Air Bag-Driver: Assembly
WARNING:
To avoid personal injury or death, on vehicles equipped with airbags, disable the supplemental restraint system before attempting any steering wheel, steering column, airbag, occupant classification system, seat belt tensioner, impact sensor, or instrument panel component diagnosis or service. Disconnect and isolate the battery negative (ground) cable, then wait two minutes for the system capacitor to discharge before performing further diagnosis or service. This is the only sure way to disable the supplemental restraint system. Failure to take the proper precautions could result in accidental airbag deployment.
WARNING:
To avoid personal injury or death, service of this unit should be performed only by DaimlerChrysler-trained and authorized dealer service technicians. Failure to take the proper precautions or to follow the proper procedures could result in accidental, incomplete, or improper airbag deployment and possible occupant injuries.
WARNING:
To avoid personal injury or death, use extreme care to prevent any foreign material from entering the driver airbag, or becoming entrapped between the driver airbag cushion and the driver airbag trim cover. Failure to observe this warning could result in occupant injuries upon airbag deployment.
WARNING:
To avoid personal injury or death, the driver airbag trim cover must never be painted. Replacement trim covers are serviced in the original colors. Paint may change the way in which the material of the trim cover responds to an airbag deployment. Failure to observe this warning could result in occupant injuries upon airbag deployment.
NOTE:
The following procedures can be used to replace the driver airbag trim cover and horn switch unit for service. If the driver airbag is faulty or deployed, the entire driver airbag, trim cover and horn switch must be replaced as a unit.
- Place the driver airbag on a suitable work surface with the airbag cushion facing up.
- Fold the two flaps (1) of cushion material up around the sides and over the top of the airbag cushion retainer strap (2).
- Position the new driver airbag trim cover over the airbag cushion, then push the receptacle of the trim cover down evenly over the cushion. Be certain that the cushion material flaps remain oriented over the cushion retainer strap as they were in step 2.
- Turn the driver airbag and the new driver airbag trim cover over as a unit, and place the unit on a suitable clean and dry work surface with the airbag cushion facing down. Be certain to take the proper precautions to prevent the trim cover from receiving cosmetic damage during the following procedures.
- Be certain that the horn switch feed and ground pigtail wires are routed through the clearance notch at the top of the airbag housing (3), between the housing and the upper vertical wall of the trim cover receptacle.
- Work around the perimeter of the unit engaging each of the twelve hooks (5 and 6) on the driver airbag housing through the windows in the walls of the trim cover receptacle.
- Install the horn switch ground pigtail wire eyelet terminal (2) over the upper right inflator stud on the back of the driver airbag housing.
- Install and tighten the nut that secures the horn switch ground pigtail wire eyelet terminal to the upper right inflator stud on the back of the driver airbag housing. Tighten the nut to 7 N.m (65 in. lbs.).
- Using hand pressure, push the integral retainer of the horn switch feed pigtail wire connector (1) into the locator hole just above the upper right inflator mounting stud on the back of the airbag housing.
- After the driver airbag has been assembled, try pulling the trim cover and the airbag housing away from each other. This action will fully seat the edges of the windows into the cradles of the hooks.
- Before reinstalling the airbag onto the steering wheel, check that the blocking tab (1) in each of the trim cover windows is oriented over the airbag housing hook (4) as shown in illustration.
- Reinstall the driver airbag onto the steering wheel (Refer to ELECTRICAL/RESTRAINTS/DRIVER AIRBAG - INSTALLATION) .