1997 CHEVROLET EXPRESS wheel

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine 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 lbelts. Here’s why:
They work.
You never know if you’ll be in a crash. If you do have a
crash, you dlon’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.

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine 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 shoulder 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) svstem or air bag system.
If it says SUPPLEMENTAL INFLATABLE
RESTRAINT on the middle part of the steering wheel
and SUPPLEMENTAL INFLATABLE RESTRAINT on
the instrument panel
in front of the right front passenger’s
seat, your vehicle has two
air bags -- one air bag for the
driver and another
air bag for the right front passenger.
If it says SUPPLEMENTAL INFLATABLE
RESTRAINT on the middle part of the steering wheel
but it doesn’t say SUPPLEMENTAL INFLATABLE
RESTRAINT on the instrument panel in front of the
right front passenger’s seat, your vehicle has an air bag
for the driver only.

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine If it says SUPPLEMENTAL INFLATABLE
RESTRAINT on the middle
part of the steering wheel
but there is no right front passenger’s seat, your vehicle
has an air bag for the driver only.
If it doesn’t say SUPPLEMENTAL INFLATABLE
RESTRAINT on the middle part
of the steering wheel,
your vehicle doesn’t have air bags.
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 ejected from it. Air
bags are “supplemental restraints” to the safety
belts. All
air bags are designed to work with
safety belts, but don’t replace them. Air bags are
CAUTION: (Continued) 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.
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.
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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine How the Air Bag System Works
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.

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine I
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 11
to 16 mph (18 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 anythmg 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 -- in
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.

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine 0 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 GM 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 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.

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Section 2 Features and Controls
Here you can learn about the many standard and optional features on your vehicle, and information on starting,
shifting and braking. Also explained are the instrument panel and the warning systems that tell you if everything is
working properly
-- and what to do if you have a problem.
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2-28 Keys
Door Locks Keyless Entry System
Your Doors and How They Work
Theft
New Vehicle “Break-In”
Ignition Switch
Starting Your Gasoline Engine
Engine Coolant Heater (Option)
Automatic Transmission Operation
Locking Rear Axle
Parking Brake
Shifting Into PARK
(P)
Shifting Out of PARK (P)
Parking Over Things That Burn
Engine Exhaust
Running Your Engine While You’re Parked
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Windows
Horn
Tilt Wheel (Option) Turn Signal/Multifunction Lever
Exterior Lamps
Mirrors
Storage Compartments
Cigarette LightedAshtrays
Sun Visors
Instrument Panel
Instrument Cluster
Speedometer
Warning Lights, Gages and Indicators
Electronic Road-Speed Governor
(Gasoline Engines) (Option)
Center High-Mounted Stoplamp