1996 CADILLAC SEVILLE Owners Manual

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine What’s wrong with this?
A: The shoulder belt is worn under the arm. It should
be worn over the shoulder at all times.
A CAUTION:
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.
h
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A CAUTION:
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.
A: The belt is twisted across the body.
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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 Inflatable Restraint
(SIR) 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:
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.
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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.
I 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.
11 There is an air bag
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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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine How the Air Bag System Works
Where is the air bag?
The driver's air bag is in the middle of the steering
wheel.
I
The right front passenger's air bag is in the instrument
panel on the passenger's
side.
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1 A CAUTION:
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.
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 01 ;L 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 intlator. 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 fronl passenger.
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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 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.
~
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
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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,
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 air bag,
it may not work properly.
You may have to
replace the air bag module.
Do not open or break
the air bag cover.
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 Cadiliac 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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