1998 CHEVROLET TRACKER belt

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Q: What's wrong with this?
A: The shoulder belt is worn under the arm. It should
be worn over the shoulder at
all times.
I
You can be seriously injured if you wear the
shoulder belt under your
arm. In a crash, your
body
would move too far forward, which would
increase the chance
of head and neck injury.
Also, the belt would apply too much
force to the
ribs, which aren't as strong as shoulder bones.
You could also severely injure internal organs
like your liver or spleen.
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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Q: What's wrong with this?
I'
F
You can be seriously injured by a twisted belt. In
a crash, you wouldn't have the full width of the
belt to spread impact forces.
If a belt is twisted,
make it straight
so it can work properly, or ask
your dealer to fix it.
A: The belt is twisted across the body.
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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine To unlatch the belt, just push the button on the buckle.
The belt should go back out
of the way.
Before you close the door, be
sure the belt is out of the
way.
If you slam the door on it, you can damage both the
belt and your vehicle.
Safety Belt Use During Pregnancy
Safety belts work for everyone, including pregnant
women. Like all occupants, they are more likely
to be
seriously injured if they don’t wear safety belts.
A pregnant woman should wear a lap-shoulder belt, and
the lap portion should be worn as low as possible, below
the rounding, throughout the pregnancy.
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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 shoulder 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.
Air Bag System
This part explains the air bag system.
Your vehicle has two air bags
-- one air bag for the
driver and another air bag for the right front passenger.
The air bag in your vehicle may be “Next Generation”
reduced-force frontal ak bags. If your vehicle has a
label on the driver’s door window, then your vehicle has
reduced-force frontal air bags. If your vehicle doesn’t
have a label, then the
air bags in your vehicle aren’t
reduced-force. Here
are the
most important things to know about the air
bag system:
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 bitting
things
inside the vehicle or being ejected from it. Air
bags -- even reduced-force 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.
Air bags are designed to work only in moderate to
severe crashes where the front of your vehicle hits
something. They aren’t designed to Mate 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 forcefid
air bags have provided in the
past. Everyone
in your vehicle should wear a safety
belt properly
-- whether or not there’s an air bag
for that person.
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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Air bags inflate with great force, faster than the
blink of an eye.
If you’re too close to an inflating
air bag, it could seriously injure you. This is true
even
with reduced-force frontal air bags. Safety
belts help keep you in position before and during
a crash. Always wear your safety belt, even with
reduced-force air bags. The driver should sit as
far back as possible while still maintaining
control of the vehicle.
6& CAWTION:
Children who are up against, or very close to, an
air bag when it inflates can be seriously injured
or killed. This is true even
if your vehicle has
reduced-force frontal air bags. Air bags plus
lap-shoulder belts offer the best protection for
CAUTION: (Continued) 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.

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine If something is between an occupant and an air
bag, the bag might
not inflate properly or it
might force the object into that person. The path
of an inflating air bag must be kept clear. Don’t
put anything between an occupant and an air
bag, and don’t attach or put anything on the
steering wheel hub or on or near any other air
bag covering.
When should an air bag inflate?
An air bag is designed to inflate in a moderate to severe
frontal or near-frontal crash. The
air bag will 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
8 to 12 mph (1 3 to 19 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
air bag is
not designed to inflate in rollovers, side
impacts or rear impacts, because inflation would not
help the occupant.
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.
Inflation is determined by the angle of the impact and
how quickly the vehicle slows down in frontal or
near-frontal impacts.
The air bag system is designed to work properly under
a wide range of conditions, including off-road usage.
Observe safe driving speeds, especially on rough terrain.
As always, wear your safety belt. See “Off-Road
Driving” in the Index for more tips on off-road driving.
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. 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 and in the instrument panel in front of the
right front passenger.
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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine 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.
Air bags supplement 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 air bags would
not help you in many types of collisions, including
rollovers, rear impacts and
side 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.
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,
or the instrument panel for the right front
passenger’s bag
-- 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 vents in the deflated air
bags. Air bag inflation doesn’t prevent the driver from
seeing or from being able to steer the vehicle, nor does it
stop people from leaving the vehicle.
’ A CAUT IN: rn
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 door.
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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine In many crashes severe 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.
e
0
e
Air bags are designed to inflate only once. After they
inflate, 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 protect 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 reglace other parts.
Your vehicle is equipped wityi a,t-fslsh sensing
and diagnostic module, which records information
about the air bag system. The module records
information about the readiness of the system,
when the sensors
are activated and driver’s safety
belt usage at deployment.
Let only qualified technicians work on your air
bag system. Improper service can mean that your
air bag system won’t 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, the bag may not work properly.
You may have to replace the air
bag module in the steering wheel or both the air
bag module and the instrument panel for the
right front passenger’s air bag.
Do not open or
break the air bag coverings.
If your vehicle ever gets into a lot of water -- such as
water up to
the carpeting or higher -- or if water enters
your vehicle and
soaks the carpet, the air bag controller
can be soaked and ruined. If this ever happens, and then
you start your vehicle, the damage could make the air
bags inflate, even if there’s
no crash. You would have to
replace the air bags
as well as the sensors and related
parts. If your vehicle is ever in a flood, or
if it’s exposed
to water that soaks the carpet, you can avoid needless
repair costs by turning off the vehicle immediately.
Don’t
let anyone start the vehicle, even to tow it, unless
the battery cables are first disconnected.
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