Page 28 of 340
Seats & Safety Belts
Right Front Passenger Position
The right front passenger’s safety belt
works the same way as the driver’s
safety belt.
See the
Index under Driver Position.
Adjust the seat (to see how, see the
Index under Seat ControZs) so you can
sit up straight. Move your seat far
enough forward that your feet touch the
part of the vehicle that
is called the
“toeboard”
(A). That way you’d be less
likely to slide under the lap belt
in a
crash.
Center Passenger Position
If your vehicle has a bench seat,
someone can sit in the center position.
When you sit in a center seating
position, you have a lap safety belt,
which has
no retractor.
Page 30 of 340
Seats & Safety Belts
28
Rear Seat Outside Passenger Positions
The positions next to the windows have
lap-shoulder belts.
Here’s How to Wear One Properly:
1. Pick up the latch plate and pull the
belt across
you. Don’t let it get
twisted.
until it clicks.
2. Push the latch plate into the buckle If
the belt stops before it reaches the
buckle, tilt the latch plate and keep
pulling until
you can buckle it.
If the belt is not long enough, see the
Index under Safety Belt Extender.
Make sure the release button on the
buckle faces upward or outward
so you
would be able to unbuckle it quickly if
you ever had to.
Page 32 of 340
Seats & Safety Belts
30
Rear Seat Outside Passenger Positions
(CONT.)
To unlatch the belt, just push the
button on the buckle.
Smaller Children and Babies
Children
Everyone in a vehicle needs protection!
That includes infants and all children
smaller than adult size.
In fact, the law
in every state and Canadian province
says children up to some age must be
restrained while in a vehicle.
I CAUTION
A
Smaller children and babies
should always be restrained
in a child or infant restraint. The
instructions for the restraint will
say whether it is the right type and
size for your child.
A very young
child’s hip bones are
so small that a
regular belt might not stay low on
the hips, as it should. Instead, the
belt will likely be over the child’s
abdomen. In a crash the belt would
apply force right
on the child’s
abdomen, which could cause
serious or fatal injuries.
So, be sure
that any child small enough for one
is always properly restrained in a
child or infant restraint.
Page 34 of 340

Seats & Safety Belts
32
Where to Put the Restraint
Accident statistics show that children
are safer if they are restrained in the
rear rather than the front seat. We at
General Motors therefore recommend
that you put your child restraint in the
rear seat unless the child is an infant
and you’re the only adult in the vehicle.
In that case, you might want to secure
the restraint
in the front seat where you
can keep an eye
on the baby.
Wherever
you install it, be sure to
secure the child restraint properly.
Top Strap
If your child restraint has a top strap, it
should be anchored. If you need to have
an anchor installed, you can ask your
Oldsmobile dealer to put it in for you. If
you want to install an anchor yourself,
your dealer can tell you how to do it.
Vehicles first sold in Canada have child
restraint anchor bracket hardware
in
the glove box, along with instructions
for installing it. This should be used
only with a child restraint, and only to
secure a child restraint at
a rear seating
position. Additional anchor brackets for child restraints at the rear seating
positions are available at Oldsmobile
dealerships in Canada.
Securing a Child Restraint in a
Rear Outside Position
You’ll be using the lap-shoulder belt.
See the earlier section about the top
strap if the child restraint has
one.
Page 38 of 340
Seats & Safety Belts
36
Securing a Child Restraint in the
Right Front Seat
To use a child restraint here, you will
need a special infant/child seat
attaching belt and the hardware that
goes with it. See the earlier section
about the top strap
if the child restraint
has one.
I’
Your dealer can get these and install the
hardware for you. It’s free. The special
belt is
GM Part No. 12340286. Your
dealer can find the correct hardware in
the accessory section
of the GM Parts
Catalog.
I CAUTION
A
Don’t use the special
infant/child seat attaching
hardware in another vehicle.
If you
do, it may not work well
and the
child may not be protected properly
in a crash. The special hardware is
for your vehicle only.
Also, don’t use the special belt for
anything but securing a child
restraint in the right front seat. If
an adult or older child uses it, the
belt won’t provide protection and
may even increase injury in a crash.
Page 42 of 340
Seats & Safety Belts
40
Larger Children (CONT.)
Children who aren’t buckled up can
strike other people who are.
I CAUTION
I A Never do this.
Here two children are
wearing the same belt. The belt
I properly spread the impact
,,,ces. In a crash, the
two children
can be crushed together and
seriously injured.
A belt must be
used by
-y one son at a time.
Q: What if a child is wearing a lap-
shoulder belt, but the child is
so
small that the shoulder belt is very
close to the child’s face
or neck?
A: Move the child toward the center of
the vehicle, but be sure that the
shoulder belt still is on the child’s
shoulder,
so that in a crash the
child’s upper body would have the
restraint that belts provide.
If the child is
so small that the
shoulder belt is still very close to the
child’s face or neck, you might want
to place the child in the center seat
position, the one that has only a lap
belt.
Page 44 of 340
Seats & Safety Belt,,
Checking Your Restra'int Systems
Now and then, make sure all your belts,
buckles, latch plates, retractors,
anchorages and reminder systems are
working properly.
Look for any lmoose
parts or damage. If you see anything
that might keep a restraint system from
Replacing Safety Belts After a
Crash
If you've had a crash, do you need new
belts?
After a very minor collision, nothing may be necessary. But
if the belts were
stretched, as they would be
if warn
during a more severe crash, then you
need new belts.
If you ever see a label on a right front
safety belt that says to replace the belt,
be sure to do
so. Then it will be there to
help protect you in an accident. You
would see
this label on the belt near the
If belts are cut or damaged, replace
them. Collision damage
also may mean
you
will have to have safety belt parts,
like the retractor, replaced or anchorage
locations repaired-even
if the belt
wasn't being used
at the time of the
collision.
Page 60 of 340
Features & Controls
Engine Block Heater (CONTJ
How long should you keep the block
heater plugged in? The answer depends
on the weather, the kind
of oil you
have, and some other things. Instead of
trying to list everything here, we ask
that you contact an Oldsmobile dealer
in the area where you’ll be parking your
vehicle. The dealer can give you the best
advice for that particular area.
Shifting the Automatic
Transaxle
Your automatic transaxle may have a
shift lever located on the steering
column or on the console between the
seats. Both are shown above.
Maximum engine speed
is limited on
automatic transaxle vehicles when
you’re in
D (Drive) or N (Neutral), to
protect driveline components from
improper operation. There
are six shift positions, seven if you
have Overdrive. In this manual, these
are referred to by the commonly used
symbols in the right column below:
Park P
Reverse
R
Neutral N Overdrive
IDI
Drive D Second
2
First 1