child restraint SAAB 9-5 2006 User Guide

33 Safety
Passenger Sensing SystemVehicles with a passenger sensing system
have indicator LEDs on the fascia. The indi-
cators will be lit during the system check
when you turn your ignition key to ST or ON.
When the system check is complete, either
the ON or the OFF LED, will be lit. See
AIRBAG warning light on page 61. If your
vehicle does not have the indicators pic-
tured, then your vehicle does not have the
passenger sensing system.
The passenger sensing system will turn off
the right front passenger’s frontal airbag
and side airbag under certain conditions.
The driver’s airbags is not part of the pas-
senger sensing system.
The passenger sensing system works with
sensors that are part of the right front pas-
senger’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 inflate) or not.
Accident statistics show that children are
safer if they are restrained in the rear rather
than the front seat.Saab recommends 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.
Your vehicle has a rear seat that will accom-
modate 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.
WARNING
A child in a rear-facing child restraint can
be seriously injured or killed if the right
front passenger’s airbag inflates. This is
because the back of the rear-facing child
restraint would be very close to the inflat-
ing airbag.
Even though the passenger sensing
system is designed to turn off the passen-
ger’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. Saab recommends that
rear-facing child restraints be secured in
the rear seat, even if the airbag is off.
IB3952
Passenger Airbag Status Indicator.
USA indicator shown, Canada similar
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34 SafetyThe passenger sensing system is designed
to turn off the right front passenger’s frontal
airbag if:
 the right front passenger seat is unoccu-
pied
 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 air bag,
the off indicator will light and stay lit to
remind you that the airbag is off.
If a child restraint has been installed (Saab
recommends that child restraints be
secured in the rear seat) and the on indica-
tor 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
to Installation of rear facing child restraints
on page 28.
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 hap-
pens, 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.The passenger sensing system is designed
to enable (may inflate) the right front pas-
senger’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 pas-
senger sensing system may or may not turn
off the right front passenger’s frontal airbag,
depending upon the person’s seating pos-
ture and body build. Everyone in your vehi-
cle who has outgrown child restraints
should wear a safety belt properly —
whether or not there is an airbag for that per-
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40 SafetyFrequently asked questions
on function of airbagsDo you still need to wear a safety belt if air-
bags are fitted?
Yes, always! The airbag merely supple-
ments the car’s normal safety system.
Moreover, the airbag will only be actuated in
a moderate to severe frontal, or near-frontal
crash, which means, of course, that it pro-
vides no protection in minor frontal crashes,
major rear-end or side-on crashes or if the
car rolls over.
The safety belts help reduce the chance of
the car occupants from being thrown around
and injured or killed inside the car.
But they also ensure that, if a crash occurs
in which the airbags are inflated, the airbag
will make the optimum contact with the
occupant, i.e. square on from the front. If the
occupant meets the airbag in an offset posi-
tion, the protection afforded will be reduced.
In addition, airbags provide no protection
against a secondary impact occurring in the
same incident. So there is no doubt about
the benefit of wearing safety belts at all
times.
Do not sit too close to the airbag: it needs
room to inflate.
The airbag inflates very quickly and power-
fully in order to protect an adult person,
before they are thrown forward, in a serious
frontal crash.How do I position the seat to leave room for
the airbag to inflate?
Don’t have your seat too far forward.
Recline the seat back to increase the dis-
tance between you and the airbag. For short
drivers, special accessory pedal extensions
are available through your Saab dealer.
Airbags inflate extremely rapidly and with
great force – to be fast enough to protect an
adult in the seat.
When do the front airbags inflate?
The airbag will only be inflated under certain
predetermined conditions in a moderate to
severe frontal, or near-frontal crash,
depending on such factors as the force and
angle of the impact, the speed of the car on
impact, and the resistance to deformation of
the impacting object.
The airbag can only be activated once in the
same incident.
Do not attempt to drive the car after an
airbag has been inflated, even if it is
possible.What won’t trigger the front airbags?
The airbag will not be activated in all
front-end crashes. For instance, if the car
has hit something relatively soft and yielding
(e.g. a snow drift or a hedge) or a solid
object at a low impact speed, the airbag will
not necessarily be triggered.
How loud is the inflation?
The noise of the inflation is certainly loud,
but it is very short-lived and will not damage
your hearing. For a short time afterwards
you could experience a buzzing noise in
your ears.
Most people who have experienced it
cannot remember the noise of the inflation
at all – all they remember is the noise of the
crash.
Can you still use a child seat in the front if a
passenger airbag is installed?
Definitely not!
 Children 12 and under or shorter than
55 inches (140 cm) can be killed by the
airbag.
 The BACK SEAT is the SAFEST place for
children.
 NEVER put a child seat in the front.
 Sit as far back as possible from the airbag.
 Always use safety belts and child
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130 Interior equipment and trunkTrunkFolding the rear seat, 9-5 SedanThe rear seat is split and the two sections can be folded indepen-
dently. Folding down of the rear seat is easier if the front seats are
not all the way back, and the rear head restraints are folded down.
1 Raise the rear seat cushions by pulling the loop located between
the cushion and the backrest.
2 Tip the seat cushion forward.
3 Press the button adjacent to the respective backrest to release it.
4 Fold down the backrest.
WARNING
 Never leave a child or animal unattended in the car. During
sunny weather the temperature in the passenger and luggage
compartments can climb to 158–176°F (70–80°C). Small chil-
dren are very susceptible to heat stroke.
 Rear-seat passengers should always ensure that the head
restraint is raised and in proper position for the seats to be
occupied.
 Keep hands well clear of all moving parts.
 Never place heavy objects on the rear window shelf. There is
always a danger of loose objects flying about and causing
injury if the car should brake suddenly or be involved in a
crash.
 Before folding up the backrest, hang the outer safety belts
onto the hook on the respective courtesy handle to prevent
them from becoming trapped.
 Check that the seatbelt locks do not get trapped under the
seat cushions when these are raised back up.
 Make sure that the backrest is locked when it is restored to an
upright position. Check that the back rest release button (3) is
flush with the surround before entering the rear seat. This indi-
cates that the backrest is locked.
IB459
1
2
4
3
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134 Interior equipment and trunk
Parcel shelf, 9-5 SportCombiFold the parcel shelf as follows:
1 Press the rear edge of the shelf downwards and forwards.
2 Continue pressing the folded section forward until it is folded over
the front section.
Extend the parcel shelf as follows:
1 Hold the rear edge of the shelf and pull it back.
2 The shelf rests on a track located beneath the rear side windows.
Make sure that the rear corner fits in the recess. Otherwise it will
not lie flat.
Alternative location of the parcel shelf if this is removed:
 Folded up on the floor at the rear of the luggage compartment.
 On its end on the floor behind the front seat backrest.
WARNING
 Do not travel in the back seat without ensuring that the head
restraint is set at a suitable height for the seats to be occupied.
 Never allow anyone to sit on a folded backrest.
 Always be aware of the risk of pinching when handling moving
parts of the seating.
 Never place heavy objects on the parcel shelf. There is always
a danger of loose objects flying about and causing injury if the
car should brake suddenly or be involved in a crash.
 Make sure that the backrests are locked when they are folded
back upright. Check that the two red warning-indication flags
are fully down. This indicates that the backrests are locked.
 Check that the safety belt lock is not trapped under the seat
cushions when these are raised back up.
 Never leave a child or animal unattended in the car. During
sunny weather the temperature in the passenger and luggage
compartments can climb to 158–176°F (70–80°C). Small chil-
dren are very susceptible to heat stroke.95usM06.book Page 134 Thursday, November 17, 2005 8:59 AM
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