Design features of the passive safety system

Passive safety system (SRS) The Ford Focus combines front and side airbags for the driver and passenger in the front seat and seat belts for the driver and all passengers. Ambiente, Comfort and Trend trims are equipped with a frontal airbag for the driver, as well as inertial seat belts with pyrotechnic pretensioners and force limiters for the driver, front passenger and side passengers in the rear seat. A lap belt is provided for the middle passenger in the rear seat. In addition to the above equipment, a frontal airbag for the front passenger and side airbags for the driver and front passenger are installed on the car in the Ghia configuration. Window airbags can also be installed on request.

WARNING: Airbags do not replace seat belts. Moreover, when the car is moving, the driver and front passenger must be sure to wear their seat belts, since in the event of a traffic accident, a deployed airbag itself can cause serious injury to a person who is not wearing a seat belt.

The SRS includes:



- the driver's airbag module, located in the steering wheel hub and consisting of a folded airbag shell and a gas generator;


– front passenger airbag module (installed depending on the vehicle), located in the instrument panel on the passenger side and consisting of a folded cushion shell and a gas generator;

– driver and front passenger side airbag modules (installed depending on the vehicle), located in the outer side parts of the front seat backs and consisting of a folded cushion shell and a gas generator;

– window cushion modules (set to order), located above the windows of the front and rear doors, under the upholstery of the ceiling and consisting of a folded cushion shell and a gas generator;



- an electronic control unit installed under the lining of the floor tunnel and controlling the system;



- seat belts;




- front belt tensioners (built into the front seat belt buckles).

The strength and direction of impact in a traffic accident is determined by the electronic control unit (ECU) passive safety systems using electronic accelerometers. At the signal of the accelerometers, the control unit activates the airbags.

In the event of a frontal impact of a certain force, the ECU receives a signal from the accelerometers and, by issuing a command to the pyrotechnic elements of the pretensioners, increases the tension of the belts before activating the airbags. Pretensioners provide a timely response to an emergency deceleration of the car, pulling the driver and passengers to the seatbacks, and also exclude their further movement forward by inertia and injury from a deployed airbag.

NOTE: The seat belt pretensioner mechanism always deploys before the airbag.

Additional elements of the passive safety system also include head restraints mounted on the backs of the driver's and front passenger's seats of cars of all trim levels and on the back of the rear seat (two head restraints for side passengers on Ambiente, Comfort and Trend trim levels, three head restraints for all passengers on Ghia trim levels). The head restraints prevent damage to the cervical vertebrae of occupants in the event of a severe rear impact or airbag deployment.

The removal and installation of the driver's airbag, belts and the safety system control unit is described below, since the driver's airbag must be removed for steering repair work. Side and window airbags should only be removed at workshops with specially trained personnel. Adjustment of the position of the head restraints and their removal are described in sec. 1 «Vehicle device» (cm. «Front seat adjustment»).