1997 BUICK CENTURY Owners Manual

The best way to protect the fetus is to protect the
mother. When a safety belt is worn properly, it’s more
likely that the fetus won’t be hurt
in a crash. For
pregnant women, as for anyone, the key to making
safety belts effective is wearing them properly.
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.
When the shoulder belt is pulled
out all the way, it will
lock. If it does, let
it go back all the way and start again.
Air Bag System
This part explains the air bag system.
Your Buick 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 air bags. Wearing your safety belt during a
crash helps reduce your chance of hitting things
inside the vehicle or being ejected from it. Air
bags are “supplemental restraints” to the safety
belts.
All air bags are designed to work with
safety belts, but don’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 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 before and during a
crash. Always wear your safety belt, even with air
bags. The driver should
sit as far back as possible
while still maintaining control of the vehicle.
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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.
There is an air bag
readiness light
on the
instrument panel, which
shows the air bag symbol.
The system checks the air bag 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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How the Air Bag System Works
Where are the air bags?
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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If something is between an occupant and an air
bag, the bag might not inflate properly or it
might force the object into that person. The path
*of an inflating air bag must be kept clear. Don’t
put anything between an occupant and
an air
bag, and don’t attach or put anything on the
steering wheel hub
or on or near any other air
bag covering.
When should
an air bag inflate?
An air bag is designed to inflate in a moderate to severe
frontal or near-frontal crash. The
air bag will inflate
only
if the impact speed is above the system’s designed
“threshold level.”
If your vehicle goes straight into a
wall that doesn’t move or deform, the threshold level is
about
9 to 15 mph (14 to 24 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 bqause of the damage
to a vehicle or because of what the‘repair costs were.
Inflation is determined by the angle of the impact and
how quickly the vehicle slows down in frontal or
near-frontal impacts.
What makes an air bag inflate?
In an impact of sufficient severity, the air bag sensing
system detects that the vehicle is in a crash. The sensing
system triggers a release of gas from the inflator, which
inflates the air bag. The inflator, air bag and related
hardware are all
part of the air bag modules 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-frontal collisions,
even belted occupants can contact the steering wheel or
the instrument panel. Air bags supplement 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 impacts, primarily
because an occupant’s motion is not toward those air
bags. Air bags should never be regarded as anything
more than a supplement
to safety belts, and then only in
moderate to severe frontal or near-frontal collisions.
What will you see after an air bag inflates?
After an air bag inflates, it quickly deflates, so
quickly that some people may not even realize the
air bag inflated. Some components of the air bag
module
-- 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
parts of the bag that come into contact with you may
be warm, but not
too hot to touch. There will be some
smoke and dust coming from vents
in the deflated air
bags. Air bag inflation doesn’t prevent the driver from
seeing or from being able to steer the vehicle, nor does
it stop people from leaving
the vehicle.
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When an air bag i. ates, 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.
Air bags are designed to inflate only once. After they
inflate, you’ll need some new parts for your air bag
system. If
you 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 for your
vehicle covers the need to replace other parts.
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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 covering for the driver’s or the
right front passenger’s
air bag, the bag may not
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 coverings.
Servicing Your Air Bag-Equipped Buick
Air bags affect how your Buick 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
Buick dealer and the Century 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.
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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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Center Passenger Position
Lap Belt
If your vehicle has a bench seat, someone can sit in the
center position.
When you sit in a center seating position, you have a lap
safety belt, which has no retractor.
To make the belt
longer, tilt the latch plate and pull it along the belt.
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To make the belt shorter, pull its free end as shown until
the belt is snug.
Buckle, position and release
it the same way as the lap
part
of a lap-shoulder belt. If the belt isn’t 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.
Rear Seat Passengers
It’s very important for rear seat passengers to buckle up!
Accident statistics show that unbelted 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.
Rear Seat Outside Passenger Positions
Lap-Shoulder Belt
The positions next to the windows have lap-shoulder
belts. Here’s how to wear one properly.
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