1994 CADILLAC DEVILLE Owners Manual

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine How does an air bag restrain?
In moderate to severe frontal or near-frontal collisions, even belted
occupants 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.
What will you see after an air bag inflation?
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.
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. There will be small amounts of
smoke and dust coming from vents in the deflated air bags. 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.
In many crashes severe enough to inflate an air bag, windshields are
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.
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 air bag modules and possibly other parts.
The service manual has information about the need to replace other
parts.
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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine 0 Your vehicle is equipped with a diagnostic module, which records
information about the air bag system
if the air bag deploys in a crash.
The module records information about the readiness of the system,
which sensors activated the deployment, and whether the driver’s
safety belt was
in use.
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.
NOTICE:
If you damage the cover for the driver’s or the right-front\

passenger’s air bag, they may not work properly.
You may have
to replace the air bag on the steering wheel or both the air bag
and the instrument panel for the passenger’s air bag.
Do not
open
or break the air bag covers.
Is the smoke from an air bag inflation harmful?
The particles emitted during air bag inflation are not harmful to most
people. Some people with respiratory ailments may experience difficulty
breathing
if they stay in the vehicle with the windows closed after air bag
inflation.
So, if your air bag inflates, you and any passengers should exit
the vehicle
if and when it is safe to do so. If you or your passengers can’t
get out of the vehicle, try to get fresh air by opening a window, turning
on
the fan, or opening a door.
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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Servicing Your Air Bag=Equipped Cadillac
Air bags affect how your Cadillac should be serviced. 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. Your
Cadillac dealer and the
1994 Cadillac Service Manual have information
about servicing your vehicle and the air bag system. The air bag system
does not need regular maintenance.

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine r
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SAFETYBELT 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 aspossible thr*oughout 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.
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l-

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine RIGHT FRONT PASSENGER POSITION
L
The right front passenger’s safety belt works the same way as the driver’s
safety belt. See “Driver Position,” earlier
in this part. **
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.
CENTER PASSENGER POSITION
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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Lap Belt
If your vehicle has a front split and rear bench seats, 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.
To
make the belt longer,
tilt the latch plate
and pull it along the
belt.
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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine 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 “Safety Belt Extender”
at the end
of this section. 7
Make sure the release button on the buckle is positioned so you would be
able to unbuckle the safety belt quickly
if you ever had to.
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.
-4
r. 1
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. 7
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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Rear Seat Outside Passenger Positions
Lap-Shoulder Belt
The positions next to the windows have lap-shoulder belts. Here’s how to
wear one properly. -.
1.
--. 2. Push the latch plate into the buckle until it clicks. Pick
up the
latch
plate and pull the
belt across
you.
Don’t let it get
twisted.
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