The vehicle is equipped with an electronically controlled safety system which, in the case of a frontal impact of a certain severity, activates the front and rear seat belt pretensioners and the front Air Bags protecting the driver and the passenger.In the case of a fairly serious side impact, the front and rear side Air Bags (Side Bags) and the corresponding front Head Bag (only on the side where the impact took place) are activated.An electronic control unit manages the entire system controlling all the components and activating the retention systems (pretensioners and Air Bags), when necessary.Any system failures are signalled by means of a failure warning light and a special message on the instrument panel display.The control unit also manages the seat belt engagement signals used for the warning light in the instrument panel.The control unit is located under the centre console and is securely fastened to the bodyshell: in this way the deceleration sensors located inside it are near the centre of gravity and detect the deceleration for the entire vehicle accurately.There is an accelerometric sensor on the front and rear door pillars which transmits a signal to the control unit in the case of a side impact. This signal is also processed inside the control unit which decides to activate the Side Bags and the Head Bag (front only) on the side where the impact was detected.The driver''s Air Bag module is located in the centre of the steering wheel; it is fitted on a plate which houses a metal container with the folded bag and the gas generator that inflates it.A clock spring allows the connecting cables for the Air Bag module to follow the rotatio of the steering wheel without danger of breaking.The passenger Air Bag module is located in the dashboard, above the glove compartment and is fastened directly to the vehicle crossmember through a special bracket.The passenger Air Bag can be manually disabled by a special switch or automatically disabled by a sensor in the seat.The switch is located at the edge of the dashboard, passenger side and is only accessible with the door open. With the key OFF the control unit also controls the special "passenger air bag disabled" warning light in the instrument panel.A sensor for automatically detecting the presence of a passenger is installed in the seat, it consists of electrical resistances that vary with the pressure applied which detect whether or not there is a passenger.Depending on the extent of the frontal impact detected by the special sensors, the Air Bag control unit determines the activation of the front Air Bags (driver and passenger) in two different inflation modes, known as: Stage1 and Stage2.The rear Side Bag modules can be deactivated using a special switch located near the luggage compartment junction unit.The Side Bags are housed in the outer part of the front and rear seats.The Head Bag modules consist of bag that inflates positioning itself between the head and the side windows. The Head Bag affords further protection for the occupants of the front seats because, in addition to the chest area already protected by the Side Bag, it also protects the head.The pretensioner is a device integrated in the front and rear seat belt reels.It intervenes recovering the inevitable extension of the belts due the action of the weight of the body, keeping the latter close to the seat backrest.The control unit is equipped with an autodiagnostic function:
it detects and stores faults;
it recognises the various components and the fault type;
it signals the onset of these faults by means of the special warning light and messages on the instrument panel display.
The activation of the system following a particularly serious impact is memorized by the control unit.The supply line for the system control unit is protected by a fuse located in the junction unit under the dashboard.