Page 3 of 362
Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Wearing a si !ry uelt c
and your passengers can 110. Thls I
information about safety belt usage, alr
One
of the first things you II pro1
vehicle is adjust the seats. Depl
able to do this manually or with pa zr (
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Read through these pages to learn m*r*
cooling, defogging and defrosting
Page 6 of 362

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine 0 The 1998 Chevrolet Malibu Owner’s Manual
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2-1
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4- 1
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9-1
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 adjust the ventilation and comfo\
rt controls and how to operate your audio system.
Your Driving and the Road
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 dr\
iving, 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 assistance \
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 th\
is manual. You can use it to quickly find
something you want to read.
Page 13 of 362
Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine For example,
these symbols
are used
on an
original battery:
POSSIBLE A
CAUTION
INJURY
PROTECT EYES BY
SHIELDING
CAUSTIC
BURNS AVOID
SPARKS
OR
FLAMES
SPARK
OR ,111,
COULD FLAME
EXPLODE BATTERY
These symbols are important
for you and
your passengers
whenever your vehicle is
driven:
n
FASTEN
SEAT
BELTS
These symbols have
to do with
your lamps:
SIGNALS e e
TURN
FOG LAMPS
$0
Vehicle Symbols
These are some of the symbols you may find on your vehicle.
-
These symbols
are
on some of
your controls:
WINDSHIELD
WIPER
WINDOW
DEFOGGER
These symbols are used on
warning and
indicator lights:
CHARGING 1-1
BATTERY
SYSTEM
BRAKE
(0)
R
ENGINE OIL e,
PRESSURE
ANTI-LOCK
(@)
BRAKES
Here are some
other symbols
you may see:
FUSE
LIGHTER
D
HORN )cr
SPEAKER
cr
FUEL p3
viii
Page 14 of 362
Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine 0 Section 1 Seats and Seat Restraints
Here you’ll find information about the seats in your Chevrolet 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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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 System
(SRS)
Rear Seat Passengers 1-30
1-32
1-34
1-37
1-49 1-52
1-52 1-52 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 18 of 362

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine r*ArTTION:
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.
Rear Seats
Folding Rear Seat
To open the folding rear seat, open the trunk and pull one or both
of the tethers located on the left side of the
trunk. The left-hand tether will open the larger side
of
the seatback. The right-hand tether will open the smaller
side
of the seatback. Once a tether is pulled, the seatback
can be pushed open through the trunk, or pulled open
from inside the vehicle.
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Page 19 of 362

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine To close the split folding rear seat, push the seatback up
until you hear a click. Then pull on the seatback to make
sure it is secure.
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.
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.
’
A CAUTION:
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
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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Page 20 of 362
Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Your vehicle has a light
’ that comes on as a reminder
1 to buckle up. (See “Safety
Belt Reminder Light” in
1 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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Page 23 of 362

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
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.
wear safety belts?
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