Suzuki 2008 Reno User Manual

Page 43

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SEATS AND RESTRAINT SYSTEMS

85Z14-03E

position, then sit upright in the seat, cen-
tered on the seat cushion, with the per-
son’s legs comfortably extended. Restart
the vehicle and have the person remain
in this position for about three minutes.
This will allow the system to detect that
person and then enable the passenger’s
air bag.

• With the vehicle parked, ask the right

front passenger to get out of the seat for
more than three seconds, place the
seatback in the fully upright position, and
then sit upright in the seat, centered on
the seat cushion, with the person’s legs
comfortably extended. Have the person
remain in this position for about three
minutes. This will allow the system to
detect that person and then enable the
passenger’s air bag.

Adding Equipment to Your Air Bag-
Equipped Vehicle

Question: Because I have a disability, I
have to get my vehicle modified. How
can I find out whether this will affect my
advanced air bag system?

Answer: Changing or moving any parts of
the front seats, safety belts, the air bag
sensing and diagnostic module can affect
the operation of the advanced air bag sys-
tem. If it is necessary to modify the
advanced air bag system to accommodate
a person with disabilities, owners in the
continental United States can call Ameri-
can Suzuki toll-free at 1-800-934-0934, or
write to:

American Suzuki Motor Corporation
Automotive Customer Relations
3251 East Imperial Highway
Brea, CA 92821-6795

When Should an Air Bag Inflate?

The driver’s and right front passenger’s
frontal air bags are designed to inflate in
moderate to severe frontal or near-frontal
crashes. But they are designed to inflate
only if the impact speed is above the sys-
tem’s designed “threshold level.”

If the front of your vehicle goes straight into
a wall that doesn’t move or deform, the
threshold level is about 9 to 14 mph (14.5
to 23 km/h). The threshold level can vary,
however, with specific vehicle design, so
that it can be somewhat above or below
this range.

If your vehicle strikes something that will
move or deform, such as a parked car, the
threshold level will be higher. The driver’s
and right front passenger’s frontal air bags
are not designed to inflate in rollovers, rear
impacts, or in many side impacts because
inflation would not help the occupant.

A side impact air bag is designed to inflate
in moderate to severe side crashes involv-
ing the door. A side impact air bag will
inflate if the crash severity is above the
system’s designed “threshold level”. The
threshold level can vary with specific vehi-
cle design. A side impact air bag is not
designed to inflate in frontal or near-frontal
impacts, rollovers or rear impacts, because
inflation would not help the occupant.

In any particular crash, no one can say
whether an air bag should have inflated
simply because of the damage to a vehicle

WARNING

If the air bag readiness light in the
instrument panel cluster ever comes
on and stays on, it means that some-
thing may be wrong with the air bag
system. If this ever happens, have the
vehicle serviced promptly, because
an adult-size person sitting in the
right front passenger’s seat may not
have the protection of the air bags.
See “Air Bag Readiness Light” in
Section 3 for more on this, including
important safety information.

WARNING

A thick layer of additional material
such as a blanket, or aftermarket
equipment such as seat covers, seat
heaters and seat massagers can
affect how well the passenger sens-
ing system operates. Remove any
additional material from the seat
cushion before allowing a passenger
to use the front passenger’s seat, and
do not use aftermarket equipment
such as seat covers.

Supplemental Restraint System:

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