Side Airbags*

The side airbags help protect the upper torso of the driver or a front passenger during a moderate-to-severe side impact.

Your vehicle has the safety label on the front doorjambs to remind you of the side airbag hazards.

The side airbags are especially hazardous if a child is sitting in the front seat.

WARNING: Leaning over the front door can result in serious injury or death if the side airbag inflates.

Always sit upright with their back against the seat-back.

Detail: Do not attach accessories on or near the side airbags. They can interfere with the proper operation of the airbags, or hurt someone if an airbag inflates.

If the impact is on the passenger’s side, the airbag deploys even if there is no passenger in the front passenger seat.

Do not cover or replace the front seat-back covers without consulting a dealer.
Improperly replacing or covering front seat-back covers can prevent your side airbags from properly deploying during a side impact.

Do not let the front passenger lean sideways with their head in the deployment path of the side airbag. An inflating side airbag can strike with strong force and seriously injure the passenger.

Housing Locations

The side airbags are housed in the outside edge of the driver's and passenger's seat-backs.

Both are marked SIDE AIRBAG.

Side Airbag Label

This label is attached to each front doorjamb.

Operation

When the sensors detect a moderate-to-severe side impact, the control unit signals the side airbag on the impact side to immediately inflate.

When a side airbag deploys with little or no visible damage

Because the airbag system senses sudden acceleration, a strong impact to the side of the vehicle's framework can cause a side airbag to deploy. In such cases, there may be little or no damage, but the side impact sensors detected a severe enough impact to deploy the airbag.

When a side airbag may not deploy, even though visible damage appears severe

It is possible for a side airbag to not deploy during an impact that results in apparently severe damage. This can occur when the point of impact was towards the far front or rear of the vehicle, or when the vehicle's crushable body parts absorbed most of the crash energy. In either case, the side airbag would not have been needed nor provided protection even if it had deployed.

* Not available on all models

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