1998 CHEVROLET MALIBU Owners Manual

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine To remove the child restraint, just unbuckle the vehicle’s
safety belt
and let it go back all the way. The safety belt
will move freely again and be ready to work for
an adult
or larger child passenger.
Securing a Child Restraint in the Center
Rear Seat Position
U
4. To tighten the belt, pull up on the shoulder belt while
you push down on the child restraint. If you’re using
a forward-facing child restraint, you may find it
helpful to use
your knee to push down on the child
restraint as
you tighten the belt.
directions to
be sure it is secure.
5. Push and pull the child restraint in different You’ll
be using the lap belt. Be sure to follow the
instructions that came with the child restraint. Secure
the child in the child restraint when and as the
instructions say.
See the earlier part about the top strap if the child
restraint has one.
1-44

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine 1. Make the belt as long as possible by tilting the latch
plate and pulling it along the belt.
2. Put the restraint on the seat.
3. Run the vehicle’s safety belt through or around the
restraint.
The child restraint instructions will show
you how.
4.
5.
Buckle the belt. Make sure the release button is
positioned
so you would be able to unbuckle the
safety belt quickly if you ever had to.
To tighten the belt, pull its free end while you push
down on the child restraint. If you’re using a
forward-facing child restraint, you may find it
helpful to use your knee
to push down on the child
restraint as you tighten the belt.
1-45

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine 6. Push and pull the child restraint in different
directions
to be sure it is secure.
To remove the child restraint, just unbuckle the vehicle’s
safety belt. It will be ready to work for
an adult or larger
child passenger.
Securing a Child Restraint in the Right
Front Seat Position
Your vehicle has a right front passenger air bag. Never
put a rear-facing child restraint in this seat. Here’s why:
1-46
/1 CAUTION:
A child in a rear-facing child restraint can be
seriously injured
if the right front passenger’s
air bag inflates even though your vehicle has
reduced-force frontal air bags. This is because
the back
of a rearfacing child restraint would be
very close to the inflating air bag. Always secure
a rearfacing child restraint in the rear seat.

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Tilt the latch plate to adjust the belt if needed.
If the shoulder belt goes in front of the child’s face or
neck, put it behind the child restraint.
4. Buckle the belt. Make sure the release button is
positioned
so you would be able to unbuckle the
safety belt quickly if you ever had
to.
1-47

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine 5. To tighten the belt, pull up on the shoulder belt while
you push down on the child restraint. You may find it
helpful to use your knee to push down
on the child
restraint as you tighten the belt.
directions to be sure it is secure.
6. Push and pull the child restraint in different
To remove the child restraint, just unbuckle the vehicle’s
safety belt and let it go back all the way. The safety belt \
will move freely again and be ready to work for an adult
or larger child passenger.
1-48

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Larger Children
Children who have outgrown child restraints should
wear the vehicle’s safety belts.
If you have the choice, a child should sit next to a
window so the child can wear a lap-shoulder belt and
get the additional restraint a shoulder belt can provide.
Accident statistics show that children
are safer if they
are restrained in the rear seat.
But they need to use the
safety belts properly.
Children who aren’t buckled up can be thrown out in
a crash.
Children who aren’t buckled up can strike other
people who are.

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Never do this.
Here two children are wearing the same belt. The
belt can’t properly spread the impact forces. In
a
crash, the two children can be crushed together
and seriously injured.
A belt must be used by
only one person at a time.
What
if‘ a child is wearing a lap-shoulder belt,
but the child
is so small that the shoulder belt is
very close to the child’s face or neck?
A: Move the child toward the center of the vehicle, but
be sure that the shoulder belt still is on the child’s
shoulder,
so that in a crash the child’s upper body
would have the restraint that belts provide. If the
child is sitting in a rear seat outside position,
see
“Rear Safety Belt Comfort Guides” in the Index. If
the child is so small that the shoulder belt is still
very close to the child’s face or neck, you might
want to place the child in the center seat position,
the one that has only a lap belt.
1-50

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine .
Never do this.
Here a child is sitting in a seat that has a
lap-shoulder belt, but the shoulder part is behind
the child.
If the child wears the belt in this way, in
a crash the child might slide under the belt. The
belt’s force would then be applied right
on the
child’s abdomen. That could cause serious or
fatal injuries.
Wherever the child sits, the lap portion of the belt
should be
worn low and snug on the hips, just touching
the child’s thighs.
This applies belt force to the child’s
pelvic bones in a crash.