Operation Manual

31Safety
Side airbags are housed inside the back-
rests of the front seats and are designed to
protect the driver and front passenger in the
event of a side impact.
In a side impact, only the airbag on that side
will be activated, and only then if certain pre-
determined conditions are met such as the
force and angle of the impact, the speed of
the car on impact, and at which point on the
car’s side the impact occurs.
The sensors, which are fitted in the front
doors, sense the rise in pressure caused by
the door panel being pressed in during an
impact condition. The side airbag trigger will
be commanded based on the characteris-
tics of this pressure rise.
• We advise against doing any work on
the doors that could affect the mois-
ture barrier in the door or the airbag
sensors. It is essential that the mois-
ture barrier (thick plastic film) in the
front door is not damaged in any way.
• Improvement of the anticorrosion
treatment of the doors should only be
carried out by an authorized Saab
dealer. Otherwise there is a risk that
the side impact sensor and the mois-
ture barrier in the door could be dam-
aged.
• The side airbags will inflate only in the
event of a side impact; not in the event
of a front or rear-end collision or of the
car’s rolling over.
• Wear and damage to the seat cover,
or the seat seam, in the area of the
side airbag must immediately be
repaired by an authorized Saab
dealer.
• Do not modify the speaker installation
in the front doors or install speakers
other than those specifically approved
by Saab.
IB1707
Side airbag, components
1 Side airbags (SRS)
2 Sensor
3 Moisture barrier
4 Text on