Seats & Safety 6elts
I4
Why Safety Belts Work
When you ride in or on anything, you
go as fast as it goes.
1. For example, if the bike is going
10 mph (16 km/h), so is the child.
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2. When the bike hits the block, it
stops.
But the child keeps going!
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3. Take the simplest “car.” Suppose
it’s just a seat
on wheels.
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Features & Controls
Keys
P
.~eaving young children in a‘
vehicle with the ignition key
is dangerous for many reasons. A
child or others could be badly
injured. or even killed.
They could operate power
windows or other controls or even
make the vehicle move.
Don’t leave the keys in a vehicle
with young children. The
ignition keys are for the ignition
only.
The door keys are for the doors and all
other locks. {hen
a new Pontiac is delivered, the
:aler removes the plugs from the keys,
Id gives them to the first owner.
ach plug has a code on it that tells your
:aler or a qualified locksmith how to
lake extra keys. Keep the plugs in a
lfe place.
If you lose your keys, you’ll
; able to have new ones made easily
sing these plugs.
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Door locks I
1 CAUTION
* Unlocked doors can be
- dangerous.
Passengers-especially children-
can easily open the doors and fall
out. When a door is locked, the
inside handle won’t open
it.
Outsiders can easily enter through
an unlocked door when you slow
down or stop your vehicle.
This may not be
so obvious: You
increase the chance of being
thrown out of the vehicle in a crash
if the doors aren’t locked. Wear
safety belts properly, lock your
doors, and you will be far better
off whenever you drive your
vehicle.
..
There are several ways to lock and
unlock
your vehicle.
From the Outside:
Use your door key.
From the Inside:
To lock the door, slide the locking lever
rearward.
To unlock the door, slide the locking
lever forward.
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Rear Door Security locks
Your Pontiac is equipped with rear door
security locks that help prevent
passengers from opening the rear doors
of your vehicle from the inside. To use
one of these locks:
1. Use a key to move the lock all the
2. Close the door.
3. Do the same thing to the other rear
door lock.
way up. The
rear doors of your vehicle cannot bt
opened from inside when this feature is
in use.
If you want to open a rear door
when the security lock is
on:
1. Unlock the door from the inside.
2. Then open the door from the outside.
If you don’t cancel the security lock
feature, adults or older children who
ride in the rear won’t be able to open the
rear door from the inside. You should
let adults and older children know how
these security locks work, and how to
cancel the locks.
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Speed limit signs near curves warn that
you should adjust your speed. Of
course, the posted speeds are based
on
good weather and road conditions.
Under less favorable conditions you’ll
want to go slower.
If you need to reduce your speed as you
approach a curve, do it before you enter
the curve, while your front wheels are
straight ahead.
Try to adjust your speed
so you can
“drive” through the curve. Maintain a
reasonable, steady speed. Wait to
accelerate until
you are out of the curve,
and then accelerate gently into the
straightaway.
When
you drive into a curve at night,
it’s harder to see the road ahead of you
because it bends away from the straight
beams of your lights. This is one good
reason to drive slower.
Steering in Emergencies
There are times when steering can be more
effective than braking. For example, you
come over a hill and find a truck stopped
in your lane, or a car suddenly pulls out
from nowhere, or a child darts out from
between parked cars and stops right in
front of you.
You can avoid these
problems by braking-if
you can stop in
time. But sometimes you can’t; there
isn’t
room. That’s the time for evasive
action-steering around the problem.
Your Pontiac can perform very well in
emergencies like these. First apply your
brakes. It is better to remove as much
speed as you can from a possible
collision. Then steer around the
problem, to the left or right depending
on the space available. An emergency like this requires
close
attention and
a quick decision. If you
are holding the steering wheel at the
recommended
9 and 3 o’clock positions,
you can turn it a
full 180 degrees very
quickly without removing either hand.
But
you have to act fast, steer quickly,
and just as quickly straighten the wheel
once
you have avoided the object. You
must then be prepared to steer back to
your original lane and then brake to a
controlled stop.
Depending on your speed, this can
be
rather violent for an unprepared driver.
This is one of the reasons driving
experts recommend that
you use your
safety belts and keep both hands on the
steering wheel.
The fact that such emergency situations
are always possible is a good reason to
practice defensive driving at all times.
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Buckling Up (see Safety Belts)
Bulb Replacement
Fog Lights
.................. 229
Headlight
.............. .228. 254
Taillight
........... .229. 254
Capacities
& Specifications ...... 251
Carbon Monoxide in Exhaust
.. .66. 67
Cassette Tape Player
Center Passenger Position
......... 28
Chains. Safety
................. 164
Chains. Tire
.............. .193. 238
Changing a Flat Tire
............ 186
Charging System Warning Light
.... 95
“Check Gauges’’ Light ........... 99
Check Oil Light ............... 94
Checking
Brake Fluid
.................. 225
Engine Coolant
............... 222
Engine Oil Level
............. 209
Hydraulic Clutch
............. 220
Power Steering Fluid
.......... 224
Safety Belt Systems
............ 40
Transaxle Fluid
Automatic
................. 216
(see Audio Systems)
Dm. 294
Manual ................... 218
Checking Things Under the Hood
.............. 204
Checks
& Services. Owner ....... 271
Chemical Paint Spotting
.......... 246
Child Restraints
................. 30
Children and Safety Belts
..... .29. 38
Cigarette Lighter
................ 85
Circuit Breakers & Fuses ......... 248
City Driving
................... 147
Cleaner, Air
.............. .214. 257
Cleaning Aluminum Wheels
............ 244
Antenna
..................... 119
Cassette Player and Tapes
....... 118
Compact Discs
............... 119
Fabric
...................... 240
Finish Damage
............... 246
Foreign Material
.............. 245
Glass
...................... 243
Inside of Your Pontiac
......... 240
Leather and Vinyl
............. 242
Outside of Your Pontiac
........ 243
Safety Belts
.................. 242
Sheet Metal Damage
.......... 245
Special Problems
............. 241
Top
of the Instrument Panel ..... 242 Underbody Maintenance
....... 246
Using Solvent Type Cleaner
..... 241
Warnings
...... .239. 240. 242. 244
Weatherstrips
................ 245
White Sidewall Tires .......... 244
Windshield and Wiper Blades
... 243
Climate Control System
.......... 102
Clock. Setting
the ............... 107
Clutch. Hydraulic Adding Fluid
........... .220. 253
Checking Fluid
............... 220
Coin Holder
.................... 84
Comfort Controls
............... 101
Air Conditioning System
....... 103
Climate Control System
........ 102
Defrosting
................... 102
Heater
...................... 102
Ventilation
............ .102. 104
Compact Disc Player
(see
Audio Systems)
Compact Spare Tire ........ .192. 304
Control of a Vehicle
............. 129
Controlled-Cycle Windshield Wipers
. . 80
Convex Outside Mirror ........... 81
Coolant
....................... 221
Checking
& Adding .. .222. 251. 253
Low Coolant Warning Light
...... 93
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Headlights ..................... 74
High-Low Beam Changer
....... -76
Instrument Panel
Intensity Control
............. 76
“On” Reminder
............... 75
Replacement Bulb
............ 228
Wiring
..................... 250
Heater (see
Comfort Controls)
Heater, Engine Block ........ .56. 213
High Beams
............... .76. 143
Highway Hypnosis
.............. 151
Hill and Mountain Roads
......... 152
Hood Release
.................. 205
Safety Warning
............... 206
Warning, Overheated
Engine
.................... 92
Horn
......................... 67
Hot Engine. Safety Warnings . .179. 206
How the Anti-Lock Brake
System Works
................ 132
Hydraulic Clutch
.......... .220. 253
Hydroplaning
.................. 145
Hills. Parking on
.......... .154. 165
Identification Number. Vehicle
.... 247
Idling Your Engine
.......... .64. 67
Ignition
Key
......................... 44
Key Release Button
............. 51
Positions
..................... 51
Illuminated Entry/Exit System
...... 46
Indicator Lights
Infant Restraint
Inflation. Tires
....... .232. 252. 304
Inside Rearview Mirror
........... 81
Inspections. Owner
.............. 271
Instrument Panel
................ 86
Instrument Panel Warning Lights .... 91
(see Warning Lights)
(see Child Restraints)
.................... J ack. Tire 187
Jump Starting
.................. 171
Key Release Button
.............. 51
Keys
.......................... 44 Lane
Change Indicator
........... 69
Lap-Shoulder Safety Belt .......... 18
Front
........................ 18
Rear ........................ 23
Use by Children
........... .27, 36
Latches. Seatback ................ 11
Lighter ........................ 85
Lights
Charging System
.............. 95
Check Gauges ................ 99
Daytime Running Lights ......... 75
Fog Lights .............. .77. 229
Headlights
.......... .74. 228. 254
Headlights Reminder
........... 75
Instrument Panel Intensity Control
. . 76
Parking ................. .74. 254
Reading
................ .77. 255
Removing
& Replacing
Bulbs
............ .228. 229. 254
Replacement Bulbs
............ 254
Shift
........................ 62
Taillights
............... .229. 254
Trunk ....................... 78
Turn Signal ............. .69. 254
Warning Lights
........... .91. 170
Lights on Reminder .............. 75
Loading Your Vehicle ............ 230
297 ’ ’
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Power Window Lock-Out Switch ... 69
Power Windows
............ .68. 250
Pregnancy. Use of Safety Belts During
...................... 22
Problems On the Road
........... 169
Publications (see
Service Publications)
Radiator Overheating
(see
Overheated Engine)
Radio (see Audio Systems)
Reading Lights ............. .77. 255
Rear Door Security
Locks ......... 47
Rear Seat. Split Fold-Down
........ 12
Rearview Mirrors ................ 81
Rear Window Defogger
.......... 105
Reclining Seatbacks
.............. 10
Remote Fuel Filler Door
......... 203
Remote Trunk Release
............ 49
Replacement Brakes
............. 226
Replacement Bulbs
............. 254
Replacement Fuses
............. 249
Replacement
Parts .............. 257
Replacement, Windshield Wiper
... 230
Replacing Safety Belts
............ 40
Replacing Tires ................ 234 Replacing Wheels
.............. 237
Restraint. Head
.................. 11
Restraints. Child
............ .30. 38
Road Signs
.................... 122
Color
...................... 122
Shape
...................... 123
Symbols
.................... 124
Traffic Lights
................ 124
Traffic Officers
............... 125
Your Own Signs
.............. 125
Roads. Hill and Mountain ........ 152
Roadside Assistance
Program
.................... 285
Rocking Your Vehicle ............ 194
Rotation, Tire
.................. 233
S afety Belts .................... 12
Adults ....................... 17
Center Rear Lap Belt
........... 28
Checking
.................... 30
Children
................. .29, 38
Child Restraints ............... 30
Child Restraints-How to Install
..................... 30
Automatic Lap-Shoulder Belt
..... 18
Child Restraints.
Where to Put .... 30
Cleaning
.................... 242
Driver Position
................ 18
Extender
..................... 40
How to Wear .................. 17
Passenger Belts
................ 22
Pregnancy, Use During
.......... 22
Questions
& Answers . .16, 20, 39, 41
Rear Safety Belts
.............. 23
Replacement
.................. 40
Right Front. Adult Passenger
..... 22
Smaller Children and Babies
..... 29
Top Strap
.................... 31
Torn
........................ 41
Twisted
...................... 21
Vehicles First Sold in Canada
..... 18
Warning Light
................. 17
Why
You Should Wear
Safety Belts
................. 14
Safety Defects. Reporting
......... 284
Scheduled Maintenance Services
... 262
Seat Adjustment
.................. 9
Seat Belts (see
Safety' Belts)
Seat Controls .................... 8
Easy-Entry ................... 11
Head Restraint
................ 11
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