Hyundai Equus: Side impact air bag

Your vehicle is equipped with a side impact air bag in each front and outboard rear seat. The purpose of the air bag is to provide the vehicle's driver and/or the front and outboard rear passenger with additional protection than that offered by the seat belt alone.

The side impact air bags are designed to deploy only during certain side-impact collisions, depending on the crash severity, angle, speed and point of impact. The side impact air bags are not designed to deploy in all side impact situations.

WARNING

Do not allow the passengers to lean their heads or bodies onto doors, put their arms on the doors, stretch their arms out of the window, or place objects between the doors and passengers when they are seated on seats equipped with side and/or curtain air bags.

WARNING

• The side impact air bag is supplemental to the seat belt systems and is not a substitute for them. Therefore your seat belts must be worn at all times while the vehicle is in motion. The air bags deploy only in certain side impact conditions severe enough to cause significant injury to the vehicle occupants.
• For best protection from the side impact air bag system and to avoid being injured by the deploying side impact air bag, all seat occupants should sit in an upright position with the seat belt properly fastened. The driver's hands should be placed on the steering wheel at the 9:00 and 3:00 positions. The passenger' arms and hands should be placed on their laps.
• Do not use any accessory seat covers.
• Use of seat covers could reduce or prevent the effectiveness of the system.
• Do not install any accessories on the side or near the side impact air bag.
• Do not place any objects over the air bag or between the air bag and yourself.
• Do not place any objects (an umbrella, bag, etc.) between the door and the seat. Such objects may become dangerous projectiles and cause injury if the supplemental side impact air bag inflates.
• To prevent unexpected deployment of the side impact air bag that may result in personal injury, avoid impact to the side impact sensor when the ignition switch is on.
• If the seat or seat cover is damaged, have the vehicle checked and repaired by an authorized EQUUS dealer because your vehicle is equipped with side impact air bags and an occupant classification system.

Curtain air bag

Curtain air bags are located along both sides of the roof rails above the front and rear doors.

They are designed to help protect the heads of the front seat occupants and the rear outboard seat occupants in certain side impact collisions.

The curtain air bags are designed to deploy only during certain side impact collisions, depending on the crash severity, angle, speed and impact. The curtain air bags are not designed to deploy in all side impact situations, collisions from the front or rear of the vehicle or in most rollover situations.

WARNING

• In order for side and curtain air bags to provide the best protection, both front seat occupants and both outboard rear occupants should sit in an upright position with the seat belts properly fastened. Importantly, children should sit in a proper child restraint system in the rear seat.
• When children are seated in the rear outboard seats, they must be seated in the proper child restraint system. Make sure to position the child restraint system as far away from the door side as possible, and secure the child restraint system in a locked position.
• Do not allow the passengers to lean their heads or bodies onto doors, put their arms on the doors, stretch their arms out of the window, or place objects between the doors and passengers when they are seated on seats equipped with side and/or curtain air bags.
• Never try to open or repair any components of the side curtain air bag system. This should only be done by an authorized EQUUS dealer. Failure to follow the above instructions can result in injury or death to the vehicle occupants in an accident.

Why didn’t my air bag go off in a collision?

There are certain types of accidents in which the air bag would not be expected to provide additional protection.

These include rear impacts, second or third collisions in multiple impact accidents, as well as low speed impacts.

Air bag collision sensors

(1) SRS control module
(2) Front impact sensor

(3) Side impact sensor (front)
(4) Side impact sensor (rear)

WARNING

• Do not hit or allow any objects to impact the locations where air bags or sensors are installed. This may cause unexpected air bag deployment, which could result in serious personal injury or death.
• If the installation location or angle of the sensors is altered in any way, the air bags may deploy when they should not or they may not deploy when they should, causing severe injury or death. Therefore, do not try to perform maintenance on or around the air bag sensors. Have the vehicle checked and repaired by an authorized EQUUS dealer.
• Problems may arise if the sensor installation angles are changed due to the deformation of the front bumper, body or B and C pillars where side collision sensors are installed. Have the vehicle checked and repaired by an authorized EQUUS dealer.
• Your vehicle has been designed to absorb impact and deploy the air bag(s) in certain collisions. Installing bumper guards or replacing a bumper with non-genuine parts may adversely affect your vehicle’s collision and air bag deployment performance.

Air bag inflation conditions

Front air bags

Front air bags are designed to inflate in a frontal collision depending on the intensity, speed or angles of impact of the front collision.

Side impact and curtain air bags

Side impact and curtain air bags are designed to inflate when an impact is detected by side collision sensors depending on the strength, speed or angles of impact resulting from a side impact collision.

Although the driver’s and front passenger’s air bags are designed to inflate only in frontal collisions, they also may inflate in other types of collisions if the front impact sensors detect a sufficient impact. Side impact and curtain air bags are designed to inflate only in side impact collisions, but they may inflate in other collisions if the side impact sensors detect a sufficient impact.

If the vehicle chassis is impacted by bumps or objects on unimproved roads, the air bags may deploy. Drive carefully on unimproved roads or on surfaces not designed for vehicle traffic to prevent unintended air bag deployment.

Air bag non-inflation conditions

• In certain low-speed collisions the air bags may not deploy. The air bags are designed not to deploy in such cases because they may not provide benefits beyond the protection of the seat belts.

• Frontal air bags are not designed to inflate in rear collisions, because occupants are moved backward by the force of the impact. In this case, inflated air bags would not be able to provide any additional benefit.

• Front air bags may not inflate in side impact collisions, because occupants move to the direction of the collision, and thus in side impacts, frontal air bag deployment would not provide additional occupant protection. However, side impact and curtain air bags may inflate depending on the intensity, vehicle speed and angles of impact.

• In an angled collision, the force of impact may direct the occupants in a direction where the air bags would not be able to provide any additional benefit, and thus the sensors may not deploy any air bags.

• Just before impact, drivers often brake heavily. Such heavy braking lowers the front portion of the vehicle causing it to “ride” under a vehicle with a higher ground clearance. Air bags may not inflate in this "under-ride" situation because deceleration forces that are detected by sensors may be significantly reduced by such “under-ride” collisions.

• Air bags may not inflate in rollover accidents because air bag deployment would not provide protection to the occupants. However, side impact and curtain air bags may inflate when the vehicle is rolled over by a side impact collision, if the vehicle is equipped with side impact air bags and curtain air bags.

• Air bags may not inflate if the vehicle collides with objects such as utility poles or trees, where the point of impact is concentrated and the collision energy is absorbed by the vehicle structure.