1997 CADILLAC DEVILLE Owners Manual

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine When should an air bag inflate?
The driver’s and right front passenger’s frontal air bags
are designed to inflate in moderate to severe frontal or
near-frontal crashes. The frontal air bags are designed to
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 driver’s and right front passenger’s
frontal air bags are not designed to inflate in rollovers,
side impacts, or rear impacts, because inflation would
not help the occupant.
The driver’s and right front passenger’s side impact air
bags are designed to inflate in moderate to severe side crashes involving a front door.
A side impact air bag
will inflate if the crash severity is above the system’s
designed “threshold level.” The threshold level can vary
with specific vehicle design. Side impact air bags are not
designed to inflate in frontal or near-frontal impacts, rollovers or rear impacts, because inflation would not
help the occupant.
A side impact air bag will only
deploy on the side of the vehicle that is struck.
In any particular crash, no one can say whether an air
bag should have inflated simply because 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 and
near-frontal impacts. For side impact air bags, inflation
is determined by the location of the impact and how
quickly the side
of the vehicle deforms.
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. For both
frontal and side impact air bags, 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, instrument panel and front doors.
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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine 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.
In moderate to severe side
collisions, even belted occupants can contact the inside
of the vehicle. The air bag supplements 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 the frontal
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
the
air bag. Side impact air bags would not help you in
many types of collisions, including frontal or near
frontal collisions, rollovers, and rear 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 for
the driver’s and right front passenger’s frontal air bags,
and only in moderate to severe side collisions for the
driver’s and right front passenger’s side impact air bags.
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, the
instrument panel for the right front passenger’s bag, the
door for the driver and right front passenger’s side
impact air bags
-- 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 the vents
in the deflated
air bags. Air bag inflation doesn’t prevent the driver
from seeing or being able to steer the vehicle, nor does it
stop people from leaving the vehicle.
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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine A CAUTION:
When an air bag inflates, 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 a door.
Your vehicle has a feature that will automatically unlock
the doors and
turn the interior lamps on when air bags
inflate
(if battery power is available). You can lock the
doors again and turn the interior lamps off by using the
door lock and interior lamp controls.
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 an
air bag inflates, 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.
0 Your vehicle is equipped with a crash sensing and
diagnostic module, which records information about
the frontal 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.
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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Let only qualified technicians work on your air
bag systems. Improper service can mean that an
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, or the air
bag covering on the driver’s and right front
passenger’s door, the bag may not work properly.
You may have to replace the air bag module in
the steering wheel, both the
air bag module and
the instrument panel for the right front
passenger’s
air bag, or both the air bag module
and door panel for the driver’s and right front
passenger’s side impact
air bag. Do not open or
break the
air bag coverings. Servicing
Your
Air Bag-Equipped Cadillac
Air bags affect how your Cadillac should be serviced.
There are parts
of the air bag systems in several places
around your vehicle. Your Cadillac dealer and the
Cadillac Service Manual have information about
servicing your vehicle and the air bag systems.
To
purchase a service manual, see “Service and Owner
Publications” in the Index.
For up to
10 seconds 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 systems. Be sure to follow proper
service procedures, and make sure the person
performing work for you is qualified to do
so.
The air bag systems do not need regular maintenance.
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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Center Passenger Position
n
U
Lap Belt
If your vehicle has a front split seat and a rear bench
seat, someone
can sit in the center positions.
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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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine 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.
To make the belt shorter, pull its free end as shown until
the belt
is snug.

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Rear Seat Outside Passenger Positions
h
Lap-Shoulder Belt
The positions next to the windows have lap-shoulder
belts. Here’s how to wear one properly.
1. Pick up the latch plate and pull the belt across you.
Don’t let it get twisted.
The shoulder belt may lock if you pull the belt across
you very quickly. If this happens, let the belt
go back
slightly to unlock it. Then pull the belt across you
more slowly.
2. Push the latch plate into the buckle until it clicks.
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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine If the belt stops before it reaches the buckle, tilt the latch
plate and keep pulling until you can buckle
it.
Pull up on the latch plz-te to make sure it is secure.
If the belt is not 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.
1
3. To make the lap part tight, pull down on the buckle
end
of the belt as you pull up on the shoulder part.
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