Page 33 of 356
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.
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
passenger’s safety belt.
There is an air bag
readiness light on the
instrument panel, 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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Page 36 of 356

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 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 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.
In many crashes severe enough to inflate an air bag,
windshields are broken by vehicle deformation.
Additional windshield breakage may also occur from the
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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Page 37 of 356

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine 0
0
Your vehicle is equipped with a 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
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
passenger’s air bag.
Do not open or break the air
bag coverings.
Servicing Your Air Bag-Equipped Corvette
Air bags affect how your Corvette 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
Corvette dealer and the Corvette 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.
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 yellow wires, 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.
Page 38 of 356

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 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
CAUTION: (Continued) force
right on the child’s abdomen, which could
cause serious or fatal injuries. Smaller children
and babies should always be restrained in a child
restraint. However, infants, who should be
restrained in a rear-facing child restraint, cannot
ride safely in this vehicle. The instructions for the
restraint will say whether it is the right type and
size for your child.
If a forward-facing child
restraint is suitable for your child, be sure the
child is always properly restrained while riding in
this vehicle.
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Page 40 of 356

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 child restraint will
show you how to do that.
The child restraint must be secured properly in the
passenger seat.
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.
Top Strap
Some child restraints have a top strap. Don’t use a
restraint like that in your vehicle because the top strap
anchor cannot be installed properly. You shouldn’t
use this type of child restraint without anchoring the
top strap.
Securing a Child Restraint in the Passenger
Seat Position
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Page 41 of 356

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Your vehicle has a passenger air bag. Never put a
rear-facing child restraint in this vehicle. Here’s why:
A child in a rear-facing child restraint can be
seriously injured if the passenger’s air bag
inflates. This is because the back of a rear-facing
child restraint would be
very close to the inflating
air bag.
Do not use a rear-facing child restraint in
this vehicle.
If a forward-facing child restraint is suitable for
your child, always move the passenger seat as far
back as it will go.
You’ll be using the lap-shoulder belt. See the earlier part
about the top strap if the child restraint has one.
1.
2.
3.
4.
Because your vehicle has a passenger air bag, always
move the seat as far back as it will
go before
securing a forward-facing child restraint. (See
“Seats” in the Index.)
Put the restraint on the seat. Follow the instructions
for the child restraint.
Secure the child in the child restraint as the
instructions say.
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.
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Page 42 of 356
Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine A
5. 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.
6. Pull the rest of the lap belt all the way out of the
retractor to set the lock.
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Page 43 of 356
Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine 7. To tighten the belt, feed the lap belt back into the
8. Push and pull the child restraint in different
retractor
while you push down on the child restraint.
directions to be sure it
is secure.
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.
Larger Children
Children who have outgrown child restraints should
wear the vehicle's safety belts.
Children who aren't buckled up can be thrown out in
a crash.
Children who aren't buckled up can strike other
people who are.
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