2007 Saab 9-3 Owner's Manual - Page 44

44 Safety WARNING • Your vehicle is equipped with a crash sensing and diagnostic module which records information after a crash. See Vehicle Data Collection and Event Data Recorders on page 278. • Let only qualified technicians work on your airbag system. Improper service can mean that your airbag system will not work properly. See your dealer for service. Servicing the airbag system The airbag system must be inspected as part of the normal service program but otherwise may be regarded as maintenancefree. When an airbag inflates, there is 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 can not get out of the vehicle after an airbag inflates, 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. In many crashes severe enough to inflate an airbag, windshields are broken by vehicle deformation. Additional windshield breakage may also occur from the right front passenger airbag. • Airbags are designed to inflate only once. After an airbag inflates, 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. Scrapping or working on airbag and belt pretensioners WARNING • Under no circumstances should any modifications be made that affect the steering wheel or the airbag's electrical circuitry. • During any welding, both battery cables must be disconnected and covered. • Before quick drying paint in the vicinity of the electronic control module, the module's grounding points and wiring must be covered. • Airbags and safety belt pretensioners must be deployed under controlled conditions before the car is scrapped or any of the system's components are removed. Airbags or belt pretensioners that have been deployed as a result of a crash must be replaced by new ones. Notice: If you damage the covering for the driver's or the right front passenger's airbag, or the side impact airbag covering on the ceiling near the side windows, the bag may not work properly. You may have to replace the airbag module in the steering wheel, both the airbag module and the instrument panel for the right front passenger's airbag, or side impact airbag module and ceiling covering for the roof-mounted side impact airbag. Do not open or break the airbag coverings.