1997 CHEVROLET ASTRO Owners Manual

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine e.’ What’s wrong with this?
I I I I I I 1 I I I 1 I
A: The belt is twisted across the body.
You can be seriously injured by a twisted belt. In
a crash, you wouldn’t have the full width of the
belt to spread impact forces.
If a belt is twisted,
make it straight
so it can work properly, or ask
your dealer
to fix it.
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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine To unlatch the belt, just push the button on the buckle.
The belt should go back out
of the way.
Safety Belt Use During Pregnancy
Safety belts work for everyone, including pregnant
women.
Like all occupants, they are more likely to be
seriously injured
if they don’t wear safety belts.
Before you close the door, be sure
the belt is out of the
way. If you slam the door on it,
you can damage both the
belt and your vehicle.
A pregnant woman should wear a lap-shoulder belt, and
the lap portion should be worn as low
as possible, below
the rounding, throughout the pregnancy.
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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine 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 malung
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 lap belt is ,pulled out all the way,
it will lock.
If it does, let it go back all the way and start again.
Supplemental Inflatable Restraint
(SIR) System
This part explains the Supplemental Inflatable Restraint
(SIR) system or air bag system.
Your vehicle 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 ejec‘ted from it. Air
bags are “supplemental restraints” to the safety
belts.
All air bags are designetkto 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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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine A CAUTION:
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.
’ A CAUTION:
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,
AIR
BAG
which shows AIR BAG.
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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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine How the Air Bag System Works
I
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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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine 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. And don’t hang anything from the
assist handle on the passenger’s side of the
instrument panel.
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
1 1 to 16 mph (1 8 to 26 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 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 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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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.
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 anwg 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.
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
door.
0
0
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.
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.
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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine 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 Vehicle
Air bags affect how your vehicle 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
GM dealer and the 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.
I a CAUTION:
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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