1996 PONTIAC GRAND-AM Owners Manual

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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
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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.
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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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To unlatch the belt, just push the button on the buckle.
Rear Safety Belt Comfort Guides for
Children and Small Adults
Rear shoulder belt comfort guides will provide added
safety belt
comfort for children who have outgrown
child restraints
and for small adults. When installed on a
shoul’der belt, the comfort guide pulls the belt away
from the
neck gnd head.
There is
one guide for each outside passehger position in
the rear seat. To. provide added safety belt comfort for
children who have outgrown child restraints and for
smaller adults, the comfort guides may be installed on
the shoulder belts. Here’s how to install a comfort guide
and use the safetv belt:
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1. Pull the elastic cord out from between the edge of
the seatback and the interior body to remove the
guide
from its storage clip.
2. Slide the guide under and past the belt. The elastic
cord must be under the belt. Then, place the guide
over the belt,
and insert the two edges of the belt into
the slots of the guide.
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3. Be sure that the belt is not twisted and it lies flat.
The elastic cord must be under the belt and the guide
on top.
4. Buckle, position and release the safety belt as
described in “Rear Seat Outside Passenger Positions’’
earlier in this section. Make sure that the shoulder
belt crosses the shoulder,
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