Page 10 of 338
Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine &G- -a*
Section 1 Seats and Restraint Systems
Here you’ll find information about the seats in your Catera 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.
1-2
1-11
1-16
1-16
1-17
1-24
1-25
1-25
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 Air Bag Systems
1-32
1-35
1-37
1-39 1-47
1-50
1-50
1-51 Rear Seat Passengers Center Passenger Position
Children
Child Restraints
Larger Children
Safety Belt Extender
Checking Your Restraint Systems
Replacing Restraint System
Parts
After a Crash
1-1
Page 25 of 338

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Here Are Questions Many People Ask
About Safety Belts
-- and the Answers
@’ Won’t I be trapped in the vehicle after an
accident if I’m wearing
a safety belt?
A: 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?
A: 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.
&: If I’m a good driver, and I never drive far from
home, why should I wear safety belts?
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 km/h).
Safety belts are for everyone.
How to Wear Safety Belts Properly
Adults
This part is only for people of adult size.
Be aware that there
are special things to know about safety
belts and children. And there are different rules for smaller
children and babies.
If a child will be riding in your
Catera, see the part
of this manual called “Children.”
Follow those rules for everyone’s protection.
First, you’ll want to know which restraint systems your
vehicle has.
We’ll start
with the driver position.
1-16
Page 46 of 338
Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Children
Everyone in a vehicle needs protection! That includes
infants and all children smaller than adult size.
In fact,
the law in every state in the United States and in every
Canadian province says children up to some age must be
restrained while in a vehicle.
Smaller Children and Babies
I A C U-ION:
Smaller children and babies should always be
restrained in
a child or infant restraint. The
instructions for the restraint will say whether it is
the right type and
size for your child. A very
young child’s hip bones are so small that a
regular belt might not stay low on the hips, as it
should. Instead, the belt will likely be over the
child’s abdomen. In
a crash, the belt would apply
force right on the child’s abdomen, which could
cause serious or fatal injuries. So, be sure that
any child small enough
for one is always properly
restrained in a child or infant restraint.
1-37
Page 48 of 338

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine 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
rearfacing 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.
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.
1-39
Page 49 of 338
Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine 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 Catera 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.
If your child restraint has a top strap, your dealer can
obtain a kit with anchor hardware and installation
instructions specifically designed for this vehicle. The
dealer can then install the anchor for you. In Canada,
this work will be done for you free
of charge. Or, you
may install the anchor yourself using the instructions
provided in the
kit.
1-40
Page 50 of 338
Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Securing a Child Restraint in a Rear
Outside Seat Position
You’ll be u,sing the lap-shoulder belt. See the earlier part
about the top strap if the child restraint has one.
1. Put the restraint on the seat. Follow the instructions
for the child restraint.
2. Secure the child in the child restraint as the
instructions say.
3. Pick up the latch plate, and run the lap and shoulder
portions of the vehicle’s safety belt through or
around the restraint. The child restraint instructions
will show you how.
If the shoulder belt goes in front of the child’s face or
neck, put it behind the child restraint.
4. Buckle the belt. Make sure the release button is
positioned
so you would be able to unbuckle the
safety belt quickly if
you ever had to.
1-41
Page 51 of 338
Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine 5. Pull the rest of the shoulder belt all the way out of
the retractor to set the lock. 6. To tighten the belt, feed the shoulder belt back into the
retractor while you push down on the child restraint.
7. Push and pull the child restraint in different
To remove the child restraint, just unbuckle the vehicle’s
safety belt and let it
go back all the way. The safety belt
will move freely again and be ready to work for an adult
or larger child passenger.
directions to
be sure it is secure.
1-42
Page 52 of 338
Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Securing a Child Restraint in the Center
Rear
Seat Position
U
You’ll be using the lap belt.
See the earlier part about the top strap if the child
restraint has one.
1. Make the belt as long as possible by tilting the latch
2. Put the restraint on the seat. Follow the instructions
plate and pulling
it along the
belt.
for the child restraint.
3. Secure the child in the child restraint as the
instruct-ions say.
4. Run the vehicle’s safety belt through or around the
restraint. The child restraint instructions will show
you how.
1-43