2002 Saab 9-5 Owner's Manual - Page 29

Safety 29 Airbag (Supplemental Restraint System "SRS") WARNING To reduce risk of injury: • Always wear your safety belt. • Always adjust your seat so that you are as far back as possible but still able to reach the steering wheel and controls comfortably. • Children 12 and under or shorter than 140 cm (55 inches) should always travel in the rear as the vehicle is equipped with an airbag on the passenger side. The supplementary restraint system (SRS) comprises an airbag in the steering wheel, a front passenger airbag and side airbags in the front seats. The system supplements the protection provided by the safety belts to further enhance the safety of the occupants. If a fault is detected in the SRS, the AIR BAG warning light on the main instrument panel will come on (see pages 52 and 34). When the system is triggered by impact of a frontal crash, the airbags in the steering wheel and passenger side of the dash board are inflated, after which they deflate through vents in the back of the bags. The front airbags are inflated in two stages. The first stage process is a less severe, softer inflation of the airbag. This stage is used in lower force crashes, or if the seat is positioned close to the steering wheel or dashboard. The second stage process is a more forceful and quicker inflation of the airbag. This stage is used in more severe crashes and/or when the seat adjustment is back a significant distance from the steering wheel or dashboard. The entire process takes less than 0.1 second - literally, faster than the blinking of an eye. These airbags are triggered only by moderate to severe frontal or near-frontal crashes. They will not be activated by minor front-end impacts, rear-end or side impacts, or by the car rolling over. WARNING • Even if the car is equipped with SRS (airbag), safety belts must still always be worn by all occupants. • Note that because an airbag inflates and deflates extremely rapidly, it will not provide protection against a second impact occurring in the same incident. Always use your safety belt. • Always sit with the whole of your back in contact with the backrest of the seat, and with your seat as far back as is practical. This is to reduce the risk of injury from contact with the backrest of the seat when the airbag inflates and also because the airbag needs space in which to inflate. • Never attach anything to the steering wheel or passenger side of the instrument panel, as this could result in injury if the airbag should inflate. The same applies to anything you might have in your mouth, such as a pipe, for instance. • Some components of the airbag will be warm for a short time. In some circumstances the airbag can cause minor burns or abrasions to the body when the airbag inflates/deflates.