Essential Safety Equipment; Passenger Air Bag; Deactivation Switch- Page 47

Essential Safety Equipment

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Passenger Air Bag
Deactivation Switch

Your vehicle is equipped with a front pas-
senger side air bag deactivation switch.
The switch is located at the lower center
of the instrument panel next to the ash-
tray.

The passenger side air bag should
always be ON (the air bag OFF light
should NOT be illuminated) unless the
passenger is a person who meets the
requirements stated either in Category 1,
2 or 3 of the NHTSA deactivation crite-
ria which follows.

WARNING

Air Bags and Seat Belts
The seat belts for the driver and
right front passenger seating posi-
tions have been specifically de-
signed to function together with the
air bags in certain types of crashes.
When you turn OFF your air bag,
you not only lose the protection of
the air bag, you also may reduce the
effectiveness of your seat belt sys-
tem which was designed to work
with your air bag. If you are not a
person who meets the requirements
stated in the NHTSA deactivation
criteria turning OFF the air bag
can increase the risk of serious
injury or death in a collision.

WARNING

Rear-Facing Child Restraint:
When a rear-facing child restraint
is installed on the passenger seat
and the passenger side air bag de-
activation switch is not in the OFF
position, it is extremely dangerous.
In an accident, the air bag could
inflate and cause serious injuries or
even death to the child in the
rear-facing child restraint. When
first installing a rear-facing child
restraint until it is removed, always
set and leave the passenger side air
bag deactivation switch in the OFF
position.