Your vehicle has a passenger sensing system. A passenger airbag status indicator on the instrument panel will be visible when you turn your ignition key to ON. The words ON and OFF will be visible in the passenger airbag status indicator during the system check. When the system check is complete, either the word ON or the word OFF will be visible if there is weight on the seat or the safety belt is buckled. See Passenger Airbag Status Indicator .
The passenger sensing system will turn off the right front passenger's frontal airbag and seat-mounted side impact airbag (if equipped) under certain conditions.
The passenger sensing system will also turn off the right front passenger's safety belt pretensioner if it detects that there is no occupant in that position. The driver's airbags and the roof-mounted side impact airbags are not part of the passenger sensing system.
The passenger sensing system works with sensors that are part of the right front passenger's seat assembly and safety belt assembly. The sensors are designed to detect the presence of a properly-seated occupant and determine if the passenger's frontal airbag and seat-mounted side impact airbag (if equipped) and safety belt pretensioner 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 airbag inflates. This is because the back of the rear-facing child restraint would be very close to the inflating airbag. A child in a forward-facing child restraint can be seriously injured or killed if the right front passenger airbag inflates and the passenger seat is in a forward position.
Even if the passenger sensing system has turned off the right front passenger frontal airbag and seat-mounted side impact airbag (if equipped), no system is fail-safe. No one can guarantee that an airbag will not deploy under some unusual circumstance, even though the airbag(s) are off. Secure rear-facing child restraints in a rear seat, even if the airbag(s) 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 seat-mounted side impact airbag (if equipped) if:
| • | the right front passenger seat is unoccupied |
| • | the system determines that a small child is present in a 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 seat-mounted side impact airbag (if equipped), the off indicator will light and stay lit to remind you that the airbag is off.
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 with the ignition key in the ACC or LOCK position, 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 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. Also make sure the child restraint is not trapped under the vehicle head restraint. If this happens, adjust the head restraint.
If the on indicator is still lit, secure the child in the child restraint in a rear seat position in the vehicle and check with your dealer.
An object, person or child in the rear seat contacting or pressing the right front passenger's seatback, or objects stowed under the right front passenger's seat, may affect the proper functioning of the passenger sensing system.
When you use a safety belt extender in the right front passenger's seat, make sure the passenger airbag status indicator shows "ON" . If the indicator shows "OFF", disconnect the extender's latch from the buckle then reconnect the safety belt. Make sure the indicator light shows "ON", then reconnect the safety belt extender. If you use the safety belt extender while the indicator light shows "OFF", the right front passenger's frontal airbag and seat-mounted side impact airbag (if equipped) may not activate correctly. See Airbag System for important safety information about your airbags.
The passenger sensing system is designed to enable (may inflate) the right front passenger's frontal airbag and seat-mounted side impact airbag (if equipped) and safety belt pretensioner 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 airbags and pretensioner to be enabled, the on indicator will light and stay lit to remind you that the airbags and pretensioners are 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 right front passenger's frontal airbag and seat-mounted side impact 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 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.
If the airbag readiness light and the OFF light in the passenger airbag status indicator come on together, it may mean there is a malfunction in the passenger sensing system. Secure the child in the child restraint in a rear seat position in the vehicle and check with your dealer.
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.
Aftermarket equipment, such as seat covers or seat backpacks can affect how well the passenger sensing system operates. You may want to consider not using seat covers, seat backpacks 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.
Caution: Stowing of articles under the passenger seat or between the passenger seat cushion and seatback may interfere with the proper operation of the passenger sensing system.
