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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine 0 The 1998 CheT ~ - :et Cavalier 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 vehicle.
Comfort Controls and Audio Systems
This section tells you how to adiust the ventilation and comfort controls and how to operate your audio system.
Your Driving and the Roaa
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 vehicle 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 Chevrolet for assistan.ce 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.
i
Page 19 of 400
Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine 0 s ction 1 Seats and Restraint Systems
Here you’ll find information about the seats in your Chewolet 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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1-23 1-30 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
Supplemental Restraint Systems (SRS)
Rear Seat Passengers 1-33
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1-55 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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Page 23 of 400

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine 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.
To fold
a front seatback forward, lift the latch located on
the lower back side of the seatback. Then the seat will
fold forward.
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Page 26 of 400

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine 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.
r:ezrz:us 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
.)
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Page 27 of 400
Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine 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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Page 30 of 400

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine 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.
@ 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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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Q.’ If I’m a good driver, and I never drive far from
home, why should I wear safety belts?
A: You may be an excellent driver, but if you’re in an
accident -- even one that isn’t your fault -- you and
your passengers can be
hurt. Being a good driver
doesn’t protect you from things beyond your
control, such as bad drivers.
Most accidents occur within
25 miles (40 km) of
home. And the greatest number
of serious injuries
and deaths occur at speeds
of less than 40 mph
(65 km/h).
Safety belts are for everyone.
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 vehicle, 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.
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Page 32 of 400
Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine 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.
1. 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.
4. Push the latch plate into the buckle until it clicks.
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