1997 GMC SAVANA child seat

Section 1 Seats and Restraint Systems
Here you’ll find information about the seats in your vehicle\
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.
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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 Supplemental Inflatable
Restraint (SIR) System
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1-52 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
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@ 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
vehicle,
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.
Driver Position
This part describes the driver’s restraint system.
Lap-Shoulder Belt
The driver has a lap-shoulder belt. Here’s how to wear
it properly.
1. Close and lock the door.
2. Adjust the seat (to see how, see “Seats” in the Index)
so you can sit up straight.
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heavy you can't hold it. For example, in a crash
at only 25 mph (40
km/h), a 12-1b. (5.5 kg) baby
will suddenly become
a 240-lb. (110 kg) force on
your
arms. The baby would be almost impossible
to hold.
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 (Except Cargo
Vans and Cab and Chassis Models).
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 a rear seat. If your vehicle has a front
passenger air bag,
never put a rear-facing child restraint
in the front passenger seat. Here's why:
A CAUTION:
m
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
rear-facing child restraint would be very close to
the inflating
air bag. If your vehicle has a right
front passenger's air bag, always secure a
rear-facing child restraint in
a 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 a rear seat.
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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.
Where to Put the Restraint (Cargo
Vans and Cab and Chassis Models)
The child restraint must be secured properly in the
passenger seat.
If your vehicle has a passenger air bag,
never put a rear-facing child restraint in this vehicle.
Here’s why:
--
A CAUTION:
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.
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.
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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 a Rear
Outside Seat Position
You’ll be using 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.
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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
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.
Securing a Child Restraint in a
Center Seat Position
You'll be using the lap belt.
See the earlier part about the top strap
if the child
restraint has one.
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1.
2.
3.
4.
Make the belt as long as possible by tilting the latch
plate and pulling it along the belt.
Put the restraint on the seat. Follow the instructions
for the child restraint.
Secure the child
in the child restraint as the
instructions say.
Run the vehicle’s safety belt through or around the
restraint. The child restraint instructions will show
you how.
5.
6.
7.
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.
To tighten the belt, pull its free end while you push
down on the child restraint.
Push and pull the child restraint in different
directions to be sure it is secure.
If it isn’t, secure the
restraint in a different place in the vehicle and
contact the child restraint maker for their advice
about how to attach the child restraint properly.
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To remove the child restraint, just unbuckle the vehicle’s
safety belt. It will
be ready to work for an adult or larger
child passenger.
Securing a Child Restraint in the Right
Front Seat Position
If your vehicle has a front passenger air bag, never put a
rear-facing child restraint in this seat. Here’s why:
A child in a rear-facing child restraint can be
seriously injured if the front 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.
If your vehicle is a passenger van, always
secure a rear-facing child restraint in a rear seat.
If your vehicle is a cargo van with a right front
passenger 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.
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