!
If the air bags are activated, you will
hear a loud noise and some dust may be
generated. The explosion fundamentally
represents no risk to your hearing.
An inflated air bag slows down and reduces
the movement of the occupant. When the
occupant makes contact with a front air bag
or head-thorax air bag (cabriolet only),
hot gas flows out of the inflated front air
bags and head-thorax air bags (cabriolet
only). This reduces the load on the occu-
pant’s head and upper body. These air bags
are consequently deflated after the acci-
dent.
Driver front air bag/passenger front air
bag
The front air bags are designed to reduce
the potential of injury in certain frontal
impacts.
Driver front air bag and passenger front
air bag are deployed
R
at the start of an accident with high
vehicle deceleration in the longitudinal
direction
R
independently of other air bags in the
vehicle being deployed
R
never in the event of a rollover, unless
high vehicle deceleration in the longi-
tudinal direction is detected
i
The front air bags in this vehicle have
been designed to inflate in two stages.
This allows the air bag to have different
rates of inflation that are based on the
rate of relevant vehicle deceleration
and a fastened or unfastened seat belt as
assessed by the air bag control unit.
On the passenger side, the front air bag
deployment is additionally influenced
by the passenger’s weight category as
identified by the Occupant Classifica-
tion System (OCS) (Y page 39).
The lighter the passenger side occupant,
the higher the vehicle deceleration rate
required for the second stage inflation
of the air bag.
The air bags will not deploy in impacts
which do not exceed the system’s deploy-
ment thresholds. In such instances, the seat
belts are designed to protect you.
The passenger air bag will only be
deployed if
R
the system, based on OCS weight sensor
readings, senses that the passenger seat
is occupied and the 40
indicator lamp is not lit (Y page 41)
R
the impact exceeds a preset deployment
threshold
The driver front air bag is located in the
steering wheel housing, the passenger
front air bag above the glove box.
:
Driver front air bag
;
Passenger front air bag
Knee bags
:
Driver’s knee bag
;
Passenger knee bag
36
Occupant safety
>> Safety.
