1996 PONTIAC GRAND-AM 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 Pontiac 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 b’elt 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 s8afety 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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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
f,y4, - .Ex, in a crash. Always wear your safety belt, even
?k with an air bag. The driver should sit as far back
p3 $% 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.
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-frond, 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 hpacts, prirndy because
an occupant’s motion is not toward the air bag. Air bags
should never be regarded as anmg more than a
supplement
to safety belts, and then only in moderate to
severe fbntal or near-frontal collisions.
What will you see after an ais bag inflates?
After the air bag Mates, 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
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 y0u 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 €or your
vehicle covers the need
to replace other parts.
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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
‘3
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 Pontiac
Air bags affect how your Pontiac 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
Pontiac dealer and the Grand Am 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.
For
up to 10 minutes 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 The best way to protect the fetus is to protect the
mother. When a safety belt is
worn properly, it’s more
Safety belts work
for everyone, including pregnant likely that the fetus won’t be hurt in a crash. For
women. Like all occupants, they are more likely to be pregnant women, as for anyone, the key to making
seriously injured
if they don’t wear safety belts. safety belts effective is wearing them properly.
A pregnant woman should wear a lap-shoulder belt, and
the lap’ portion should be worn as low as possible, b’elow
the rounding, throughout the pregnancy.
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.
Rear Seat Passengers
It’s very important for rear seat passengers to buckle up!
Accident statistics
show that wbelted 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.
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Rear Seat Outside Passenger Positions
Lapshoulder' Belt
The positions next to the windows have lap-shoulder
belts. Here's
how to wear one properly.
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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The lap part of the belt should be worn low and snug on
the hips, just touching the thighs.
In a crash, this applies force
to the strong pelvic bones.
And you’d be less
likely to slide under the lap belt.
If you slid under it, the
belt would apply force at your abdomen. This could cause serious
or even fatal injuries. The shoulder belt
should
go over the shoulder and across the chest. These
parts of the body are best able to take belt restraining
forces.
The safety belt locks
if there’s a sudden stop or a crash.
A 1
A CAUTION:
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.
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