1997 PONTIAC GRAND AM belt

7 The 1997 Pontiac Grand Am Owner’s Manual
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Seats and Restraint Systems
This section tells you how to use your seats and safety belts properly. It also explains the “SRS” system.
Features and Controls
This section explains how to start and operate your Pontiac.
Comfort Controls and Audio Systems
This section tells you how to adjust the ventilation and comfort controls and how to operate your audio system.
Your Driving and the Road
Here you’ll find helpful information and tips about the road and how to drive under different conditions.
Problems on the Road
This section tells what to do if you have a problem while driving, such as a flat tire or overheated engine, etc.
Service and Appearance Care
Here the manual tells you how to keep your Pontiac running properly and looking good.
Maintenance Schedule
This section tells you when to perform vehicle maintenance and what fluids and lubricants to use.
Customer Assistance Information
This section tells you how to contact Pontiac for assistance and how to get service and owner publications.
It also gives you information on “Reporting Safety Defects” on page
8- 10.
Index
Here’s an alphabetical listing of almost every subject in this manual. You can use it to quickly find
something you want to read.
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Vehicle Symbols
These are some of the symbols you may find on your vehicle.
For example,
these symbols are used on
an
original battery:
POSSIBLE A
CAUTION
INJURY
PROTECT EYES BY
SHIELDING
CAUSTIC
ACID COULD BATTERY
CAUSE
BURNS
SPARK
OR ,\I/,
COULD FLAME
EXPLODE BA'ITERY
These symbols
are important
for you and
your passengers whenever your
vehicle is
driven:
DOOR LOCK
UNLOCK
FASTEN SEAT
BELTS
These symbols
have to do with
your lamps:
SIGNALS e
TURN
FOG LAMPS
$0
These symbols
are on some
of
your controls:
WINDSHIELD
WIPER
WINDSHIELD DEFROSTER
These symbols
are used
on
warning and
indicator lights:
COOLANT -
TEMP -
CHARGING I-1
BA'ITERY
SYSTEM
BRAKE
(a)
COOLANT a
ENGINE OIL w,
PRESSURE
ANTI-LOCK
(@)
BRAKES
Here are some
other symbols
you may see:
FUSE -%-
t
LIGHTER n
HORN )tr
SPEAKER
b
FUEL m
V

Section 1 Seats and Restraint Systems
1-2 Seats and Seat Controls
1-7 Safety Belts: They’re for Everyone
1 - 12 Here Are Questions Many People Ask About
1-13 How to Wear Safety Belts Properly
1-20 Safety Belt Use During Pregnancy
Safety Belts
-- and
the Answers
1-13 Driver Position
1-21 Right Front Passenger Position
1-21 Supplemental Restraint System (SRS)
1-27 Rear Seat Passengers
Here
you’ll find information about the seats in your Pontiac 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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1-48 Rear Safety Belt
Comfort Guides for Children
and Small Adults
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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A CAUTION:
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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.
Seatback Latches (2-Door Models)
The front seatback folds forward to let people get into
the back seat.
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Rear Seats
Folding the Rear Seat (If Equipped)
To open, pull forward on the seat tab.
To close, push the seatback up to its original position.
Push the seatback completely up against the back plate
to ensure that the latch will hook.
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:
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.
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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.
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!
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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. Put someone
on it.
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or the instrument panel . . . 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.
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