FIAT Panda Classic - Manual (Page 105)

104
KNOW YOUR
VEHICLE
SAFETY
CORRECT USE
OF THE CAR
WARNING LIGHTS
AND MESSAGES
IN AN EMERGENCY
CAR
MAINTENANCE
TECHNICAL
SPECIFICATIONS
INDEX
AIR BAG
The car is fitted with front air bags (for versions/markets
where provided) for the driver and the passenger and front
side bags (side bag – window bag).
FRONT AIR BAGS
The front driver/passenger air bags have been designed to
protect the occupants in the event of head-on crashes of
medium-high severity, by placing the cushion between the
occupant and the steering wheel or dashboard.
Front air bags are designed to protect car’s passengers in
head-on crashes and therefore non-activation in other
types of collisions (side collisions, rear shunts, roll-overs,
etc.) is not a system malfunction.
An electronic control unit will make the bag inflate in the
event of a front crash.
The bag will inflate instantaneously placing itself between
the front passengers’ body and the structures which could
cause injury. It will deflate immediately afterwards.
Driver and passenger front airbags are not a replacement
of but complementary to the seat belts, which should al-
ways be worn, as specified by law in Europe and most non-
European countries.
In the event of an impact, those not wearing a seat belt will
move forward and come into contact with the bag which
is still inflating. The protection offered by the air bag cush-
ion is reduced in such a case.
Front air bags may not be activated in the following situ-
ations:
❒ in collisions against highly deformable objects not af-
fecting the car front surface (e.g. bumper collision against
guard rail, etc.);
❒ car wedging under other vehicles or protective barri-
ers (e.g. trucks or guard rails);
they could not provide any additional protection compared
with seat belts, so their activation would be improper.
Therefore, failure to come into action in the above cir-
cumstances does not mean that the system is not work-
ing properly.
Do not apply stickers or other objects to
the steering wheel, to the passenger’s side
air bag cover side or on the side roof lining. Nev-
er put objects (e.g. mobile phones) on the pas-
senger’s side dashboard since they could interfere
with proper air bag inflation and also cause seri-
ous injury to the passengers.
WARNING
091-110 PANDA EN 7-10-2009 13:46 Pagina 104