Hyundai Elantra 2008 Repair Manual

Safety features of your vehicle42 3Side air bag (if equipped)Your vehicle is equipped with a side air
bag in each front seat. The purpose of
the air bag is to provide the vehicle's driv-
er and/or the front passenger with addi-
tional protection than that offered by the
seat belt alone.The side air bags are designed to deploy
only during certain side-impact collisions,
depending on the crash severity, angle,
speed and point of impact. The side air
bags are not designed to deploy in all
side impact situations.
OUN026109/OUN026110
B990B02LZ
WARNING
The side air bag is supplemental
to the driver's and the passen-
ger's seat belt systems and is not
a substitute for them. Therefore
your seat belts must be worn at
all times while the vehicle is in
motion. The air bags deploy only
in certain side impact conditions
severe enough to cause signifi-
cant injury to the vehicle occu-
pants.
For best protection from the side
air bag system and to avoid being
injured by the deploying side air
bag, both front seat occupants
should sit in an upright position
with the seat belt properly fas-
tened. The driver's hands should
be placed on the steering wheel
at the 9:00 and 3:00 positions.
The passenger's arms and hands
should be placed on their laps.
(Continued)
(Continued)
Do not use any accessory seat
covers.
Use of seat covers could reduce
or prevent the effectiveness of
the system.
Do not install any accessories on
the side or near the side air bag.
Do not place any objects over the
air bag or between the air bag
and yourself.
Do not place any objects (an
umbrella, bag, etc.) between the
front door and the front seat.
Such objects may become dan-
gerous projectiles and cause
injury if the supplemental side air
bag inflates.
To prevent unexpected deploy-
ment of the side air bag that may
result in personal injury, avoid
impact to the side impact sensor
when the ignition key is on.
If seat or seat cover is damaged,
have the vehicle checked and
repaired by an authorized
Hyundai dealer. Inform them that
your vehicle is equipped with
side air bags and an occupant
classification system.

343
Safety features of your vehicle
Curtain air bag (if equipped)Curtain air bags are located along both
sides of the roof rails above the front and
rear doors.
They are designed to help protect the
heads of the front seat occupants and
the rear outboard seat occupants in cer-
tain side impact collisions.The curtain air bags are designed to
deploy only during certain side impact
collisions, depending on the crash sever-
ity, angle, speed and impact. The curtain
air bags are not designed to deploy in all
side impact situations, collisions from the
front or rear of the vehicle or in most
rollover situations.
WARNING
In order for side and curtain air
bags to provide the best protec-
tion, both front seat occupants
and both outboard rear occu-
pants should sit in an upright
position with the seat belts prop-
erly fastened. Importantly, chil-
dren should sit in a proper child
restraint system in the rear seat.
When children are seated in the
rear outboard seats, they must be
seated in the proper child
restraint system. Make sure to
put the child restraint system as
far away from the door side as
possible, and secure the child
restraint system in a locked posi-
tion.
(Continued)
OHD036125OUN026090
(Continued)
Do not allow the passengers to
lean their heads or bodies onto
doors, put their arms on the
doors, stretch their arms out of
the window, or place objects
between the doors and passen-
gers when they are seated on
seats equipped with side and/or
curtain air bags.
Never try to open or repair any
components of the side curtain
air bag system. This should only
be done by an authorized
Hyundai dealer.
Failure to follow the above men-
tioned instructions can result in
injury or death to the vehicle occu-
pants in an accident.

Safety features of your vehicle44 3Why didn’t my air bag go off in a
collision? (Inflation and non-infla-
tion conditions of the air bag)There are many types of accidents in
which the air bag would not be expect-
ed to provide additional protection.
These include rear impacts, second or
third collisions in multiple impact
accidents, as well as low speed
impacts. In other words, just because
your vehicle is damaged and even if it
is totally unusable, don’t be surprised
that the air bags did not inflate.
Air bag collision sensors(1) SRS control module
(2) Front impact sensor(3) Side impact sensor (if equipped)
OHD036026/OHD036028/OHD036029/OHD036030

345
Safety features of your vehicle
Air bag inflation conditionsFront air bag
Front air bags are designed to inflate in a
frontal collision depending on the intensi-
ty, speed or angles of impact of the front
collision - generally from an area a little
to the left to a little to the right of straight
ahead.
1JBA3513
WARNING
Do not hit or allow any objects to
impact the locations where air
bags or sensors are installed.
This may cause unexpected air
bag deployment, which could
result in serious personal injury
or death.
If the installation location or
angle of the sensors is altered in
any way, the air bags may deploy
when they should not or they may
not deploy when they should,
causing severe injury or death.
Therefore, do not try to perform
maintenance on or around the air
bag sensors. Have the vehicle
checked and repaired by an
authorized Hyundai dealer.
(Continued)
(Continued)
Problems may arise if the sensor
installation angles are changed
due to the deformation of the
front bumper, body or B pillar
where side collision sensors are
installed. Have the vehicle
checked and repaired by an
authorized Hyundai dealer.
Your vehicle has been designed
to absorb impact and deploy the
air bag(s) in certain collisions.
Installing aftermarket bumper
guards or replacing a bumper
with non-genuine parts may
adversely affect your vehicle’s
collision and air bag deployment
performance.

Safety features of your vehicle46 3Side and/or air bags (if equipped)
Side and/or curtain air bags are
designed to inflate when an impact is
detected by side collision sensors
depending on the strength, speed or
angles of impact resulting from a side
impact collision.Although the front air bags (driver’s and
front passenger’s air bags) are designed
to inflate only in frontal collisions, they
also may inflate in other types of colli-
sions if the front impact sensors detect a
sufficient impact. Side air bags (side
and/or curtain air bags) are designed to
inflate only in side impact collisions, but
they may inflate in other collisions if the
side impact sensors detect a sufficient
impact.
If the vehicle chassis is impacted by
bumps or objects on unimproved roads
or sidewalks, air bags may deploy. Drive
carefully on unimproved roads or on sur-
faces not designed for vehicle traffic to
prevent unintended air bag deployment.
Air bag non-inflation conditions In certain low-speed collisions the air
bags may not deploy. The air bags are
designed not to deploy in such cases
because they may not provide benefits
beyond the protection of the seat belts
in such collisions.
1JBA3515
1JBA3516OUN026090

347
Safety features of your vehicle
Frontal air bags are not designed to
inflate in rear collisions, because occu-
pants are moved backward by the
force of the impact. In this case, inflat-
ed air bags would not be able to pro-
vide any additional benefit. Front air bags may not inflate in side
impact collisions, because occupants
move to the direction of the collision,
and thus in side impacts, frontal air bag
deployment would not provide addi-
tional occupant protection.
However, side or curtain air bags may
inflate depending on the intensity, vehi-
cle speed and angles of impact. In a slant or angled collision, the force
of impact may direct the occupants in a
direction where the air bags would not
be able to provide any additional bene-
fit, and thus the sensors may not
deploy any air bags.
1VQA2087
1JBA3521
1JBA3516

Safety features of your vehicle48 3 Just before impact, drivers often brake
heavily. Such heavy braking lowers the
front portion of the vehicle causing it to
“ride” under a vehicle with a higher
ground clearance. Air bags may not
inflate in this "under-ride" situation
because deceleration forces that are
detected by sensors may be signifi-
cantly reduced by such “under-ride”
collisions. Air bags may not inflate in rollover acci-
dents because air bag deployment
would not provide protection to the
occupants.
However, side and/or curtain air bags
may inflate when the vehicle is rolled
over by a side impact collision, if the
vehicle is equipped with side air bags
and curtain air bags. Air bags may not inflate if the vehicle
collides with objects such as utility
poles or trees, where the point of
impact is concentrated to one area and
the full force of the impact is not deliv-
ered to the sensors.
1JBA3517
1JBA3522
1JBA3518

349
Safety features of your vehicle
How does the air bag system
operate Air bags are activated (able to inflate if
necessary) only when the ignition
switch is turned to ON or START posi-
tion.
Air bags inflate instantly in the event of
a serious frontal or side collision (if
equipped with side air bag or curtain
air bag) in order to help protect the
occupants from serious physical injury.
There is no single speed at which the
air bags will inflate.
Generally, air bags are designed to
inflate by the severity of a collision and
its direction. These two factors deter-
mine whether the sensors send out an
electronic deployment/inflation signal.
Air bag deployment depends on a
number of factors including vehicle
speed, angles of impact and the densi-
ty and stiffness of the vehicles or
objects which your vehicle hits in the
collision. Though, factors are not limit-
ed to those mentioned above.
The front air bags will completely
inflate and deflate in an instant.
It is virtually impossible for you to see
the air bags inflate during an accident.
It is much more likely that you will sim-
ply see the deflated air bags hanging
out of their storage compartments after
the collision. In order to help provide protection in a
severe collision, the air bags must
inflate rapidly. The speed of air bag
inflation is a consequence of the
extremely short time in which a collision
occurs and the need to get the air bag
between the occupant and the vehicle
structures before the occupant impacts
those structures. This speed of inflation
reduces the risk of serious or life-
threatening injuries in a severe collision
and is thus a necessary part of air bag
design.
However, air bag inflation can also
cause injuries which normally can
include facial abrasions, bruises and
broken bones, and sometimes more
severe injuries because the inflation
speed also causes the air bags to
expand with a great deal of force.
There are even circumstances
under which contact with the steer-
ing wheel air bag can cause fatal
injuries, especially if the occupant
is positioned excessively close to
the steering wheel.
WARNING
To avoid severe personal injury
or death caused by deploying air
bags in a collision, the driver
should sit as far back from the
steering wheel air bag as possi-
ble (at least 10 inches (250 mm)
away). The front passenger
should always move their seat as
far back as possible and sit back
in their seat.
Air bag inflates instantly in the
event of collision, and passen-
gers may be injured by the air bag
expansion force if they are not in
proper position.
Air bag inflation may cause
injuries which normally include
facial or bodily abrasions,
injuries from broken glasses or
burns by the air bag inflation
gasses.

Safety features of your vehicle50 3Noise and smokeWhen the air bags inflate, they make a
loud noise and they leave smoke and
powder in the air inside of the vehicle.
This is normal and is a result of the igni-
tion of the air bag inflator. After the air
bag inflates, you may feel substantial dis-
comfort in breathing due to the contact of
your chest with both the seat belt and the
air bag, as well as from breathing the
smoke and powder.We strongly urge
you to open your doors and/or win-
dows as soon as possible after impact
in order to reduce discomfort and pre-
vent prolonged exposure to the
smoke and powder.
Though smoke and powder are non-
toxic, it may cause irritation to the skin
(eyes, nose and throat etc). If this is the
case, wash and rinse with cold water
immediately and consult a doctor if the
symptom persists.
Installing a child restraint on a front
passenger’s seat is forbiddenNever place a rear-facing child restraint
in the front passenger’s seat. If the air
bag deploys, it would impact the rear-fac-
ing child restraint, causing serious or
fatal injury.
In addition, do not place front-facing child
restraint in the front passenger’s seat
either. If the front passenger air bag
inflates, it would cause serious or fatal
injuries to the child.
1JBH3051
WARNING
When the air bags deploy, the air
bag related parts in the steering
wheel and/or instrument panel
and/or in both sides of the roof rails
above the front and rear doors are
very hot. To prevent injury, do not
touch the air bag storage area’s
internal components immediately
after an air bag has inflated.

351
Safety features of your vehicle
Air bag warning lightThe purpose of air bag warning light in
your instrument panel is to alert you of a
potential problem with your air bag -
Supplemental Restraint System (SRS).When the ignition switch is turned ON,
the indicator light should illuminate for
approximately 6 seconds, then go off.
Have the system checked if:
The light does not turn on briefly when
you turn the ignition ON.
The light stays on after illuminating for
approximately 6 seconds.
The light comes on while the vehicle is
in motion.
WARNING
Never put a child restraint in the
front passenger’s seat. If the front
passenger air bag inflates, it
would cause serious or fatal
injuries.
When children are seated in the
rear outboard seats of vehicle
equipped with curtain air bag, be
sure to install the child restraint
system as far away from the door
side as possible, and secure the
child restraint system to be
locked in position.
Inflation of side or curtain air bag
could cause serious injury or
death due to the expansion
impact.
AIR
BAG