1997 PONTIAC BONNEVILLE Owners Manual

Seats and Seat Controls
This section tells you about the seats -- how to adjust
them
-- and also about reclining seatbacks and
head restraints.
Manual Front Seat
CAUTION:
-
You can lose control of the vehicle if you try to
adjust
a manual driver’s seat while the vehicle is
moving. The sudden movement could startle and
confuse you, or make you push
a pedal when you
don’t want to. Adjust the driver’s seat only when
the vehicle is not moving.
Pull up on the control bar under the front
of the seat to
unlock it. Slide the seat to where you want
it. Then
release the bar and try to move the seat with your body,
to make sure the seat is locked into place.
Power Seat (Option)
To adjust the power seats on
some models:
Front Control
(A): Raise the front of the seat by
holding the switch
up. Lower the front of the seat by
holding the switch down.
Center Control
(B): Move the seat forward by pressing
the control forward, or backward by pressing the
control backward.
Move the seat higher by holding the control up. Lower
the seat by holding the control down.
Rear Control (C): Raise the rear
of the seat by holding
the switch up. Lower the rear of the seat by holding the
switch down.
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Power Lumbar Controls (Option)
d Reshapes the lower back area of the seat.
mb Reshapes the middle back area of the seat.
Reshapes the upper back
area of the seat.
I
Adjustable Support Seat (Option)
On some models, you'll
find the controls
on the
center console. Slide the
selector switch to
L or R to
choose the front seat you
want to adjust.
* &!- Adjusts the seat forward or back.
iJ Adjusts the seat up or down.
&* Adjusts the seatback to an upright or
reclined position.
i$ Adjusts the position of the seatback side bolsters.
'd Tilts the rear of the seat up or down.
Tilts the front
of the seat up or down.
Reclining Front Seatbacks
To adjust the seatback, lift the lever on the outer side of
the seat and move the seatback to where you want it.
Release the lever to lock the seatback. Pull up on
the
lever and the seat will go to an upright position.
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But don’t have a seatback reclined if your vehicle
is moving,
I
Sitting in a reclined position when your vehicle is
in motion can be dangerous. Even if you buckle
up, your safety belts can’t do their job when
you’re reclined like this.
The shoulder belt can’t do its job because it
won’t be against your body. Instead, it will be in
front
of you. In a crash you could go into it,
receiving neck or other injuries.
The lap belt can’t do its job either. In
a crash the
belt could go up over your abdomen. The belt
forces would be there, not
at your pelvic bones.
This could cause serious internal injuries.
For proper protection when the vehicle is in
motion, have the seatback upright. Then sit well
back in the seat and wear your safety belt properly.
Head Restraints
Slide the head restraint up or down so that the top of the
restraint is closest
to the top of your ears. This position
reduces the chance
of a neck injury in a crash.
On some models, the head restraints tilt forward and
rearward also.
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Safety Belts: They’re for Everyone
This part of the manual tells you how to use safety belts
properly.
It also tells you some things you should not do
with safety belts.
And it explains the Supplemental Restraint System
(SRS), or air bag system.
A CAUTION:
r
Don’t let anyone ride where he or she can’t wear
a safety belt properly. If you are in a crash and
you’re not wearing
a safety belt, your injuries
can be much worse,
You can hit things inside the
vehicle or be ejected from it.
You can be seriously
injured or killed. In the same crash, you might
not be if you are buckled up, Always fasten your
safety belt, and check that your passengers’ belts
are fastened properly too.
‘ A CAUTION:
It is extremely dangerous to ride in a cargo area,
inside or outside of
a vehicle. In a collision,
people riding in these areas are more likely to be
seriously injured or killed.
Do not allow people to
ride in any area of your vehicle that
is not
equipped with seats and safety belts. Be sure
everyone in your vehicle
is in a seat and using a
safety belt properly.
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FASTEN
BELTS
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 belts. Here’s why: They work.
You never know if you’ll be in a crash. If you do have a
crash, you don’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.
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Put someone on it.
..
Get it up to speed. Then stop the vehicle. The rider
doesn't stop.
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The person keeps going until stopped by something.
In a real vehicle, it could be the windshield ...
or the instrument panel ...
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or the safety belts!
With safety belts, you slow down as the vehicle does.
You get more time to stop. You stop over more distance,
and your strongest bones take the forces. That’s why
safety belts
make such good sense.
Here Are Questions Many People Ask
About Safety Belts
-- and the Answers
Won’t I be trapped in the vehicle after an
accident if I’m wearing a safety belt?
A: You could be -- whether you’re wearing a safety
belt or not. But you can unbuckle a safety belt,
even if you’re upside down. And your chance
of
being conscious during and after an accident, so
you can unbuckle and get out, is much greater if
you are belted.
e.’ If my vehicle has air bags, why should I have to
wear safety belts?
A: Air bags are in many vehicles today and will be in
most
of them in the future. But they are
supplemental systems only;
so they work with
safety belts -- not instead of them. Every air bag
system ever offered for sale has required the use of
safety belts. Even
if you’re in a vehicle that has air
bags, you still have to buckle up to get the most
protection. That’s true not only
in frontal collisions,
but especially in side and other collisions.
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