1997 BUICK PARK AVENUE belt

The 1997 Buick Park Avenue Owner’s Manual
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Seats and Restraint Systems
This section tells you how to use your seats and safety belts properly. It also explains the “SRS” system.
Features and Controls
This section explains how to start and operate your Buick.
Comfort Controls and Audio Systems
This section tells you how to adjust the ventilation and comfort controls and how to operate your audio system.
Your Driving and the Road
Here you’ll find helpful information and tips about the road and how to drive under different conditions.
Problems on the Road
This section tells what to do if you have a problem while driving, such as a flat tire or overheated engine, etc.
Service and Appearance Care
Here the manual tells you how to keep your Buick running properly and looking good,
Maintenance Schedule
This section tells you when to perform vehicle maintenance and what fluids and lubricants to use.
Customer Assistance Information
This section tells you how to contact Buick for assistance and how to get service and owner publications.
It also gives you information on “Reporting Safety Defects” on page
8-8.
Index
Here’s an alphabetical listing of almost every subject in this manual. You can use it to quickly find
sometlvng you want to read.
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Vehicle Symbols
These are some of the symbols you may find on your vehicle.
For example,
these symbols
are used on an
original battery:
POSSIBLE A
CAUTION
INJURY
PROTECT EYES BY
SHIELDING
CAUSTIC
ACID COULD
&
BAllERY
CAUSE
BURNS
AVOID
SPARKS
OR
FLAMES
SPARK
OR ,\I/,
COULD FLAME
EXPLODE BAllERY
X
These symbols are important
for you and
your passengers
whenever your
vehicle is
driven:
DOOR LOCK
UNLOCK
FASTEN SEAT
BELTS
POWER
WINDOW
These symbols have to do with
your lamps:
SIGNALS 6
TURN
RUNNING
* ' 0
DAYTIME -
LAMPS .'*
FOG LAMPS $0
These symbols
are
on some of
your controls:
WINDSHIELD
WIPER
WINDSHIELD DEFROSTER
WINDOW
DEFOGGER
These symbols are used
on
warning and
indicator lights:
COOLANT -
TEMP -
CHARGING I-1
BAlTERY
SYSTEM
BRAKE
(a)
COOLANT a
ENGINE OIL e,
PRESSURE
ANTI-LOCK
(@)
BRAKES
Here are some
other symbols
you may see:
FUSE
LIGHTER
a
HORN )tr
SPEAKER
IJ
FUEL p3
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Section 1 Seats and Restraint Systems
Here you’ll find information about the seats in your Buick 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.
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1-12
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1-19 1-20
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1-26 Seats
and Seat Controls
Safety Belts: They’re for Everyone
Here Are Questions Many People Ask About
Safety Belts
-- and the Answers
How to Wear Safety Belts Properly
Driver Position Safety Belt Use During Pregnancy
Right Front Passenger Position
Supplemental Restraint System (SRS)
Center Passenger Position
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1-35
1-44
1-47 1-47
1-47 Rear
Seat Passengers
Rear Safety Belt Comfort Guides for Children
and Small Adults
Children
Child Restraints
Larger Children Safety Belt Extender
Checking Your Restraint Systems
Replacing Restraint System Parts After
a Crash
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0 Move the seat forward or back by pushing the
horizontal control to the front or back.
0 Tilt the seatback by pushing the vertical control
forward or rearward.
0 Raise or lower the shoulder belt and head rest by
pushing the vertical control to the top or bottom.
Memory Seat and Mirrors (Option)
If your Buick has this option, the control on the driver’s
door armrest looks like this:
You can use this memory
function to save your seat
cushion (minus the head
restraint), optional lumbar,
mirror adjustment, HVAC
and radio settings by using
the following procedure:
1. Adjust the driver’s seat and lumbar position (if
equipped) to a safe and comfortable driving position.
Adjust both outside mirrors to suit you. See “Outside
Mirrors” in the Index.
2. Press one of the two MEMORY buttons
corresponding with your driver number, for longer
than three seconds. You will hear two beeps to
confirm that the mirror and seat positions have been
entered into memory.
When your Buick is in PARK (P), push and release the
memory button you just stored. The seat and mirrors
will move to the set position. You will hear one beep.
To set the seat and mirror positions for a second
driver, follow the previous steps, but use the other
MEMORY button.
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But don’t have a seatback reclined if your vehicle
is
moving.
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. 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.
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Head Restraints
Use the vertical switch to move a front head restraint up
or down. Lift up on the switch to move the head
restraint up. Press down on the switch to move the head
restraint down. The top of the head restraint should be
closest
to the top of your ears. This position helps
reduce the chance of a neck injury in a crash. When you
move a front seat head restraint up or down, the
shoulder belt height changes. On some models, the head
restraints tilt forward and rearward also. Some
rear seats have adjustable head restraints. Slide an
adjustable 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.
On some models, the rear seat head restraints tilt
forward and rearward also.
There are four different positions for the front seat head
restraints and three different positions for the rear seat
head restraints. Adjust either head restraint by grasping
the top of the restraint and moving it forward the way
you want it to go until you hear a click. It will then be
locked into that position until you need to move it again.
Pulling it forward past the last position will allow the
headrest to return to its full rear position.
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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.
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. It
is extremely
dangerous to ride in a cargo area,
inside or outside of a vehicle. In a collision,
people riding in these areas
are more likely to be
seriously injured or killed.
Do not allow people to
ride in any area of your vehicle that
is not
equipped with seats and
safety belts. Be sure
everyone in your vehicle is in a seat and using
a
safety belt properly.
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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.
Take the simplest vehicle. Suppose it’s just a seat
on wheels.
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