BMW M3 2001, Manual

Page: 56 / 183

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Airbags
1 Front airbags on the driver and
passenger sides
2 Side impact Head Protection System
on the driver's side (front)
3 Side airbags on the driver and
passenger sides (front and rear
*
)
Protective effect
The front airbags provide additional
protection for the front-seat occupants
in the event of a severe frontal collision
on which the protection afforded by the
belts alone may no longer be sufficient.
The side impact Head Protection
System and the side airbags help
provide protection in the event of a
collision from the side. Each of the side
airbags is designed to help support the
occupant's upper body.
The side airbags in the rear
passenger area
*
of your vehicle
may already have been deactivated
either at the time of manufacture or by a
BMW center. You may have them acti-
vated if you desire to do so. Please
contact your BMW center for additional
information.
<
The illustration schematically depicts
the primary directions of vehicle impact
that initiate an airbag deployment.
The airbags will not be triggered in
the event of a minor accident, a
vehicle roll-over or collisions from the
rear.
<
Functional status
The indicator lamp in the instru-
ment cluster shows the airbag
system status starting in ignition
key position 1.
Indicator lamp displays:
>
The indicator lamp comes on briefly
then goes out: system operational
>
The indicator lamp fails to come on:
system malfunction
>
The indicator lamp comes on briefly
before going out, and then lights up
again: system malfunction.
If there is a system malfunction, there is
a risk that the airbags will not be trig-
gered within their normal response
range, even if the level of impact would
normally have triggered them.
Have the system checked by a BMW
center immediately.
The airbag indicator lamp also
comes on if the safety belt
tensioners have been triggered.
<