Owner Notice

This notice is for owners of GM/Saturn vehicles who 1) want to have an air bag on-off switch installed, and 2) have received a letter from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) authorizing Retailers to install an air bag on-off switch.

NHTSA, the US government's highway safety agency, has already given you information about air bags and air bag on-off switches, and has warned you about the risks of turning an air bag off. We believe this information will persuade almost everyone that it's a mistake to get an air bag on-off switch. But if you still think an air bag on-off switch would make your GM/Saturn vehicle safer, and you've received from NHTSA a letter authorizing installation of an air bag on-off switch, please take a few more minutes to read this additional information.

THE EFFECT ON SAFETY IF AIR BAGS ARE TURNED OFF

GM/Saturn air bags and safety belts are designed to work together. If an air bag is turned off, the safety belt must work alone, as a person's only restraint. Turning the air bag off may even mean that in a crash, there will be less protection than the Federal safety standards require for new vehicles. With very few exceptions, injury risks increase when air bags are turned off.

Vehicles With Force-Limiting Belt Systems

Saturn vehicles produced in model years 1992 through and including 1994 and EV1 vehicles produced in model years 1997 through 1998, and some vehicles made by other companies, are designed with belt systems that have various energy management features, sometimes called "force limiting" features. In a crash, if the force of the occupant against the belt is large enough, these added safety features allow the belt system to partially "give" or yield after first restraining the occupant's motion. These force limiting belt systems are designed to work with other features in the vehicle's interior to help reduce the danger of overloading any single part of the human body in a crash. Air bags work with these force limiting belts to restrain the forward movement of the occupant. The two safety features are designed to work together in a crash.

If the air bag is turned off, the additional forward movement allowed by the force limiting belts might result in serious injury, or even death, that an air bag may have prevented. The larger the occupant, and the more severe the crash, the greater the risk.

The performance of the belt systems will vary from one crash to another and from one occupant to another. So it's impossible to say exactly how much protection will be lost if an air bag is turned off. That loss in protection generally will be greater in vehicles having force limiting belt systems than in other vehicles and greater for large occupants than for small. In other words, there can often be a greater overall risk of injury or death in a crash with an air bag turned off. Please take this into account before you decide to ask your Retailer to install an air bag on-off switch.

SOME OTHER FACTS YOU SHOULD KNOW

1) The government regulations do not require your GM/Saturn retail facility or any other dealership to install an air bag on-off switch, even if NHTSA has given you written authorization for installation of such a air bag on-off switch. The retail facility must decide for itself whether it is willing to do so.

2) New vehicle warranties do not cover the cost of the air bag on-off switch, kit, its installation, or service.

3) Owners who have an air bag on-off switch installed should check with their insurance carriers to see if the installation of the air bag on-off switch increases the insurance premium.

4) The law prohibits a dealer or other motor vehicle repair business from completely disconnecting an air bag.

5) The law prohibits installation of an air bag on-off switch on a new vehicle before delivery.

6) The air bag on-off switch will take up room in the vehicle's glovebox, console, or storage area, reducing the storage room available in those spaces.

FINAL SAFETY REMINDERS

If you get an air bag on-off switch installed, never leave the air bag turned off when it should be on. And finally, here's the most important safety reminder we can offer to you: on every trip, whether you have the air bag on-off switch on or off, be sure every occupant is properly restrained.