1996 PONTIAC PONTIAC Owners Manual

Power Seat (Option)
FRONT (A): Raise the front of the seat by holding the
Lift the bar under the front of the seat to unlock it, Slide switch UP. Hold the switch down to lower the front of
the seat
to where you want it and release the bar, Try to the seat.
move the seat with your body to
be sure the seat is CENTER (B): Move the seat forward or backward by
locked in place. holding the control to the front or back. Raise or lower
the seat by holding the control up or down.
REAR (C): Raise the rear of the seat by holding the
switch
up. Hold the switch down to lower the rear of
the seat.
1-2
ProCarManuals.com

Reclining Front Seatbacks r
Lift the lever to release the seatback, then move the
seatback to where
you want it. Release the lever to
lock the seatback in place. Pull up
on the lever
without pushing on the seatback, and the seatback
will move
forward.
2-Door Models
ProCarManuals.com

4-Door Models
But don’t have a seatback reclined if your vehicle is moving.
Sitting in a reclined position when your vehicle is
in motion mi be dangerous. Even if you buckle
up, yuur 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 or other injuries.
The lap belt can’t do its job either. In a crash the
belt could go up over your abdomen. The belt
forces would be there, not
at your pelvic bones.
This could cause serious 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.
ProCarManuals.com

Head Restraints
Slide the head restraint up or down so that the top of the
restraint is closest to the top of your ears. This position
reduces the chance of a neck injury in a crash.
Seatback Latches (2-Door Models)
The front seat folds forward
to let people get into the
back seat. Your seatback
will move
back and forth
freely, unless you come to a
sudden stop. Then it will
lock in place.
If your vehicle is parked going down
a fairly steep hill,
the seatback may not fold without some help from you.
To fold the locked seatback forward, push the seatback
8
toward the rear as you lift this latch. Then the seatback
will fold forward. The latch must be down for the seat to
work properly.
Safety Belts: They’re for Everyone
This part of the manual tells you how to use safety belts
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.
ProCarManuals.com

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!
Why Safety Belts Work
When you ride in or on anything, you go as fast as
it goes.
Tike the simplest vehicle. Suppose it’s just a seat
on wheels.
1-6 I
ProCarManuals.com

Put someone on it.
Get it up to speed. Then stop the vehicle. The rider
doesn't
stop.
1-7
ProCarManuals.com

The person keeps going until stopped by something.
In a real vehicle, it could be the windshield ...
or the instrument panel . . .
1-8
ProCarManuals.com

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.
Here Are Questions Many People Ask
About Safety Belts -- and the Answers
Q: Won’t I be trapped in the vehicle after an
accident
if I’m wearing a safety belt?
A3 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.
Q: If my vehicle has air bags, why should I have to
wear safety belts?
At 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.
1-9
ProCarManuals.com