How the SRS airbags work

Your Mazda is equipped with the following SRS airbags.

SRS airbags are designed to work together with seatbelts to reduce the risk of injury to occupants in the event of a crash.

SRS airbags are a supplemental restraint to the seatbelts. Always wear your seatbelt properly.

Seat belt pretensioners

Seatbelt pretensioners operate differently depending on the type of airbags the vehicle is equipped with. For more detailed information on how seatbelt pretensioners work, see the section "Airbag SRS deployment conditions".

Front

The front seat belt pretensioners are designed to activate in a frontal or front-oblique collision of sufficient severity.

Additionally, in a side collision, the pretensioner on the side where the impact occurs is activated.

Rear outboard seats

The rear outboard seat belt pretensioners are designed to activate in a frontal or front-oblique collision of sufficient severity.

Driver's airbag

The driver's airbag is mounted inside the steering wheel.

When the frontal impact sensor detects an impact of sufficient severity, the driver's airbag inflates instantly, helping to reduce head and chest injuries the driver could sustain by striking the steering wheel.

For more detailed information, refer to the section "SRS Airbag Activation Conditions" (page 2-59).

(With front passenger airbag OFF switch) The two-stage driver's airbag has two inflation energy levels, depending on the driver's seat position. The driver's seat position sensor is located under the driver's seat. This sensor determines whether the driver's seat is moved forward or rearward from the reference position and sends seat position information to the diagnostic module (SAS module). The SAS module is designed to control inflation of the driver's airbag depending on how close the driver's seat is to the steering wheel.

In a moderate-severity impact, the driver's airbag inflates with lower energy, whereas in a much more severe impact, and when the driver's seat is behind the reference position, the airbag inflates with higher energy.

Front passenger airbag

The front passenger airbag is mounted in the instrument panel.

The inflation mechanism of the front passenger airbag is the same as that of the driver's airbag described on the previous page.

For more detailed information, refer to the section "SRS Airbag Activation Conditions".

Side airbags

Side airbags are mounted in the side portion of the front seats.

When the side impact sensor detects a side impact of sufficient severity, the side airbag inflates instantly on the side where the impact occurred.

The side airbag inflates rapidly to reduce chest injuries to the driver and front passenger caused by direct contact with interior components such as the door or window.

For more detailed information, refer to the section "SRS Airbag Activation Conditions".

Side curtain airbags

Curtain airbags are mounted between the front and rear window pillars along the roof edge on both sides of the vehicle.

When the side impact sensor detects a side impact of sufficient severity, the side curtain airbag inflates instantly, helping to reduce injuries that rear outboard passengers could sustain by striking interior components such as the door or window.

For more detailed information, refer to the section "SRS Airbag Activation Conditions".

Warning light/Warning chime

A special warning light indicates a malfunction of the system or its status.

See section "Warning/Indicator Lights" on page 4-40.

See "When Warning Chimes Sound" on page 7-47.