1996 BUICK REGAL belt

To unlatch the belt, just push the button on the buckle.
The belt should go back out of the way.
Before you close the door, be sure the belt is out of the
way. If you slam the door on it, you can damage both the
belt and your vehicle.
Supplemental Restraint System (SRS)
This part explains the Supplemental Restraint System
(SRS) or air bag system. Your
Buick
has two air bags -- one air bag for the driver
and another air bag for the right front passenger.
Here are the most important things to know about the air
bag system:
You can be severely injured or killed in a crash if
you aren’t wearing your safety belt
-- even if you
have an air bag. Wearing your safety belt during a
crash helps reduce your chance of hitting things
inside the vehicle or being ejected from it. The air
bag
is only a “supplemental restraint.’’ That is, it
works with safety belts but doesn’t replace them.
Air bags are designed to work only in moderate to
severe crashes where the front of your vehicle hits
something. They aren’t designed to inflate at all in
rollover, rear, side or low-speed frontal crashes.
Everyone in your vehicle, including the driver,
should
wear a safety belt properly -- whether or
not there’s an air bag for that person.
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A CAUTION:
Air bags inflate with great force, faster than the
blink
of an eye. If you’re too close to an inflating
air bag, it could seriously injure you. Safety belts
help keep you in position for an air bag inflation
in a crash. Always wear your safety belt, even
with an air bag. The driver should sit as
far back
as possible while still maintaining control of
the vehicle.
An inflating
air bag can seriously injure small
children. Always secure children properly in your
vehicle.
To read how, see the part of this manual
called “Children” and the caution label on the
right front passenger’s safety belt.
AIR BAG 0.
There is an air bag readiness
light
on the instrument
panel, which shows
AIR
BAG.
The system checks the air bag’s electrical system for
malfunctions. The light tells
you if there is an electrical
problem. See “Air Bag Readiness Light” in the Index
for more information.
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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 help you
in many types of collisions, including
rollovers, rear impacts 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 belts, and then only in moderate
to severe frontal or near-frontal collisions.
What will you see after an air bag inflates?
After the air bag inflates, it quickly deflates. This occurs
so quickly that some people may not even realize 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 right front passenger’s bag, will
be hot for
a short time. The part of the bag that comes
into contact with you may be warm, but
it will never be
too hot to touch. There will be some smoke and dust
coming from vents
in the deflated air bags. Air bag
inflation will not prevent the driver from seeing or from
being able to steer the vehicle, nor will
it stop people
from leaving the vehicle.
When an air bag inflates, there is dust in the air.
This dust could cause breathing problems for
people with a history of asthma or other
breathing trouble.
To avoid this, everyone in the
vehicle should get out as soon as
it is safe to do so.
If you have breathing problems but can’t get out
of the vehicle after an air bag inflates, then get
fresh air by opening a window or door.
In many crashes severe enough to inflate an air bag,
windshields are broken by vehicle deformation.
Additional windshield breakage may
also occur from the
right front passenger’s 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 for your
vehicle covers the need to replace other parts.
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0 Your vehicle is equipped with a crash sensing and
diagnostic module, which records information about
the air bag system. The module records information
about the readiness
of the system, when the sensors are
activated and driver’s safety belt usage at deployment.
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 module in the steering wheel
or both the air
bag module and the instrument panel for the
right front passenger’s air bag.
Do not open or
break the air bag covers.
Servicing Your Air Bag-Equipped Buick
Air bags affect how your Buick 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 Buick dealer and the Regal Service Manual have
information about servicing your vehicle and the air bag
system.
To purchase a service manual, see “Service and
Owner Publications” in the Index.
A CAUTION -
-
For up to 10 seconds after the ignition key is
turned off and the battery is 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. Avoid wires wrapped with yellow tape
or yellow connectors. They are probably part of
the air bag system. Be sure to follow proper
service procedures, and make sure the person
performing work for you is qualified to do
so.
The air bag system does not need regular maintenance.
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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, below
the rounding, 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 “Driver Position,”
earlier in this section.
When the shoulder 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 PC zition
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ri your vehicle has a bench seat, 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.
r-
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.
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.
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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.
:ear Seat lutside senger Bsi tions
If you have a four-door model, see “Rear Seat
Outside Passenger Positions (4-Door Models)” later
in this section.
Lap4 bulder Belt (2-Door Models)
The positions next to the windows have lap-shoulder
belts. Here’s how
to wear one properly.
I
1. Pick up the latch plate and pull the belt across you.
Don’t let it get twisted.
2. Push the latch plate into the buckle until it clicks.
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If the belt stops before it reaches the buckle, tilt the latch
plate and keep pulling
until you can buckle it.
Pull up on the latch plate to make sure it is secure.
If the belt is not long enough, see “Safety Belt
Extender” at the end
of this section. 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.
3. To make the lap part tight, pull down on the buckle
end
of the belt as you pull up on the shoulder part.
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