2000 Saab 9-5 Owner's Manual - Page 26

26 Safety Scrapping or working on airbags and belt pretensioners WARNING • Under no circumstances may any modifications be made that affect the steering wheel or the airbag's electrical circuitry. • Before starting any welding work on the car, always disconnect the negative (-) battery lead and cover the conductor. • Airbags and 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 an accident must be replaced by new ones. • Airbag-system components must never be transferred for use in another vehicle. • All work involving the scrapping or replacement of airbags or belt pretensioners must only be carried out by knowledgeable personnel. AIR BAG warning light WARNING • If the air bag readiness light stays on after you start your vehicle, it means the air bag system may not be working properly. • The air bags in your vehicle may not inflate in a crash, or they could even inflate without a crash. • To help avoid injury to yourself or others, have your vehicle serviced right away if the air bag readiness light stays on after you start your vehicle. Frequently asked questions on function of airbags Do you still need to wear a safety belt if airbags are fitted? Yes, always! The airbag merely supplements the car's normal safety system. Moreover, the airbag will only be actuated in a moderate to severe frontal, or near-frontal collision, which means, of course, that it provides no protection in minor frontal collisions, major rear-end or side-on collisions or if the car rolls over. The safety belts help reduce the chance of the car occupants from being thrown around and injured inside the car. But they also ensure that, if a collision 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 position, 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 powerfully in order to protect an adult person in a serious frontal collision. SRS servicing The SRS must be inspected as part of the normal service program but otherwise may be regarded as maintenance-free.