What is the Emergency Assistance with SYNC?
Emergency Assistance is a system that automatically uses your paired phone to call the emergency services in the event of a severe accident.
How Does Emergency Assistance Work
If an accident results in an attempt to deploy an airbag, excluding knee airbags and rear inflatable seatbelts, or to shut off the fuel pump, your vehicle can contact emergency services by dialing the emergency number through a paired and connected Bluetooth-enabled phone.
To switch Emergency Assistance on and off please view the settings information.
During an emergency call, the system transmits vehicle data to the emergency service. Before setting this feature on, make sure that you read the Emergency Assistance Privacy Notice. See Emergency Call System Data.
Note: If any user sets Emergency Assistance to on or off, that setting applies for all paired phones. If Emergency Assistance is switched off and the phone is connected to SYNC, an icon displays on the status bar.
Not all crashes deploys an airbag or activates the fuel pump shut-off. If a connected cell phone sustains damage or loses its connection to SYNC during a crash, SYNC searches for and tries to connect to a previously paired cell phone, SYNC then attempts to call the emergency services.
Before making the call:
- SYNC provides a short window of time, about 10 seconds, to cancel the call. If you fail to cancel the call, SYNC attempts to dial Emergency.
- SYNC says the following, or a similar message: "SYNC will attempt to call Emergency, to cancel the call, press Cancel on your screen or press and hold the phone button on your steering wheel."
If you do not cancel the call, and SYNC makes a successful call, a pre-recorded message plays for the Emergency operator, and then the occupant in your vehicle is able to talk with the operator. Be prepared to provide your name, phone number and location immediately, because not all Emergency systems are capable of receiving this information electronically.
Emergency call requirements
WARNING: Unless the Emergency Assistance setting is on prior to a collision, the system does not attempt to place an emergency call. This could delay the response time, increasing the risk of serious injury or death.
WARNING: For this feature to work, your mobile phone must be Bluetooth-enabled and compatible with the system.
WARNING: Do not wait for Emergency Assistance to make an emergency call if you can do it yourself. Dial emergency services immediately to avoid a delayed response time. If you do not hear Emergency Assistance within five seconds of the crash, the system or cell phone may be damaged or non-functional.
WARNING: Always place your phone in a secure location in your vehicle so it does not become a projectile or get damaged in a crash. Failure to do so may cause serious injury to someone or damage the phone which could prevent Emergency Assistance from working properly.
Emergency Assistance works correctly when all of the following occur:
- SYNC works properly at the time of the incident and throughout feature activation and use.
- The Emergency Assistance feature is set on before the incident.
- You must pair and connect a Bluetooth-enabled and compatible cell phone to SYNC.
- A connected Bluetooth-enabled phone has the ability to make and maintain an outgoing call at the time of the incident.
- A connected Bluetooth-enabled phone has adequate network coverage, battery power and signal strength.
- The vehicle has battery power and is in a territory where Emergency Assistance is supported.
Emergency call limitations
- Emergency Assistance does not work if any of the following occur:
- Your cellular phone or Emergency Assistance hardware sustains damage in a crash.
- The vehicle's battery or the SYNC system has no power.
- The phone thrown from your vehicle is the one paired and connected to the system.
Note: The SYNC Emergency Assistance feature only operates in territories that are supporting the feature.
Note: Every phone operates differently. While SYNC Emergency Assistance works with most cellular phones, some could have trouble using this feature.