1993 PONTIAC BONNEVILLE Owners Manual

Seats & Safety 6elts
Air Bag System Light
There is an air bag readiness light on the
instrument panel, which shows
INFLATABLE RESTRAINT. The
system checks itself and the light tells
you if there is a problem.
You will see this light flash for a few
seconds when you turn your ignition to
Run or Start. Then the light should go
out, which means the system is ready.
If the air bag readiness light
L b doesn’t come on when you
s t your vehicle, or stays on, or
comes on when you are driving,
your air bag system may
not work
properly. Have your vehicle serviced right away.
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How the Air Bag System Works
Q: Where is the air bag?
A: The driver’s air bag is in the middle
of the steering wheel.
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A
d Q: When is an air bag expected to
inflate?
A: The air bag is designed to inflate in
x1210 I
If your vehicle has a right-front
passenger air bag, it is located in the instrument panel on the passenger’s
side. moderate to severe
frontal or near-
frontal crashes. The air bag will only
inflate if the velocity
of the impact is
above the designed threshold level.
When impacting straight into a wall
that does not move or deform, the
threshold level for most
GM vehicles
is between
9 and 14 mph (14 and
23 km/h). However, this velocity
threshold depends on the vehicle
design and may be several miles-per-
hour faster or slower. In addition,
this threshold velocity will be
considerably higher
if the vehicle
strikes an object such as a parked car
which will move and deform on
impact. The air bag is also not
designed to inflate
in rollovers, side
impacts, or rear impacts where the
inflation would provide no occupant
protection benefit.
In any particular crash, the
determination of whether the air bag should
have inflated cannot be based
solely
on the level of damage on the
vehicle(s). Inflation is determined by
the angle of the impact and the
vehicle’s deceleration, of which
vehicle damage is
only one
indication. Repair cost is not a good
indicator of whether an air bag
should have deployed.
Q: What makes an air bag inflate?
A: In a frontal impact of sufficient
severity, sensors strategically located
on the vehicle detect that the vehicle
is suddenly stopping as
a result of a
crash. These sensors complete an
electrical circuit, triggering a
chemical reaction of the sodium
azide sealed in the inflator. The
reaction produces nitrogen gas,
which inflates the cloth bag. The
inflator, cloth bag, and related
hardware are all part of the air bag
inflator module packed inside the
steering wheel and in the instrument
panel in front of the passenger if
there is a passenger air bag.
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Seats & Safety Belts
How the Air Bag System Works
(CON X)
Q: How does an air bag restrain?
A: In moderate to severe frontal or
near-frontal collisions, even belted
occilpants can contact the steering
wheel or the instrument panel. The
air bag supplements the protection
provided by safety belts. Air bags
distribute the force
of the impact
more evenly over the occupant’s
upper body, stopping the occupant
more gradually. But air bags would
not provide protection
in many types
of collisions, including rollovers and
rear and side impacts, primarily
because an occupant’s motion is not
toward the air bag. Air bags should
never be regarded as anything more
than a supplement
to safety belt
protection in moderate to severe frontal and near-frontal collisions.
Q: What will you see after an air bag
inflation?
A: After the air bag has inflated, it will
then quickly deflate. This occurs
so
quickly that some people may not
even realize that the air bag inflated.
The air bag will
not impede the
driver’s vision or ability to steer the
vehicle, nor will it hinder the
occupants from exiting the vehicle.
There will be small amounts of smoke
coming from vents in the deflated air
bag. Some components of the air bag
module in the steering wheel hub for
the driver’s air bag or the instrument
panel for the passenger’s bag may be
hot for a short time, but the portion
of the bag that comes into contact
with
you will not be hot to the touch.
The nitrogen gas used to inflate the air
bag will have vented into the
passenger compartment, and
the bag
will be deflated within seconds after the collision. Nitrogen makes
up
about 80% of the air we breathe and
is not hazardous.
As the nitrogen
vents from the bag, small particles
are also vented into
the passenger
compartment.
In many crashes severe enough to
inflate an air bag, windshields may
be broken by vehicle deformation.
Additional windshield breakage may
occur in vehicles with passenger air
bags because the windshield acts as a
reaction surface for the inflating air
bag.
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Don’t attach anything to the steering wheel pad. It might injure the
If your vehicle has the right-front passenger’s air bag, don’t set anything on
or attach anything to the instrument panel. It might injure the passenger if
the air bag inflates.
The air bags are designed to inflate only once. After they inflate, you’ll need
some new parts for your air bag system.
If you don’t get them, the air bag
system won’t be there
to help protect you in another crash. A new system
will include the air bag modules and possibly other parts. The service
manual has information about the need to replace other parts.
Let only qualified technicians work on your air bag system. Improper
service can mean that your air bag system won’t work properly.
See your
dealer
for service.
b driver if the air bag inflates.
If you damage the cover for the
right-front passenger’s air bag, it
may not work properly.
You may
have to replace both the air bag
and the instrument panel. Don’t
open or break the air bag cover.
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Servicing Bur Pontiac with the
Air Bag System
Please tell or remind anyone who works
on your Pontiac that it has the air bag
system. There are parts of the air bag
system in several places around your
vehicle. You don’t want the system to
inflate while someone is working on
your vehicle. The air bag system does
not need regular maintenance. Your
Pontiac dealer and the
1993 Bonneville
Service Manual have information about
the air bag system, including repair or
disposal.
For up to two minutes after
L b the ignition key is turned off
and the battery disconnected, an
air bag can still inflate during
improper service. You can be
injured if you are close to
an air
bag when it inflates. Be sure to
follow the proper service
procedures. When electrical
work is done under
the
hood or inside your vehicle, the ignition
should be in
LOCK, if possible.
Avoid wires wrapped with yellow
tape,
or yellow connectors. They are probably
part of the air bag system.
If your vehicle has a driver’s air bag and
a right-front passenger’s air bag, both
bags must be disconnected
if the
ignition has to be on for electrical work
Dr if the steering column is to be
disassembled.
First, disconnect
the driver’s air bag like
this:
. Turn off the ignition.
Remove the SIR (air bag) fuse (see the
Index under Fuses & Circuit Breakers).
Disconnect the yellow connector at
the base of the steering column.
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After you follow this procedure for the
driver’s air bag, then disconnect the
right-front passenger’s air bag like this:
Lower the passenger side hush panel
under the glove box.
Disconnect the yellow connector at
the base of
the instrument panel.
When the work is complete, if the air
bag system was disconnected, be sure
to
reattach everything and replace the fuse
before turning the ignition on. When
you turn
the ignition key on, be sure you
see the inflatable restraint light on
the
instrument panel. If you don’t see this
light flash and then go out as usual, have
your air bag system repaired.
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Safety Belt Use During
Pregnancy
Safety belts work for everyone,
including pregnant women. Like all
occupants, they-are more likely to be seriously injured if they don’t wear
safety belts.
A pregnant woman should
wear a lap-shoulder belt, and the lap
portion should be
worn as low as
possible throughout the pregnancy.
The best way to protect the fetus is to
protect the mother. When a safety belt is
worn properly, it’s more likely that
the
fetus won’t be hurt in a crash. For
pregnant women, as for anyone, the key
to making safety belts effective is
wearing them properly.
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.
When the lap portion of the belt is
pulled out all the way, it will lock. If it
does, let it go back all the way and start
again.
If your vehicle has a center passenger
position, be sure to use the correct
buckle when buckling your lap-shoulder
belt. If you find that the latch plate will
not go fully into the buckle, see if you
are using the buckle for the center
passenger position.
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Seats & Safety 6elts
Center Passenger Position
If your vehicle has rear and/or front
bench seats, someone can sit in the
center positions. When
you sit in a center seating
position, you have a lap safety belt,
which has
no retractor.
To make the belt longer, tilt the latch
plate and pull it along the belt. To make
the belt shorter, pull its free
end as shown until the belt is snug.
Buckle, position and release it the same
way as the lap part of a lap-shoulder
belt.
If the belt isn't 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.
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Rear Seat Passengers
It’s very important for rear seat
passengers to buckle up! Accident statistics show that unbelted people in
the rear seat are hurt more often in
crashes than those who are wearing
safety belts.
Rear passengers who aren’t safety belted
can be thrown out of the vehicle in a
crash. And
they can strike others in the
vehicle who are wearing safety belts.
Rear Seat Outside Passenger
Positions
The positions next to the windows have
lap-shoulder belts.
I
Here’s How to Wear One Properly:
1 . Pick up the latch plate and pull it
across
you. Don’t let it get twisted.
2. Push the latch plate into the buckle
until it clicks.
When the lap belt
is pulled out all the
way, it will lock.
If it does, let it go back
all the way and
start again.
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.
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