1997 PONTIAC PONTIAC child seat

7 Section 1 Seats and Restraint Systems
Here you'll find information about the seats in your Pontiac a\
nd 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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Seats and Controls
Manual Seats
Power Seats
Reclining Front Seatbacks
Seatback Latches
Why Safety Belts Work
Questions Many People Ask About
Safety Belts
How to Wear Safety Belts Properly
Safety Belt Use During Pregnancy
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Questions and Answers About Air Bags
Rear Safety Belt 'Comfort Guides
How to Use Child Restraints
How to Use the Built-In Child Restraint
Important Information
for Buckling Children
in Child Restraints
Child Restraint Top Straps
How to Obtain a Safety Belt Extender
Checking Your Restraint Systems
Replacing Parts After a Crash
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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 Pontiae, 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.
I. Close and lock the door.
2. Adjust the seat (to see how, see “Seats” in the Index)
so you can sit up straight.
3. Pick up the latch plate and pull the belt across you.
Don’t let it get twisted.
The shoulder belt may
lock if you pull the belt across
you very quickly. If this happens, let the belt
go back
slightly
to unlock it. Then pull the belt across you
more slowly.
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Rear Safety Belt Comfort Guides for
Children and Small Adults
Rear shoulder belt comfort guides will provide added
safety belt comfort for children who have outgrown
child restraints and for small adults. When installed on a
shoulder belt, the comfort guide pulls the belt away
from the neck and head.
There is one guide for each outside passenger position in
the rear seat.
To provide added safety belt comfort for
children who have outgrown child restraints and for
smaller adults, the comfort guides may be installed on
the shoulder belts. Here’s how to install
a comfort guide
and use the safety belt:
1. Pull the elastic cord out from between the edge of
the seatback and the interior body to remove the
guide from its storage clip.
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Built-in Child Restraint (Option) The child should also be at least one year old. It is
important to use a rear-facing infant restraint until the
child is about
a year old. A rear-facing restraint gives
the infant’s head, neck and body the support they would
need
in a crash. See “Child Restraints” later in this
section €or more information.
If your vehicle has this option, there’s a built-in child
restraint in
the center rear seat position. This child
restraint system conforms
to all applicable ~ Federal
Motor Vehicle Safety Standards.
This child restraint is designed for use only by children
who weigh between
22 and 60 pounds (10 and 27 kg)
and whose height is between 33.5 and 51 inches (850 and
1 295 mm) and who are capable of sitting upright alone.
With this built-in child restraint, YOU can adjust the height
of the harness. Depending on the seated height of the
child, you can route it through the upper pair of slots (A),
the middle pair of slots (B) or the lower pair of slots (C).
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&: Which slots should I use for my ild?
A: With the child seated on the child restraint cushion,
use the pair of slots that is at or just above the top
of the child’s shoulders.
For the child shown here, the harness should go through
the middle pair
of slots (B).
&: What if the top of my child’s shoulders is above
the highest pair
of slots?
A: A child whose shoulders are above the highest slots
shouldn’t use this child restraint. Instead, the child
should sit on the vehicle’s seat cushion
and use the
vehicle’s safety belts.
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/! CAUTION:
MAKE SURE THE TOP OF THE CHILD’S
SHOULDERS
IS BELOW THE SLOTS THAT
THE HARNESS GOES THROUGH.
A CHILD
WHOSE SHOULDERS ARE ABOVE THOSE
SLOTS COULD BE IN JURED DURING A
SUDDEN STOP OR CRASH. IF THE TOP OF
THE CHILD’S SHOULDERS IS ABOVE
THE SLOTS, DON’T USE THIS CHILD
RESTRAINT. INSTEAD, THE CHILD SHOULD
SIT ON THE VEHICLE’S REGULAR SEAT
AND USE THE REGULAR SAFETY BELTS.
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12. Move the pad back against the child restraint
seatback.
Make sure the harness goes through the
slots in the pad that match the height adjustment
slots being used.
fastener
strip.
13, Press the upper edge of the pad against the
Securing a Child in the Built-in Child Restraint
-
Now that the harness is adjusted to the correct height for
your child, you’re ready to use the child restraint’s
harness (E) to secure your child.
Don’t use the vehicle’s safety belts.
Using the vehicle’s regular safety belts on a child
seated on the child restraint cushion can cause
serious injury
to the child in a sudden stop or
cra,sh.
If a child is the proper size for the built-in
child restraint, secure the child using the child
restraint’s harness. But children
who are too
large for the built-in child restraint should sit on
the vehicle’s regular seat and use the regular
safety belts.
WARNING! FAILURE TO FOLLOW THE
MANUFACTURER’S INSTRUCTIONS ON THE
USE OF THIS CHILD RESTRAINT SYSTEM
CAN RESULT IN YOUR CHILD STRIKING
THE
VEHICLE’S INTERIOR DURING A SUDDEN STOP
OR CRASH.
SNUGLY ADJUST
THE BELTS PROVIDED WITH
THIS CHILD RESTRAINT AROUND YOUR CHILD.
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Storing the Built-in Child Restraint
Always properly store the built-in child restraint before
using the vehicle’s lap belt in the center rear seat position.
1. Buckle
the harness and fasten the harness clip.
2. Fold the child restraint cushion and leg rest up
into the seatback.
3. Press the child restraint cushion firmly into
the seatback.
4. Then press the leg rest firmly into the seatback, and
secure it by pressing the upper corners against the
fastener strips
on the seatback.
Just like the other restraint systems in your vehicle, your
built-in child restraint needs
to be periodically checked
and may need
to have parts replaced after a crash. See
“Checking Your Restraint Systems” and “Replacing Seat
and Restraint System Parts After a Crash” in the Index.
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Child Restraints
Be sure the child restraint is designeld 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 dol that.
Where to Put the Restraint
Accident statistics show that children are safer if they
are restrained in the rear rather than the front
seat. We at
General Motors therefore recommen'd that
you put your
child restraint in the rear seat.
Never gut a rear-facing
child restraint in the front passenger seat. Here's
why:
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. Always secure
a rear-facing
child restraint
in the 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 the rear seat.
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