1996 PONTIAC GRAND-AM belt

The 1996 Pontiac Grand Am Owner’s Manual
Seats and Restraint Systems ............................................................. 1-1
Features and Controls .................................................................. 2-1
Comfort Controls and Audio Systems ..................................................... 3-1
This section tells you how to use your seats and safety belts properly. It also explains the “SRS” system.
This section explains how to start and operate your Pontiac.
This section tells you how to adjust the ventilation
and comfort conkols and how to operate your
audio system.
Here you’ll find helpful information and tips about the road\
and how to drive under different conditions.
This section tells you what to do if you have a problem while driving, such as a flat tire or
Your Driving and the Road ............................................................... 4-1
ProblemsontheRoad .................................................................. 5-1
’ overheated engine, etc.
Service and Appearance Care ............................................................ 6-1
Maintenanceschedule.................................................... \
.............. 7-1 , ., ,(
Customer Assistance Information ........................................................ 8-1
Here the manual tells you how to keep your Pontiac running pr\
operly and looking good.
This section tells you when
to perform vehicle maintenance and what fluids and lubricants to use.
This section tells you how to contact Pontiac for assistance and how to get serv\
ice and owner publications.
It also gives you information on “Reporting Safety Defects” o\
n page
8-9.
Here’s an alphabetical listing of almost every subject in this manual. You can use it to quickly find
something you want to read.
Index ........................................................................\
........ 9-1
i
ProCarManuals.com

For example,
these symbols
me used on an
original battery:
POSSIBLE A
CAUTION
INJURY
PROTECT EYES BY
SHIELDING
CAUSTIC
ACID COULD BAllERY
CAUSE
BURNS
AVOID
SPARKS OR FLAMES
FLAME
EXPLODE BAllERY
These symbols
are important
for you and
yorr passengers
whenever your
vehicle is
driven:
DOOR LOCK
UNLOCK
FASTEN SEAT
BELTS
Vehicle Symbols
These are some of the symbols you may find on your vehicle.
Op
AIR BAG p
These symbols
have
to do with
your lights:
SIGNALS e
TURN
PARKING
pf
LAMPS
RUNNING
' ' 0
DAYTIME *
LAMPS *
FOG LAMPS $0
These symbols
are
on some of
your controls:
WINDSHIELD
DEFROSTER
WINDOW
DEFOGGER
VENTILATING FAN
These symbols are used on
warning and
indicator lights:
ENGINE k
COOLANT - rd
TEMP -
BRAKE (0)
ENGINE OIL
PRESSURE
ANTI-LOCK
(e)
BRAKES
Here are some
other symbols
you may
see:
FUSE
LIGHTER
m
HORN )tr
SPEAKER
b
il'
FUEL
V
ProCarManuals.com

Section 1 Seats and Restraint Systems
Here you’ll find information about the seats in your
Pontiac and how
to use your safety belts properly. You
can also learn about some things you should not do with
air bags and safety belts.
Seats and Seat Controls
This section tells you about the seats -- how to adjust
them
-- and also about reclining seatbacks and head
restraints.
Manual Seats
I
A CAUTION:
You can lose control of the vehicle if you try to
adjust a manual driver’s seat while the vehicle is
moving. The sudden movement could startle and
confuLse you, or make you push a pedal when you
don’t want to. Adjust the driver’s seat only when
the vehicle is not moving.
I
Move the control lever under the front of the seat to
unlock it. Slide the seat to where you want it. Then
release the lever and try to move the seat with
your
body, to make sure the seat is locked into place.
1-1
ProCarManuals.com

I
But don’t have a seatback reclined if your vehicle is
moving.
I
Sitting in a reclined position when your vehicle is
in motion can be dangerous. Even if you buckle
up, your safety belts can’t do their job when
you’re reclined like this.
The shoulder belt can’t do its job because it
won’t be.against your body. Instead, it will be in
front of you. In a ‘crash you could go into it,
receiving neck OF other injuries.
The lap belt can’t do its job either. In a crash the
belt c&ld go up over your abdomen. The belt
forces wouldl be there, not at your .pelvic bones.
This could’ cause seri’ous internal injuries.
For proper protection when the vehicle is in
motion, have the seatback upright. Then sit well
back in the seat and wear your safety belt
properly.
~. .
1-4
ProCarManuals.com

Safety Belts: They’re for Everyone
This part of the manual tells you how to use safety b’elts
properly, It also tells you some things you should not do
with safety belts.
And it explains the Supplemental Restraint System (SRS),
or
air bag system.
- -
A CAUTION:
Don’t let anyone ride where he or she can’t wear
a safety belt properly. If you are in a crash and
you’re not wearing
a safety belt, your injuries
can be much worse.
You can hit things inside the
vehicle or
be ejected from it. You can be seriously
injured or killed. In the same crash, you might
not be
if you are buckled up. Always fasten your
safety belt, and check that your passengers’ belts
are fastened properly too. Your
vehicle has a light that
comes
on as a reminder to
buckle up. (See “Safety Belt
Reminder Light” in the
Index.)
In most states and Canadian provinces, the law says
to
wear safety belts. Here’s why: They work.
You never know if you’ll be in a crash. If you do have a
crash, you don’t know if it will be a bad one.
A few crashes are mild, and some crashes can be so
serious that even buckled up a person wouldn’t survive.
But most crashes
are in between. In many of them,
people who buckle up can survive and sometimes walk
away. Without belts they could have been badly hurt
or killed.
After more than
25 years of safety belts in vehicles,
the facts are clear. In most crashes buckling up does
matter
... a lot!
1-7
ProCarManuals.com

Why Safety Belts Work
When you ride in or on anything, you go as fast as it
goes.
Put someone on it.
1-8
ProCarManuals.com

L
or the instrument panel ... or the safety belts!
With safety belts,
you slow down as the vehicle does.
You get more time to stop. You stop over more distance,
and your strongest bones take the forces.
That’s why
safety belts make such
good sense.
1-10
ProCarManuals.com

Here Are Questions Many People Ask If I’m a good driver, and I never drive far from
Aboutsafety Belts -- and the Answers home, why should I wear safety belts?
A:
Q.:
A:
Won’t I be trapped in the vehicle after an
accident’if I’m wearing a safety belt?
You could be -- whether you’re wearing a safety
belt or not. But you can unbuckle
a safety belt,
even
if you’re upside down. And your chance of
being conscious during and after an accident, so
you can unbuckle and get out, is much greater if
you are belted.
If my vehicle has air bags, why should I have to
wear safety belts?
Air bags are in many vehicles. today and will be in
most of them
in the future. But they are
supplemental systems only;
so they work with
safety belts --. not instead of them. Every air bag
system ever offered for sale has required the use of
safety belts. Even if you’re in a vehicle that has air
bags, you still have
to buckle up to get the most
protection. That’s
true not only in frontal collisions,
but especially in side and other collisions.
A: You may be an excellent driver, but if you’re in an
accident -- even one that isn’t your fault -- you and
your passengers can be hurt. Being a good driver
doesn’t protect you from things beyond your
control,
such as bad drivers.
Most accidents occur within
25 miles (40 km) of
home. And the greatest number of serious injuries
and deaths occur at speeds
of less than 40 mph
(65 h/h). ~
Safety belts are for everyone.
1-11
ProCarManuals.com