Airbag System Precautions

Bags in wheel, facia, A-pillar headlining and front seats. Self-test 2 to 6 seconds. Battery off, wait one minute. Store pad-up. Torques listed.

What Is Fitted

Driver bag in the steering wheel, passenger bag behind the facia, head bags in each A-pillar and headlining run, side bags in the front seats. Impact sensors, a central control unit and a facia tell-tale complete the system. A hard frontal or side hit above the threshold fires the relevant bags in milliseconds; they deflate almost at once.

At every key-on the control unit self-tests for about 2 to 6 seconds with the airbag lamp on. The lamp must then go out. Lamp never on, lamp stuck on, or lamp on while driving means a fault: get the car scanned.

Non-Negotiable Rules

Battery negative off, then wait at least one minute so the capacitors discharge before any airbag work.
Nobody inside the car when the battery goes back on.
Store a removed bag with the padded face up. Do not drop it. Do not heat it above 90 C (194 F).
No solvents on the bag; damp cloth only.
Unplug the control unit before any arc welding on the car.
Yellow or orange loom and plugs mark the restraint circuit: do not probe them with ordinary test gear.

Driver Bag

Wheel straight, lock released. Three clips hold the bag (each side and the base). Turn the wheel only as needed to reach the boss holes, then return it straight. Flat screwdriver in each hole, twist to free the wire clip. Lift the bag, slide the yellow catches, unplug. Refit plugs first, seat the bag without trapping the wires, battery last.

Driver Lower (Knee) Bag

Some cars have a lower bag under the driver facia. Column fully raised and extended. Two screws at the lower edge, then reach up and free a clip each side. Unplug and lift out. Screws: 11 Nm.

Passenger Bag

Column down and out, instrument and passenger facia trims off, passenger vent out, unplug at each end of the bag, glovebox out, two bolts each end on the underside, bag out. On refit tighten to 9 Nm, left-hand plug before right-hand, then battery.

Control Unit, Sensors, Seat And Head Bags

Control unit: centre console out, bolts out, unplug. Mounting bolts 12 Nm. Front impact sensor: bonnet latch bracket and cover clear, one screw, tang seated on refit, 12 Nm. Side sensors: estate lower B-pillar trim, saloon rear seat back, same screw and tang rule, 12 Nm. Seat and head bags need upholstery or full facia and headlining work; leave those to a restraint-trained shop.

Driver bag retaining screws: 5 Nm.