1996 CHEVROLET MONTE CARLO Owners Manual

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1 I i 1 1 I I I I I
A: The shoulder belt is too loose. It won’t give nearly
as much protection this way.
A I
/! t-
I 1
You can be seriously hurt if your shoulder belt is
too loose. In a crash, you would move forward
too much, which could increase injury. The
shoulder belt should
fit against your body.

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine What’s wrong with this?
7
f
You can be seriously injured if your belt is
buckled in the wrong place like this. In
a crash,
the belt would
go up over your abdomen. The
belt forces would be there, not
at the pelvic
bones. This could cause serious internal injuries.
Always buckle your belt into the buckle
nearest you.
A: The belt is buckled in the wrong place.
1-14
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1
A: The shoulder belt is worn under the arm. 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.
x xu

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine What's wrong with this?
'A 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.
1-16

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.
Air Bag System
This part explains the air bag system.
Your Chevrolet 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 vehicje, including the driver,
should wear
a safety belt properly -- whether or
not there’s an
air bag for that person.
1-17

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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
There is an air bag readiness
light
on the instrument
panel, which shows
AIR BAG or the
air bag symbol.
~~~~~~~ ~ ~ ~ ~
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.

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. The
right front passenger’s air bag
is in the instrume
panel
on the passenger’s side.
:nt
1-19

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine 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 kmh). The threshold level
can vary, however, with
sneci. 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.