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Don’t let anyone ride where
they can’t wear a safety belt
properly.
If you are in a crash and
you’re not wearing a safety belt,
your injuries can be
much worse.
You can hit things inside the
vehicle or be ejected from it. You
can be seriously injured or killed.
In the same crash, you might not
be if you are buckled up. Always
fasten your safety belt, and check
that your passengers’ belts are fastened properly too. This figure lights up when
you
turn the
key to
Run or Start when your safety
belt isn’t buckled, and you’ll hear a
chime, too. It’s the reminder to buckle
up. In many states and Canadian
provinces, the law says to wear safety
belts. Here’s why:
They work.
You never know if you’ll be in a crash.
If you do have a crash, you don’t know
if it will be a bad one.
A few crashes are very mild. In them,
you won’t get hurt even if you’re not
buckled up.
And some crashes can be so
serious, like being hit by a train, that
even buckled up a person wouldn’t
survive. But most crashes are in
between. In many of them, people who
buckle up can survive and sometimes walk away. Without belts they could be
badly hurt or killed.
After
25 years of safety belts in vehicles,
the facts are clear. In most crashes
buckling up does matter.
. . a lot!
13
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r
Safety Belt Warning Llght
When the key is turned to Run or Start,
a chime will come on for about eight
seconds to remind people to fasten their
safety belts, unless the driver’s safety
belt is buckled. The safety belt light
will
also come on and stay on for about a
minute. If the driver’s belt
is buckled,
neither the chime nor the light
will
come on.
A
If your s&ty belt light ever
comes on or stays on after the
hnt doors are closed and the
driver‘s belt is buckled, We your
vehicle €ked.
If you don’t, you might not have
the protection you’d need in a
crash.
I How to Wear Safety Belts
31
T
si
Properly-Adults
~~
his section is only for people of adult
ze.
i There are special things to
1 how about safety belts and
children, And there are different
des for babies and smaller
children, If a child will be riding
in your Pontiac, see the Idex
under Children aptd Sufety Belts.
Eollow those rules for everyone’s
protection.
First, you’ll want to know which
restraint systems your vehicle has.
We’ll
start with the driver position.
’17 ...
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Seats & Safety 6elts
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.
Adjust the seat (to see how, see the
Index under Seat Controls) 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.
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Page 44 of 306

Here you can learn about the
many standard and optional features
on your Pontiac. and information on
starting. shifting and braking
. Also
explained are the instrument panel
and the warning systems that tell
you
if everything is working
properly-and what to do
if you have
a problem
.
Part 2
Features & Controls
Keys .............................. ............................ 44
GloveBox ....................................................... 50
StartingYourEngine
............................................... 52
LOC
ks ........................................................... 45
Ignitionswitch
.................................................... 51
Engine Block Heater
............................................... 56
Shifting the Transaxle
.............................................. 57
ShiftingIntoPark
.................................................. 64
Turn SignaVHeadlight Beam Lever .................................... 69
Cruisecontrol .................................................... 70
Lightcontrols
.................................................... 74
Interior Lights
.................................................... 76
Windshield Wipers
................................................. 79
Windshield Washer ................................................ 80
Mirrors .......................................................... 81
Ashtray and Lighter ................................................ 85
Warning Lights, Gages and Indicators .................................. 91
ParkingBrake
.................................................... 63
Windows
........................................................ 68
Sunvisors
....................................................... 82
InstrumentPanel
.................................................. 86
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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.
45 =.=
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9
I
I
..
I
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.
47
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Features & Controls
‘1
Rear Door Security Locks (CONT.)
To Cancel the Rear Door Lock:
1 . Unlock the door from the inside and open the door from the outside.
48
2. Use a key to move the lock all the
3. Do the same for the other rear door.
The rear door locks will now work
normally. way
down.
Theft
Vehicle theft is big business, especially
in some cities.
Although your Pontiac has a number of
theft-deterrent features, we know that nothing we put on it can make it
impossible
to steal. However, there are
ways you can help.
Key in the Ignition: If you walk away
from your vehicle with the keys inside,
it’s an easy target for
joy riders or
professional thieves-so don’t do it.
When you park your Pontiac and open
the driver’s door, you’ll hear a chime
reminding you to remove your key from
the ignition and take it with you.
Always do
this. Your steering wheel will
be locked, and
so will your ignition. If
you have an automatic transaxle, taking
your key out
also locks your transaxle.
And remember to lock the doors.
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