1997 BUICK CENTURY child restraint

Securing a Child in the Built-in
Child Restraint
Now that the harness is adjusted to the correct height for
your child, you’re ready to use the child restraint’s
harness (E) to secure your child.
Don’t use the vehicle’s safety belts.
Using the vehicle’s regular safety belts on a child
seated on the child restraint cushion can cause
serious injury to the child in
a sudden stop or
crash.
If a child is the proper size for the built-in
child restraint, secure the child using the child
restraint’s harness. But children who are too
large for the built-in child restraint should sit on
the vehicle’s regular seat and use the regular
safety belts.
WARNING! FAILURE TO FOLLOW THE
MANUFACTURER’S INSTRUCTIONS
ON THE
USE
OF THIS CHILD RESTRAINT SYSTEM CAN
RESULT IN YOUR CHILD STRIKING THE
VEHICLE’S INTERIOR DURING
A SUDDEN STOP
OR CRASH.
SNUGLY ADJUST THE BELTS PROVIDED WITH
THIS CHILD RESTRAINT AROUND YOUR CHILD.
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1. If the left and right halves of the shoulder harness
clip are fastened together, seprate them. 2. If the lap-shoulder harness is buckled, unlatch it by
pushing the button
on the buckle.
3. Place the child on the child restraint cushion.
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4.
5.
6.
Select only one side of the harness. Pull the lap part
of the harness out, and place the harness over the
child’s shoulder.
If both sides of the harness are pulled out, the lap
parts will lock.
If the lap parts lock, let both sides of
the harness go back all the way
so each side will
move freely again. Then repeat this step, pulling
only one side of the harness out.
Push the latch plate
(F) into the buckle until it clicks.
Be sure the buckle
is free of any foreign objects that
may prevent you from securing the latch plates.
If
you can’t secure a latch plate, see your Buick dealer
for service before using the child restraint.
In a single motion, pull the other side of the harness
all the way out. Keeping the harness pulled all the
way out, place it over the child’s shoulder.
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9. On both sides of the harness, pull up on the lap part
a little to be sure it’s locked.
If the harness isn’t locked, or if it becomes too
tight, unfasten the harness clip. Then unlatch the
harness
by pushing the button on the buckle, and let
both sides of the harness
go all the way back so
they will move freely again, Then, repeat Steps 4
through 8.
If the harness still doesn’t lock, don’t use the child
restraint. See your dealer to have the built-in child
restraint serviced.
10. Adjust the position of the harness on the child’s
shoulders
by moving the clip up or down along the
harness. On each side of the harness, the shoulder
part should be centered
on the child’s shoulder. The
harness should be away from the child’s face and
neck, but not falling
off the child’s shoulders.
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Removing the Child from the Built-in
Child Restraint
I
1. Unfasten the shoulder harness clip.
2. Unlatch the harness by pushing the button on
the buckle.
3. Move one side of the harness off the child’s
shoulder, and let the harness go all the way back.
4. Move the other side of the harness off the child’s
shoulder, and let it go all the way back.
5. Remove the child from the child restraint cushion.
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Storing the Built-in Child Restraint
Always properly store the built-in child restraint before
using the vehicle’s lap belt in the center rear seat position.
1. Buckle the harness and fasten the harness clip.
2. Fold the child restraint cushion and leg rest up
3. Press the child restraint cushion firmly into into the seatback.
the seatback.
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4. Then
press the leg rest firmly into the seatback, and
secure it by pressing the upper corners against the
fastener strips on the seatback.
Just like the other restraint systems in your’vehicle, your
built-in child restraint needs to be periodically checked
and may need to have parts replaced after a crash. See
“Checking Your Restraint Systems” and “Replacing Seat
and Restraint System
Parts After a Crash” in the Index.
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Child Restraints
Be sure the child restraint is designed to be used in a
vehicle. If it is, it will have a label saying that it meets
Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards.
Then follow the instructions for the restraint. You may
find these instructions on the restraint itself or in a
booklet, or both. These restraints
use the belt system in
your vehicle, but the child also has to be secured within
the restraint to help reduce the chance
of personal injury.
The instructions that come with the infant
or child
restraint will show you how
to do that.
Where to Put the Restraint
Accident statistics show that children are safer if they
are restrained in the rear rather than the front seat. We at
General Motors therefore recommend that you put your
child restraint
in the rear seat. Never put a rear-facing
child restraint in the front passenger seat. Here’s why:
A child in a rear-facing child restraint can be
seriously injured
if the right front passenger’s
air bag inflates. This is because the back of
a
rear-facing child restraint would be very close to
the inflating air bag. Always secure a rearfacing
child restraint in the rear seat.
You may, however, secure a forward-facing child
restraint
in the right front seat. Before you secure
a forward-facing child restraint, always move the
front passenger seat as far back as it will go. Or,
secure the child restraint in the rear seat.
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A child in a child restraint in the center front seat
can be badly injured by the right front passenger
air bag if it inflates. Never secure a child restraint
in the center front seat.
It’s always better to
secure a child restraint in the rear seat.
You may,
however, secure
a forward-facing child restraint
in the right front passenger seat, but only with
the seat moved all the
way back.
Wherever you install it, be sure to secure the child
restraint properly.
Keep in mind that
an unsecured child restraint can move
around in a collision or sudden stop and injure people in
the vehicle. Be sure to properly secure any child
restraint in your vehicle
-- even when no child is in it.
Top Strap
If your child restraint has a top strap, it should be
anchored. If you need to have an anchor installed, you
can ask your Buick dealer to put
it in for you. If you
want to install an anchor yourself, your dealer can tell
you how to do it.
Canadian law requires that child restraints have
a top
strap, and that the strap be anchored.
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