1998 BUICK REGAL Owners Manual

@ Section 1 Seats and Restraint Systems
Here you’ll find information about the seats in your Buick 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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1-11 1-18
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1-26 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 Air Bag System
Rear Seat Passengers 1-29
1-32 1-33
1-36
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1-63
1-65
1-66
1-66 Rear Safety Belt Comfort Guides
for Children
and Small Adults
Center Passenger Position
Children
Built-in Child Restraint (Option)
Child Restraints
Larger Children
Safety Belt Extender
Checking Your Restraint Systems
Replacing Restraint System Parts After a Crash
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Seats and Seat Controls
This section tells you how to adjust the seats and
explains the reclining seatbacks and head restraints.
Manual Front Seat
A C. UTION:
--
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.
2-Way Manual Seat
Lift the bar under the front of the seat using an upward
motion. This will unlock the seat, Slide the seat to where
you want it and release the bar. Try to move the seat
with your body to
be sure the seat is locked into place.
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6-Way Power Seat (If Equipped)
You may have a six-way power driver’s seat and a
six-way power passenger’s seat (if equipped). This
switch is designed to imitate the movements of
your seat cushion. The driver’s switch is located on the
left side of the driver’s seat cushion. The passenger’s
switch
is located on the right side of the passenger’s seat
cushion.
To move the seat forward or rearward, push the
switch forward or rearward. To raise or lower the entire
seat, push the switch up
or down. To raise or lower the
front portion
of your seat, push the front of the switch
up or down. To raise or lower the rear portion
of your
seat, push the rear
of the switch up or down.
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Reclining Front Seatbacks
If your vehicle is equipped with heated seats, the
driver’s side and passenger’s side three-position
switches
are located on the center console, just behind
your automatic transaxle shift lever. Press
LO to warm
the seat at a lower temperature. Press
HI to warm the
seat at a higher temperature.
To turn this feature off,
return the switch to its center position. The button
directly in
the middle of the heated seat switches is used
for traction control (see “Traction Control System”
or
“Enhanced Traction System” in the Index). Lift the
lever to release the seatback, then move the
seatback to where you want it. Release the lever to
lock the seatback
in place. Pull up on the lever
without pushing on the seatback and the seatback will
move forward.
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But don’t have a seatback reclined if your vehicle
is moving. 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.
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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 air
bag system.
-
I I
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.
b
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
1 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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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
30 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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I
Put someone on it. Get it up
to speed. Then stop the vehicle. The rider
doesn’t stop.
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