1998 CADILLAC DEVILLE belt

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine The best way to protect the fetus is to protect the
mother. When a safety belt is worn properly, it’s more
likely that the fetus won’t be hurt in a crash. For
pregnant women, as for anyone, the key to making
safety belts effective is wearing them properly.
Right Front Passenger Position
To learn how to wear the right front passenger’s
safety belt properly, see “Driver Position” earlier in
this section.
The right front passenger’s safety belt works the same
way as the driver’s safety belt
-- except for one thing. If
you ever pull the lap portion of the belt out all the way,
you will engage the child restraint locking feature.
If
this happens, just let the belt go back all the way and
start again.
Supplemental Inflatable Restraint
(SIR) Systems
This part explains the frontal and side impact
Supplemental Inflatable Restraint (SIR) systems or air
bag systems.
Your vehicle has four air bags
-- a “Next Generation”
reduced-force frontal air bag for the driver, another
“Next Generation” reduced-force frontal air bag for the right
front passenger, a side impact air bag for the driver,
and another side impact air bag for the right front
passenger. Reduced-force frontal air bags are designed to help reduce the
risk of injury from the force of an
inflating frontal air bag. But even these air bags must
inflate very quickly if they are to do their job and
comply with federal regulations.
Here are the most important things
to know about the air
bag systems:
You can be severely injured or killed in a crash
if you aren’t wearing your safety belt
-- even if
you have air bags. Wearing your safety belt
during a crash helps reduce your chance of
,. hitting things inside the vehicle or being
ejected from it. Air bags are “supplemental
’ restraints” to the safety belts. All air bags -- even
reduced-force air bags
-- are designed to work
with safety belts but don’t replace them.
CAUTION: (Continued)
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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine CAUTION: (Continued)
Reduced-force frontal air bags for the driver and
right front passenger are designed to work only
in moderate to severe crashes where the front
of your vehicle hits something. They aren’t
designed to inflate at all in rollover, rear, side or
low-speed frontal crashes. And, for unrestrained
occupants, reduced-force air bags may provide
less protection in frontal crashes than more
forceful air bags have provided in the past. The
side impact air bags for the driver and right
front passenger are designed to inflate only in
moderate to severe crashes where something hits
the side of your vehicle. They aren’t designed to
inflate in frontal,
in rollover or in rear crashes.
Everyone in your vehicle should wear a safety
belt properly
-- whether or not there’s an air bag
for that person. Both
frontal and side impact
air bags inflate with
great force, faster than the blink of an eye. This is
true even with reduced-force frontal air bags.
If
you’re too close to an inflating air bag, it could
seriously injure you. Safety belts help keep you
in
position for air bag inflation before and during a
crash. Always wear your safety belt, even with
reduced-force frontal air bags. The driver should
sit as far back as possible while still maintaining
control of the vehicle. Front occupants should not
lean
on or sleep against the door.
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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine /A CAUTldN:
Children who are up against, or very close to,
any
air bag when it inflates can be seriously
injured. This is true even though your vehicle
has reduced-force frontal air bags. Air bags
plus lap-shoulder belts offer the best protection
for adults, but not for young children and
infants. Neither the vehicle’s safety belt system
nor
its air bag system is designed for them.
Young children and infants need the protection
that
a child restraint system can provide. Always
secure children properly in your vehicle.
To
read how, see the part of this manual called
“Children” and see the caution labels on the
sunvisors and
the right front passenger’s
safety belt.
AIR BAG
There is an air
bag readiness light
on the instrument
panel, which shows
AIR
BAG.
The system checks the air bag electrical system for
malfunctions. The light tells you
if there is an electrical
problem. See “Air Bag Readiness Light” in the Index
for more information.
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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine When should an air bag inflate?
The driver’s and right front passenger’s frontal air bags
are designed to inflate in moderate to severe frontal or
near-frontal crashes. The frontal air bags are designed to
inflate only if the impact speed
is above the system’s
designed “threshold level.” If your vehicle goes straight
into a wall that doesn’t move or deform, the threshold
level is about 9 to 15 mph (14 to 24 km/h). The
threshold
level can vary, however, with specific vehicle
design,
so that it can be somewhat above or below this
range. If your vehicle strikes something that will move
or deform, such as a parked car, the threshold level will
be higher. The driver’s and right front passenger’s
frontal air bags are not designed to inflate in rollovers,
side impacts, or rear impacts, because inflation would
not help the occupant.
The driver’s and right front passenger’s side impact air
bags are designed to inflate in moderate to severe side
crashes involving a front door.
A side impact air bag
will inflate if the crash severity is above the system’s
designed “threshold level.” The threshold level can
vary
with specific vehicle design. Side impact air bags are not
designed to inflate in frontal or near-frontal impacts,
rollovers
or rear impacts, because inflation would not
help the occupant.
A side impact air bag will only
deploy on the side of the vehicle that is struck. In
any particular crash, no one can say whether
an air
bag should have inflated simply because of the damage
to a vehicle or because of what the repair costs were. For
frontal air bags, inflation is determined by. the angle of
the impact and how quickly the vehicle slo3vs down in
frontal and near-frontal impacts. For side impact air
bags, inflation is determined
by the location of the
impact and how quickly the side of the vehicle deforms.
What makes an air bag inflate?
In an impact of sufficient severity, the air bag sensing
system detects that the vehicle is in a crash. For both
frontal and side impact air bags, the sensing system
triggers a release of gas from the inflator, which’inflates
the air bag. The inflator, air bag and related hardware are all part
of the air bag modules inside the steering
wheel, instrument panel and front doors.
How does an air bag restrain?
In moderate to severe frontal or near frontal collisions,
even belted occupants can contact the steering wheel or
the instrument panel. In moderate to severe side
collisions, even belted occupants can contact the inside of the vehicle. The air bag supplements the protection
provided by safety belts. Air bags distribute the force of the impact more evenly over the occupant’s upper body, stopping the occupant more gradually.
But the frontal air
bags would not help you in many types of collisions,

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine including rollovers, rear impacts, and side impacts,
primarily because an occupant’s motion is not toward the air bag. Side impact air bags would not help you in
many types of collisions, including frontal or near
frontal collisions, rollovers, and rear impacts, primarily
because an occupant’s motion is not toward those air
bags. Air bags should never be regarded as anything
more than a supplement to safety belts, and then only in
moderate to severe frontal or near-frontal collisions for
the driver’s and right front passenger’s frontal air bags,
and only in moderate to severe side collisions for the
driver’s and right front passenger’s side impact air bags.
What will you see after an air bag inflates?
After an air bag inflates, it quickly deflates, so quickly
that some people may not even realize the air bag inflated. Some components of the air bag module
-- the
steering wheel hub for the driver’s air bag, the
instrument panel for the right front passenger’s bag, the
door for the driver and right front passenger’s side
impact air bags
-- will be hot for a short time. The parts
of the bag that come into contact with you may be
warm, but not too hot to touch. There will be some
smoke and dust coming from the vents in the deflated
air bags. Air bag inflation doesn’t prevent the driver
from seeing or being able to steer the vehicle, nor does it
stop people from leaving the vehicle.
When an air bag inflates, there is dust in the air.
This dust could cause breathing problems for
people with a history of asthma or other breathing trouble,
To avoid this, everyone in the
vehicle should get out as
soon as it is safe to do so.
If you have breathing problems but can’t get out
of the vehicle after an air bag inflates, then get
fresh air by opening a window or a door.
Your vehicle has a feature that will automatically unlock
the doors and turn the interior lamps on when the frontal
air bags inflate (if battery power is available). You can
lock the doors again and turn the interior lamps
off by
using the door lock and interior lamp controls.
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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine 1
In many crashes sevefe enough to inflate ‘an air bag,
windshields are broken by vehicle deformation.
Additional windshield breakage may also occur
from the
right front passenger air bag.
Air bags are designed to inflate only once. After an
,air bag inflates, you’ll need some new parts for your
air bag system. If you don’t ‘get .them, -the air bag
system won’t be there to help pr0tec.t you
in another
crash.
A new system will include air bag modules
and possibly other
parts. The service manual for your
vehicle covers the need
to replace other parts.
@ Your vehicle has a crash sensing and diagnostic
__ module, which records information about the air bag
and related systems.
It records information about the
readiness
of the air bag systems, when the sensors
are activated and driver’s safety belt usage at
deployment or
in a near-deployment crash. Some
modules also record speed, engine
RPM and brake
and acceleration data.
Let only qualified technicians work on your air bag
systems. &proper service can mean that an
air bag
system won? work properly. See your dealer
for service.
NOTICE:
If you damage ,the covering for the driver’s or the
right front passenger’s
air bag, or the air bag
covering
on the driver’s and right front
passenger’s door, the bag may not work properly.
You may have to replace the air bag module
in
the steering wheel, both the air bag module and
the instrument panel for the right front
passenger’s air bag,
or both the air bag module ’
and door phel for the driver’s and right front
passenger’s side impact
air bag. Do not open or
break the
air bag coverings.
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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Servicing Your Air Bag-Equipped Vehicle
Air bags affect how your vehicle should be serviced. There are
parts of the air bag systems in several places
around your vehicle. Your dealer and the DeVille
Service Manual have information about servicing your
vehicle and the air bag systems.
To purchase a service
manual, see “Service and Owner Publications” in
the Index.
/1 CAUTION:
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For up to 10 seconds after the ignition key is
turned off and the battery is disconnected, an air
bag can still inflate during improper service. You
can be injured if you are close
to an air bag when
it inflates. Avoid yellow connectors. They are
probably part
of the air bag systems. Be sure to
follow proper service procedures, and make sure
the person performing work for you is qualified
to do
so.
The air bag systems do not need regular maintenance.
Center Passenger Position
Lap Belt
If your vehicle has a front split seat and a rear bench
seat, someone can sit in the center positions.
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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine When you sit in a center seating position, you have a lap
safety belt, which has no retractor.
To make the belt
longer, tilt the latch plate and pull
it along the belt.
To make the belt shorter, pull its free end as shown until
the belt is snug.
Buckle, position and release it the
same way as the lap
part of a lap-shoulder belt.
If the belt isn’t long enough,
see “Safety Belt Extender” at the end
of this section.
Make sure the release button on the buckle
is positioned
so you would be able to unbuckle the safety belt quickly
if you ever had to.
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