1996 CADILLAC ELDORADO Owners Manual

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine @ What’s wrong with this?
I I I 1 I 1 I I I I I I
A: The shoulder belt is worn under the am. It should
be worn over the shoulder at all times.
You can be seriously injured if you wear the
shoulder belt under your arm.
In a crash, your
body would move
too far forward, which would
increase the chance of head and neck injury.
Also, the belt would apply too much force to the
ribs, which aren’t
as strong as shoulder bones.
You could also severely injure internal organs
like your liver or spleen.
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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine &: What's wrong with this?
L I 1 I I I I I I I I I I I
A: The belt is twisted across the body.
You can be seriously injured by a twisted belt. In
a crash, you wouldn't have the full width of the
belt to spread impact forces. If a belt is twisted,
make it straight
so it can work properly, or ask
your dealer
to fix it.
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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine 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.
@upplemental Inflr’-3le Restraint
R) System
This part explains the Supplemental Inflatable Restraint
(SIR) system or air bag system.
Your Cadillac 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:
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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine A CAUTION:
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.
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.
.-
A CAUTION:
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.
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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine There is an air bag
readiness light
on the
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.
Where is the air bag?
The driver’s air bag is in the middle of the steering
wheel.

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine The right front passenger’s air bag is in the instrument
panel on the passenger’s side.
I A CAUTION:
I-
Don’t put anything on, or attach anything to, the
steering wheel or instrument panel. Also, don’t
put anything (such
as pets or objects) between
any occupant and the steering wheel or
instrument panel. If something
is between an
occupant and an air bag, it could affect the
performance
of the air bag -- or worse, it could
cause injury.
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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine When should an air bag inflate?
The air bag is designed to inflate in moderate to severe
frontal or near-frontal crashes. The air bag
will inflate
only
if the impact speed is above the system’s designed
“threshold level.”
If your vehicle goes straight into a
wall that doesn’t move or deform, the threshold level is
about
9 to 15 mph (14 to 24 km/h). The threshold level
can vary, however, with specific vehicle design,
so that
it can be somewhat above or below this range. If your
vehicle strikes something that will move or deform, such
as a parked car, the threshold level
will be higher. The
air bag is not designed to inflate in rollovers, side
impacts or rear impacts, because inflation would not
help
the occupant.
In any particular crash, no one can say whether an
air
bag should have inflated simply because of the damage
to a vehicle or because
of what the repair costs were.
Inflation is determined by the angle
of the impact and
the vehicle’s deceleration. Vehicle damage is only one
indication of this.
What makes an air bag inflate?
In a frontal or near-frontal impact of sufficient severity,
the air bag sensing system detects that the vehicle is
suddenly stopping as a result of a crash. The sensing
system triggers a chemical reaction
of the sodium azide
sealed
in the inflator. The reaction produces nitrogen
gas, which inflates the air bag. The inflator, air bag and
related hardware are all part of the air bag modules
packed inside the steering wheel and in the instrument
panel
in front of the right front passenger.
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.
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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine 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.
A CAUTION:
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.
Your vehicle has a feature that will automatically unlock
the doors and turn the interior lamps on when the air bag
inflates (if battery power
is available). But if you want
to, you can lock the doors again and
turn the interior
lamps off by using the door lock and interior lamp
controls.
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 air bag.
0 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.
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.
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