Your vehicle has a passenger sensing system for the right front passenger position. The passenger airbag status indicator will be visible when you turn your ignition key to ON or START. The airbag off symbol will be visible near the clock, located in the center of the instrument panel during the system check. When the system check is complete, the airbag off symbol will be visible under certain conditions. See Passenger Airbag Status Indicator .
The passenger sensing system will turn off the right front passenger's frontal airbag and side airbag (if equipped) under certain conditions. The driver's frontal airbag and side airbag (if equipped) are not part of the passenger sensing system.
The passenger sensing system works with a sensor that is part of the right front passenger's seat cushion. The sensor is designed to detect the presence of a properly-seated occupant and determine if the passenger's frontal airbag and side impact airbag (if equipped) 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. General Motors recommends that child restraints be secured in a rear seat, including an infant riding in a rear-facing infant seat, a child riding in a forward-facing child seat, and an older child riding in a booster seat.
Your vehicle has a rear seat that will accommodate a rear-facing child restraint. A label on your sun visor says, "Never put a rear-facing child seat in the front." This is because the risk to the rear-facing child is so great, if the airbag deploys.
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.
Even though the passenger sensing system is designed to turn off the passenger's frontal airbag and side impact airbag (if equipped) 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 secured in a rear seat, even if the airbag or airbags are off. If you 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 right front passenger's frontal airbag and side airbag (if equipped) if:
| • | the right front 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 right front passenger takes his/her weight off of the seat for a period of time |
| • | the right front 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 and side airbag (if equipped), the off symbol near the clock will light and stay lit to remind you that the airbag or airbags are off. See Passenger Airbag Status Indicator .
If a child restraint has been installed and the off symbol is not 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 Right Front Seat Position .
If after reinstalling the child restraint and restarting the vehicle, the off symbol is still not 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. Also make sure the child restraint is not trapped under the vehicle head restraint. If this happens, adjust the head restraint.
If the off symbol is still not lit, secure the child in the child restraint in a rear seat position in the vehicle and check with your dealer.
The passenger sensing system is designed to enable (may inflate) the right front passenger's frontal airbag and side airbag (if equipped) anytime the system senses that a person of adult size is sitting properly in the right front passenger's seat. When the passenger sensing system has allowed the airbag or airbags to be enabled, the off symbol will not light.
For some children who have outgrown child restraints and for very small adults, the passenger sensing system may or may not turn off the right front passenger's frontal airbag and side airbag (if equipped), 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 right front passenger's seat, but the off symbol is lit, it could be because that person is not sitting properly in the seat. If this happens do one of the following:
| • | 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 three minutes. This will allow the system to detect that person and then enable the passenger's airbag or airbags. |
| • | Take the right front passenger's weight off 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 airbag or airbags. |
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 frontal airbag and side airbag (if equipped). 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 or small occupant. 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.
