To avoid serious or fatal injury 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.To avoid serious or fatal injury, 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.To avoid serious or fatal injury, 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.To avoid serious or fatal injury, 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.

Place the driver airbag trim cover (3) on a suitable work surface with the airbag receptacle facing up. Be certain to take the proper precautions to prevent the trim cover from receiving cosmetic damage during the following procedures.Carefully position the driver airbag housing and inflator unit (1) into the trim cover receptacle.Work around the perimeter of the unit engaging each of the hooks (2) on the driver airbag housing through the windows in the walls of the trim cover receptacle.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 trim cover windows into the cradles of the housing hooks.

Before reinstalling the airbag onto the steering wheel, check that the blocking tab (1) in each of the trim cover (2) windows is oriented over the airbag housing hook (3) as shown.Reinstall the driver airbag onto the steering wheel. (Refer to 8 - ELECTRICAL/RESTRAINTS/DRIVER AIRBAG - INSTALLATION).