1996 PONTIAC GRAND-AM Owners Manual

&.’ What’s wrong with this?
A: The belt is buckled in the wrong place.
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’f
A CAUTION: -1
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 beat into the buckle nearest
you.
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I
A: The shoulder belt is worn under the arrn. It should
.. be worn over the shoulder at all times.
You can b me seriously injured if you wear th
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
woulld 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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@ What's wrong with this?
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.
I
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 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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Mow 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 instrument
panel on
the passenger’s side.
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- 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.
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
“threkhold level.”
If your vehicle goes straight into a
wall that doesn’t move or deform, the threshold level
is
about 9 to 16 mph (14 to 26 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 6f 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.
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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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