2013 Lincoln MKZ Owner Manual Printing 2 - Page 44

Supplementary Restraints System PRINCIPLE OF OPERATION WARNINGS Airbags do not inflate slowly or gently, and the risk of injury from a deploying airbag is the greatest close to the trim covering the airbag module. All occupants of your vehicle, including the driver, should always properly wear their safety belts, even when an airbag supplemental restraint system is provided. Failure to properly wear your safety belt could seriously increase the risk of injury or death. Always transport children 12 years old and under in the back seat and always properly use appropriate child restraints. Failure to follow this could seriously increase the risk of injury or death. Never place your arm over the airbag module as a deploying airbag can result in serious arm fractures or other injuries. Airbags can kill or injure a child in a child seat. Never place a rear-facing child seat in front of an active airbag. If you must use a forward-facing child seat in the front seat, move the seat upon which the child seat is installed all the way back. Do not attempt to service, repair, or modify the airbag supplemental restraint systems or its fuses as you could be seriously injured or killed. Contact your authorized dealer as soon as possible. WARNINGS Several airbag system components get hot after inflation. To reduce the risk of injury, do not touch them after inflation. If the airbag has deployed, the airbag will not function again and must be replaced immediately. If the airbag is not replaced, the unrepaired area will increase the risk of injury in a crash. The airbags are a supplemental restraint system and are designed to work with the safety belts to help protect the driver and right front passenger from certain upper body injuries. Airbags do not inflate slowly; there is a risk of injury from a deploying airbag. Note: You will hear a loud bang and see a cloud of harmless powdery residue if an airbag deploys. This is normal. The airbags inflate and deflate rapidly upon activation. After airbag deployment, it is normal to notice a smoke-like, powdery residue or smell the burnt propellant. This may consist of cornstarch, talcum powder (to lubricate the bag) or sodium compounds (for example, baking soda) that result from the combustion process that inflates the airbag. Small amounts of sodium hydroxide may be present which may irritate the skin and eyes, but none of the residue is toxic. 42 MKZ (CC9)