FIAT Grande Punto Actual - Manual (Page 124)

122
CORRECT USE OF THE CAR
W
ARNING
LIGHTS AND MESSAGES
IN AN
EMERGENCY
CAR
MAINTENANCE
TECHNICAL
SPECIFICA
TIONS
IINDEX
DASHBOARD AND CONTROLS
SAFETY DEVICES
PASSENGER’S FRONT AIR BAG
(where provided) fig. 15
It consists of an instant-inflating cushion
contained into a special recess in the
dashboard, this cushion has a volume big-
ger than that of the driver.
fig. 14 F0M0360m
fig. 15 F0M0053m
In minor crashes (for which the restrain-
ing action of the seat belts is sufficient), the
air bags are not deployed. Also in this case
it is of vital importance to wear the seat
belts since in case of side crash they guar-
antee proper positioning of the occupant
and prevent the occupants to be pitched
out of the car in case of violent crashes.
DRIVER’S FRONT AIR BAG fig. 14
It consists of an instant-inflating cushion
contained in a special recess in the cen-
tre of the steering wheel.
Do not apply stickers or oth-
er objects to the steering
wheel or to the air bag cover on the
passenger’s side or on the side roof
lining. Never put objects (e.g. mobile
phones) on the dashboard on pas-
senger side since they could interfere
with proper air bag inflation and al-
so cause serious injury.
WARNING
The volume of front air bags at max. in-
flation fills most of the space between the
steering wheel and the driver and between
the dashboard and the passenger.
In case of crash, a person not wearing the
seat belt moves forward and may come in-
to contact with the cushion while it is still
inflating. Under this circumstance the pro-
tection offered by the air bag is reduced.
Front air bag may not be activated in the
following situations:
❒ in collisions against highly deformable
objects not affecting the car front sur-
face (e.g. bumper collision against guard
rail, etc.);
❒ in case of wedging under other vehicles
or protective barriers (for example un-
der a truck or guard rail), the air bag
is not triggered as it offers no additional
protection compared with the seat
belts, consequently it would be point-
less. Therefore, failure to come into ac-
tion in the above circumstance does
not mean that the system is not work-
ing properly.