SAAB 9-3 2009 User Guide

11 Safety
Safety belts ___________ 12
Seats ________________ 18
Head restraints ________ 23
Child safety ___________ 24
Airbag________________ 32
Safety
3 Asterisk means: equipment not fitted in all cars
(can depend on model variant, engine variant,
market specification, options or accessories).93_US_MY09.book Page 11 Tuesday, April 15, 2008 10:30 AM
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12 SafetySafety beltsThree-point inertia-reel safety belts are pro-
vided for all seats.
The results of studies show that it is equally
important to wear safety belts in the rear
seat as in the front seats.
Safety belt reminderWhen the ignition is switched on, the safety
belt reminder will come on if the driver
or/and the front seat passenger has not
buckled up.
The reminder for the driver is in the main
instrument and for the front seat passenger
on the instrument panel.
The reminder for the driver has an additional
audible signal which sounds for 6 seconds,
or until the driver fastens his belt.
The following applies to the both front
seats: If the belt is not fastened before the
car starts to move there will be an additional
reminder when the speed exceeds 15 mph.
The text Use your seat belt. is lit on the
Saab Information Display (SID) and the
symbol will flash.
If the belt is not fastened then an audible
signal will come on after 30 seconds.
The text in the SID can be turned off by the
CLR-button on the steering wheel.
WARNING
 Buckle up and adjust your safety belt
before driving off so that you can pay
full attention to the traffic.
 Safety belts must be worn at all times
by all occupants.
 Child safety, see page 24.
 Check that the locking tongue is prop-
erly locked in the belt lock.
 In the event of a crash, a rear-seat
passenger not wearing a safety belt
will be thrown forward against the
front-seat backrests. The stresses
imposed on the front seat passengers
and belts are multiplied and can result
in needless injury or even death for all
car occupants.
Driver seat safety belt reminderPassenger seat safety belt reminder
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13 Safety
Correct position for safety beltConsider this:
 Position the lap strap snugly and low
across the hips so that it just touches the
thighs.
The shoulder strap must be as far in on
the shoulder as possible. Check to ensure that the belt is not twisted
or rubbing against any sharp edges.
 There should not be any slack in the belt.
Pull the belt tight – particularly important
when thick outer clothing is worn. It
is advisable to remove thick items of
clothing.
 Refrain from tilting the backrest more than
necessary, as the safety belt provides
better protection when the seat is in the
more upright position.
 Only one person per safety belt!
 For most of the time a safety belt is worn,
the retractor will allow the wearer freedom
of movement. The retractor locks up auto-
matically if the belt is jerked or withdrawn
sharply, the car tilts, the brakes are
applied hard or a crash occurs.
 Children up to 6 years of age must always
be seated in a child seat. Saab recom-
mends the use of a child seat for children
up to the age of 10.
 Children who have grown out of a child
seat should be restrained by the car’s
standard three-point belts. Make sure that
the shoulder belt is not in contact with the
neck or throat. If it is, a booster seat/cush-
ion may be necessary.
WARNING
Proper positioning of the safety belt is
extremely important.
 An out of position safety belt can result
in the wearer sliding underneath the
belt in a crash (submarining) and
injury can result from the lap portion
cutting into the abdomen.
Never fasten the safety belt with the
shoulder belt behind the body or pull
the belt off the shoulder and under the
arm.
 Two people must never share one
safety belt. In the event of a crash
those sharing a belt risk being crushed
together and injured.
Correct seating position93_US_MY09.book Page 13 Tuesday, April 15, 2008 10:30 AM
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14 SafetyFront safety beltsFasten the belt by pulling the belt and insert-
ing the tongue in the buckle. Check that it is
securely fastened.
Position the lap part low across the hips.
Grasp the shoulder belt close to the buckle
and pull the belt towards the shoulder to
tighten the lap belt part.
The belt must be as far in on the shoulder as
possible.Press the red button on the belt buckle to
release the belt.
The front safety belts have their lower
anchorage points on the seats. The safety
belts follow the seats when the legroom is
adjusted.
Refer to page 266 for how to check the func-
tion of the safety belts, cleaning, etc.
Belt height adjustment,
SportSedan and SportCombiThe belt guide on the door pillar for the front
safety belts can be set at different heights.
The front belt guide in the Convertible is not
adjustable due to the belt being incorpo-
rated into the seat.
To fasten the belt Press the red button to release the belt
The belt guide on door pillar, SportSedan
and SportCombi
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15 Safety
Adjust the belt so that it is as high up as
possible without rubbing against the neck.
To avoid chafing in the case of a short
person, the guide can be lowered until the
belt comes about an inch (a few centime-
ters) from the throat but still provides safe
restraint.
Raise the belt guide by pushing it upward to
the desired position. To lower it, depress the
catch release button while lowering the
guide. Check that the guide locks in its new
position.
Safety belt use during pregnancyPregnant women must always wear a
safety belt to protect both themselves and
the unborn child.
The lap belt should be placed low, across
the hips and over the upper thighs.
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16 SafetySafety belt pretensioners
SportSedan and SportCombi: The front
safety belts are equipped with pretension-
ers and force limiters. The pretensioners
are activated in the event of a violent frontal
or side-on crash. The safety belt pretension-
ers are only activated if the safety belt in
question is in use but not activated should
the car roll over.
The safety belt pretensioners serve to
reduce the forward movement of the body
by tensioning the belt. The force limiters
reduce belt loads on the body by "slacken-
ing" the safety belt slightly to absorb the
body’s kinetic energy as gradually as possi-
ble.Convertible: The front and rear safety belts
are equipped with pretensioners and force
limiters. The pretensioners are activated in
the event of a violent frontal or side-on
crash. The front safety belt pretensioners
are only activated if the safety belt in ques-
tion is in use.
The safety belt pretensioners serve to
reduce the movement of the body by ten-
sioning the belt, including in a roll over
crash. The force limiters reduce belt loads
on the body by "slackening" the safety belt
slightly to absorb the body’s kinetic energy
as gradually as possible.
WARNING
If the car is involved in a crash, the safety
belts, belt pretensioners and other com-
ponents must be inspected and replaced
as necessary. We recommend that you
contact a Saab dealer.
Never make any alterations or repairs to
the safety belt yourself. We recommend
that you contact a Saab dealer for any
necessary repairs.93_US_MY09.book Page 16 Tuesday, April 15, 2008 10:30 AM
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17 Safety
Safety belts, rear seat,
SportSedan and SportCombiSafety belts rear seat, Convertible, see
page 75.
The three rear seats all have three-point
safety belts with inertia reels.
Fasten the belts by pulling the belt across
you and inserting the tongue into the buckle.
Check that it is securely fastened.
Grasp the shoulder belt close to the buckle
and pull the belt towards the shoulder to
tighten the lap belt part.The belt must be as far in on the shoulder as
possible.
Press the red button on the buckle to
release the belt.
See page 266 for the checking of belt
function, cleaning, etc.
WARNING
 Make sure that the belt does not
become trapped when the backrest is
folded down or raised (see page 136).
 If cargo has to be placed on a seat, it
must be properly secured with the
safety belt. This reduces the risk of the
cargo being thrown about during hard
braking or a crash, which could cause
personal injury.
 Check that the belt is not twisted or
lying against sharp edges.
 Make sure you use the correct safety
belt buckle. The buckles for the center
and left-hand rear seats are close
together.
Rear safety belts, SportSedan and SportCombi
Securing an item on the rear seat
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18 SafetySeatsManually adjusted front seats3The following front seat adjustments can be
made to achieve a comfortable driving
position:
Height3
Legroom
 Backrest rake angle
Lumbar support firmness3
 Head restraint heightWe recommend that adjustments to the
driver’s seat be performed in the following
order:
1 Height
2 Legroom
3 Backrest rake angle
4 Head restraint height
Lastly, adjust the position of the steering
wheel (see page 118).
Electrically adjustable front seats3
See page 20.
Electric heating, front seats3
See pages 114.
Height adjustment3Lift the lever to raise the seat. The lever is
spring-loaded to return to its neutral posi-
tion. Repeated lifting of the lever will
increase the height in steps.
Press down the lever to lower the seat.
Repeated downward presses of the lever
will lower the seat in steps.
WARNING
Never adjust the driver’s seat except
when the car is stationary.93_US_MY09.book Page 18 Tuesday, April 15, 2008 10:30 AM
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19 Safety
Legroom adjustmentLift the lever under the front of the seat and
slide the seat to the desired position.
Backrest rake angleTo find the most comfortable position, turn
the knob to provide stepless adjustment of
the backrest.
Lumbar support3Adjust the firmness of the lumbar support by
turning the knob.
WARNING
Check that the seat is locked in the new
position. If not, it may move while the car
is being driven and it could result in injury
to the occupant in the event of a crash.
WARNING
The backrest should be upright during
driving, so that the safety belt, airbag and
backrest can provide optimum protection
in the event of emergency braking or a
crash, in particular a rear-end crash.Adjusting the backrest
Adjusting the legroom Adjusting the lumbar support93_US_MY09.book Page 19 Tuesday, April 15, 2008 10:30 AM
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20 SafetyElectrically adjustable front
seats3With the doors closed the seats can only be
adjusted when the ignition is ON.
However, there are two exceptions:
 To facilitate getting into the car, both seats
can be adjusted when either of the front
doors is open.
 The seats can be adjusted up to
2 minutes after both doors have been
closed (applicable only to cars without
window and sunroof pinch protection).
Height adjustment and seat
angleAdjust the height of the seat with the rear
section of the front lever.
Adjust the angle of the seat with the front
section of the front lever.
Legroom adjustmentAdjust the legroom with the front lever.
WARNING
 The seats are actuated by powerful
motors. Bear this in mind when adjust-
ing the seat, and make sure that noth-
ing gets caught and damaged. Ensure
that nothing can be trapped behind the
seat when adjusting it.
 Bear in mind that children can be
injured if they play with the electri-
cally-operated seats.
Always remove the remote control
when you leave the car to prevent per-
sonal injury caused by the electrically
adjustable seats, for example, due to
children playing. Electrically adjust-
able front seats with memory function,
see page 21.
Adjusting the height and angle Adjusting the legroom
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