after the ignition
key is turned off and the battery is
disconnected, an airbag can still inate
during improper service. You can be
injured if you are close to an airbag when
it inates. Avoid yellow connectors. They
are probably part of the airbag system. Be
sure to follow proper service procedures,
and make sure the person performing
work for you is qualied to do so.
The airbag system does not need regular
maintenance.
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Adding Equipment to Your
Airbag-Equipped Vehicle
Q:Is there anything I might add to the front
or sides of the vehicle that could keep the
airbags from working properly?
A:Yes. If you add things that change your
vehicle’s frame, bumper system, height,
front end or side sheet metal, they may keep
the airbag system from working properly.
Also, the airbag system may not work properly
if you relocate any of the airbag sensors.
If you have any questions about this,
you should contact Customer Assistance
before you modify your vehicle. The phone
numbers and addresses for Customer
Assistance are in Step Two of the Customer
Satisfaction Procedure in this manual.
SeeCustomer Satisfaction Procedure
on page 526.
Q:Because I have a disability, I have to get
my vehicle modied. How can I nd out
whether this will affect my airbag system?
A:Changing or moving any parts of the
front seats, safety belts, the airbag sensing
and diagnostic module, steering wheel,
instrument panel, the inside review mirror,
ceiling headliner, ceiling and pillar garnish trim,
roof-mounted airbag modules, or airbag
wiring can affect the operation of the airbag
system. If you have questions, call Customer
Assistance. The phone numbers and
addresses for Customer Assistance are
in Step Two of the Customer Satisfaction
Procedure in this manual. SeeCustomer
Satisfaction Procedure on page 526.
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