1996 CHEVROLET SUBURBAN Owners Manual

Top Strap
If your child restraint has a top strap, it should be anchored. If you need to
have an anchor installed,
you can ask your GM dealer to put it in for you. If
you want to install an anchor yourself, your dealer can tell you how to do it.
Securing a Child Restraint in a Rear Outside Seat
Position
You’ll be using the lap-shoulder belt. See the earlier part about the top strap
if the child restraint has one.
1. Put the restraint on the seat. Follow the instructions for the child
restraint.
2. Secure the child in the child restraint as the instructions say.
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3. Pick up the latch plate, and run the lap 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. If the shoulder belt goes in front of the child’s face or neck, put
it behind the child restraint.
4. 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.
5. To tighten the
belt, pull up on
the shoulder belt
while you push
down on the child
restraint.
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6. Push and pull the child restraint in different directions to be sure it is
secure.
To remove the child restraint, just unbuckle the vehicle’s safety belt and let
it go
back all the way. The safety belt will move freely again and be ready to
work for an adult or larger child passenger.
Securing a Child Restraint in a Center Seat Position
You’ll be using the lap belt.
See the earlier part about the top strap if the child restraint has one.
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.
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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.
7. Push and 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.
To remove the child restraint, just unbuckle the vehicle’s safety belt. It will
be ready to work for
an adult or larger child passenger.
Securing a Child Restraint in the Right Front Seat
Position
You’ll be using the lap-shoulder belt. See the earlier part about the top strap
if the child restraint has one.
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1. Put the restraint on the seat. Follow the instructions for the child
restraint.
2. Secure the child in the child restraint as the instructions say.
3. Pick up the latch plate, and run the lap and shoulder portions of the
vehicle’s safety belt through or around the restraint. The child restraint
instructions will show
you how.
If the shoulder belt goes in front of the child’s face or neck, put it
behind the child restraint.
4. 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.
5. Pull the rest of
the lap belt all the
way out of the
retractor to set
the lock.
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6. To tighten the
belt, feed the lap
belt back into the
retractor while
you push down
on the child
restraint.
7. Push and pull the child restraint in different directions to be sure it is
secure.
To remove the child restraint, just unbuckle the vehicle’s safety belt and let
it go back all the way.
The safety belt will move freely again and be ready
to work for an adult or
larger child passenger.
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.
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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.
Q: What if a child is wearing a lap-shoulder belt, but the child is so
small that the shoulder belt is very close to the child’s face or neck?
A: Move the child toward the center of the vehicle, but be sure that the
shoulder belt still is on the child’s shoulder,
so that in a crash the
child’s upper body would have the restraint that belts provide.
If the
child
is so small that the shoulder belt is still very close to the child’s
face or neck,
you might want to place the child in a seat that has a lap
belt, if your vehicle has
one.
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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.
But if a safety belt
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 choose. 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.
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