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Seats & Restraint Systems
I
4. To unlatch the belt, just push the
button on the buckle.
Rear Safety Belt Comfort
Guides for Children and
Small Adults
Rear shoulder belt comfort guides will
provide added comfort for children who
have outgrown child restraints and for
small adults. The comfort guides pull the
shoulder belts away from the neck and
head.
There is one guide for each outside
passenger position
in the rear seat. You
will find them tucked
in between the
seatback and the interior body, about
half-way down the edge of the seatback.
Here is how you should install the
comfort guides on the shoulder belts:
1. Pull the elastic cord out from between
the edge of the seatback and the
interior body to remove the guide
from its storage clip.
2. Slide the guide under and past the
belt. The elastic cord must be under
the belt. Then, place the guide over
the belt, and insert the two edges of
the belt into the slots of the guide.
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Seats & Restraint Systems
Children
Everyone in a vehicle needs protection!
That includes infants and all children
smaller than adult size. In fact, the law
in
every state in the United States and in
every Canadian province says children up
to some age must be restrained while in a
vehicle.
Smaller Children and
Babies
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Seats & Restraint Systems
Top Strap (CONI)
Your dealer can obtain the hardware kit
and install it for you, or you may install it
yourself using the instructions provided in
the kit.
Use the tether hardware kit available from
the dealer. The hardware and installation
instructions were specifically designed for
this vehicle.
Securing a Child Restrainl
in
a Rear Outside Position
fou’ll be using the lap-shoulder belt. See
he earlier section about
the top strap if
he child restraint has one.
3.
Put the restraint on the seat. Follow
the instructions for the child restraint.
Secure the child
in the child restraint
as
the instructions say.
Pick up the latch plate, and run the la1
and shoulder portions of the vehicle’s
safety belt through or around the
restraint. The child restraint
instructions
will show you how. Tilt
the latch plate to adjust the belt
if
needed.
4.
If the shoulder belt goes in front of the
child’s face or neck,
put it behind the
child restraint.
Buckle the belt. Make sure the release
button is positioned
so you would be
able to unbuckle the safety belt quickly
if you ever had to.
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Seats & Restraint Systems
Securing a Child Restraint
in the Center Rear Seat
Position
(CONT.)
1. Make the belt as long as possible by
tilting the latch plate and pulling it
along the belt.
2. Put the restraint on the seat. Follow
the instructions for the child restraint.
3. Secure the child in the child restraint
as the instructions say.
4. Run the vehicle’s safety belt through
or around the restraint. The child
restraint instructions will show you
how.
5. Buckle the belt. Make sure the release
button is positioned so you would be
able to unbuckle the safety belt
quickly if you ever had to.
6. To tighten the belt, pull its free end
while you push down on the child
restraint.
f. rusn ana pull the child restraint In
different directions to be sure it is
secure. If the child restraint isn’t
secure, turn the latch plate over and
buckle it again. Then see if it is
secure. If it isn’t, secure the restraint
in a different place in the vehicle and
contact the child restraint maker for
their advice about how to attach the
child restraint properly.
unbuckle the vehicle’s safety belt. It will
be ready to work for an adult or larger
child passenger.
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Seats & Restraint Systems
Securing a Chi/d Restraint
in the Right
Front Seat
(CONK)
Once the special hardware is installed,
please follow
the instructions with it and
these steps:
1. Unbuckle the automatic lap-shoulder
belt by pushing the button
on the
buckle.
It will stay on the door, ready to be
rebuckled
for use by adults or older
children.
II
2. Snap one hook of the infadchild seat
attaching belt near the floor at
the
door side of the seat.
I
I
3. Put the belt’s special latch plate into
the vehicle’s safety belt buckle.
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Seats & Restraint Systems
P,
Securing a Child Restraint
in the Right Front Seat
(CONT.)
2. Push the spring on the hook near the
door and remove the special belt.
3. Put the belt away in a safe place in .
your vehicle, so it won’t fly around in
a crash and injure someone.
4. Remember to reattach the automatic
belt again, once the child restraint is
removed. Be sure it isn’t twisted.
Larger Children
Children who have outgrown child
restraints should wear the vehicle’s safety
belts.
If you have the choice, a child should sit
next to a window
so the child can wear a
lap-shoulder belt and get the additional
restraint a shoulder belt can provide.
Accident statistics show that children are
safer if they are restrained in the rear seat.
But they need to use the safety belts
properly.
Children who aren’t buckled up can
be thrown out in a crash.
Children who aren’t buckled up can
strike other people who are.
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Seats & Restraint Systems
Larger Children (CONT.)
Wherever the child sits, the lap portion of
the belt should be worn low and snug on
the hips, just touching the child’s thighs.
This applies belt force to the child’s
pelvic bones
in a crash.
Safety Belt Extender
If the vehicle’s safety belt will fasten
around you, you should use
it. The
automatic lap-shoulder belt has plenty of
extra length built in,
so it will fasten
around almost all people.
But if a safetybelt isn’t long enough to
fasten, your dealer will order you an
extender. It’s free. When you go
in to
order
it, take the heaviest coat’you will
wear, so the extender will be long enough
for you. The extender
will be just for you,
and just for the seat
in your vehicle that
you choos’e. Don’t let someone else use it,
and use
it only for the .seat it is made to
fit. To wear it, just attach it to the regular
safety belt.
Checking Your
Restraint Systems
Now and then, make sure all your belts,
buckles, latch plates, retractors,
anchorages and reminder systems are
working properly. Look for any loose
parts or damage.
If you see anything that
might keep a restraint system from doing
its job, have
it repaired.
Replacing Safety Belts
After
a .. Crash
[f 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 worn during
a more severe crash, then you need new
belts
.
For passenger sedans, if you ever see a
label on a right front safety belt that says
to replace the belt, be sure
to do so. Then
the new belt
will be there to help protect
you in an accident. You would see this
label on the belt near the’latch plate.
If belts are cut or damaged, replace them.
Collision damage also may mean you
will
need to have safety belt or seat parts
repaired or replaced. New parts and
repairs may be necessary even
if the belt
wasn’t being used at the time of the
collision.
If your seat adjuster won’t work after a
crash, the special part of the safety belt
that goes through the seat’to the adjuster
may need to be- replaced.
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3. Plug it into a normal, grounded
1 10-volt outlet. NOTICE:
After you’ve used the coolant
heater, be sure to store the cord as
it
was before to keep it away from
moving engine parts. If you don’t,
it
could be damaged.
L
How long should you keep the coolant
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
a Pontiac 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
(3 or 4 Speeds)
Your Grand Am may be equipped with a
three speed automatic or a four speed
automatic transaxle. The shift lever is
located on the console between the seats.
There are six different positions for the
shift lever on the three speed automatic
and four speed automatic transaxles.
While PARK (P),
REVERSE (R) and
NEUTRAL (N) operate identically for
both transaxles, the forward gear
positions represent different geariirg and
operation. See “Forward Gears (Three
Speed)’’ or “Forward Gears
(Four Speed)”
later
in this section.
Three Speed
Park
P Park P Four Speed
Second
2 First 1
Third 3 Second 2
Overdrive D Drive D Neutral N
Neutral N Reverse
R Reverse R
59.0.
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