Your vehicle has a passenger sensing system. The passenger airbag status indicator will be visible when you turn your ignition key to RUN or START.
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The words ON and OFF or the symbol for on and off, will be visible on the instrument panel during the system check. When the system check is complete, either the word ON or the word OFF, or the symbol for on or the symbol for off will be visible. See Passenger Airbag Status Indicator .
The passenger sensing system will turn off the passenger's frontal airbag under certain conditions. The driver's airbag is not part of the passenger sensing system.
The passenger sensing system works with sensors that are part of the passenger's seat. The sensors are designed to detect the presence of a properly-seated occupant and determine if the passenger's frontal airbag should be enabled (may inflate) or not.
Accident statistics show that children are safer if they are restrained in the rear rather than the front seat. We recommend that rear-facing child restraints not be transported in your vehicle, even if the airbag is off.
Never put a child in a rear-facing child restraint in the right front passenger seat unless the passenger airbag status indicator shows off and the airbag is off. Here is why:
Caution: A child in a rear-facing child restraint can be seriously injured or killed if the right front passenger's airbag inflates. This is because the back of the rear-facing child restraint would be very close to the inflating airbag. Be sure the airbag is off before using a rear-facing child restraint in the right front seat position.
Even though the passenger sensing system is designed to turn off the passenger's frontal airbag if the system detects a rear-facing child restraint, no system is fail-safe, and no one can guarantee that an airbag will not deploy under some unusual circumstance, even though it is turned off. We recommend that rear-facing child restraints be transported in vehicles with a rear seat that will accommodate a rear-facing child restraint, whenever possible. If you need to secure a forward-facing child restraint in the right front seat, always move the front passenger seat as far back as it will go. It is better to secure the child restraint in a rear seat.The passenger sensing system is designed to turn off the passenger's frontal airbag if:
| • | The passenger seat is unoccupied. |
| • | The system determines that an infant is present in a rear-facing infant seat. |
| • | The system determines that a small child is present in a forward-facing child restraint. |
| • | The system determines that a small child is present in a booster seat. |
| • | A passenger takes his/her weight off of the seat for a period of time. |
| • | The passenger seat is occupied by a smaller person, such as a child who has outgrown child restraints. |
| • | Or, if there is a critical problem with the airbag system or the passenger sensing system. |
When the passenger sensing system has turned off the passenger's frontal airbag, the off indicator in the instrument panel will light and stay lit to remind you that the airbag is off. See Passenger Airbag Status Indicator .
If a child restraint has been installed and the on indicator is lit, turn the vehicle off. Remove the child restraint from the vehicle and reinstall the child restraint following the child restraint manufacturer's directions and refer to Securing a Child Restraint in the Passenger Seat Position .
If, after reinstalling the child restraint and restarting the vehicle, the on indicator is still lit, check to make sure that the vehicle's seatback is not pressing the child restraint into the seat cushion. If this happens, slightly recline the vehicle's seatback and adjust the seat cushion if possible.
If the on indicator is still lit, do not install a child restraint in this vehicle and check with your dealer.
The passenger sensing system is designed to enable (may inflate) the passenger's frontal airbag anytime the system senses that a person of adult size is sitting properly in the passenger's seat. When the passenger sensing system has allowed the airbag to be enabled, the on indicator will light and stay lit to remind you that the airbag is active.
For some children who have outgrown child restraints and for very small adults, the passenger sensing system may or may not turn off the passenger's frontal airbag, depending upon the person's seating posture and body build. Everyone in your vehicle who has outgrown child restraints should wear a safety belt properly -- whether or not there is an airbag for that person.
If a person of adult-size is sitting in the passenger's seat, but the off indicator is lit, it could be because that person is not sitting properly in the seat. If this happens, turn the vehicle off and ask the person to place the seatback in the fully upright position, then sit upright in the seat, centered on the seat cushion, with the person's legs comfortably extended. Restart the vehicle and have the person remain in this position for about two minutes. This will allow the system to detect that person and then enable the passenger's airbag.
Caution: If the airbag readiness light in the instrument panel cluster ever comes on and stays on, it means that something may be wrong with the airbag 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 airbag(s). See Airbag Readiness Light for more on this, including important safety information.
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 sensing system operates. Remove any additional material from the seat cushion before reinstalling or securing the child restraint and before a small occupant, including a small adult, sits in the passenger position. You may want to consider not using seat covers or other aftermarket equipment if your vehicle has the passenger sensing system. See Adding Equipment to Your Airbag-Equipped Vehicle for more information about modifications that can affect how the system operates.
