1998 GMC SIERRA child seat

Section 1 Seats and Restraint Systems
Here you’ll find information about the seats in your vehicle 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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1-32 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
Air Bag System
Center Passenger Position 1-34
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1-70 Rear
Seat Passengers
Rear Safety Belt Comfort Gu’ides for
Children and Small Adults
Children
Child Restraints
Larger Children Safety Belt Extender
Checking Your Restraint Systems
Replacing Restraint System Parts After
a Crash
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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
control9 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.
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.
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0 Your vehicle is equipped with a crash sensing and
diagnostic module, whch 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.
switch
on the instrument. panel that you can use to
turn
off the passenger’s air bag. But use this switch
only when you want to secure a rear-facing child
restraint at the right front passenger’s position. See
“Securing a Child Restraint
in the Right Front Seat
Position”
in the Index for more on this, including
important safety information.
0 Unless you have a Crew Cab, your vehicle has a
A CAUT-ON:
If the right front passenger’s air bag is turned
off, the person sitting there won’t have the extra
protection
of an air bag. In a crash, the air bag
wouldn’t be able to inflate and help protect the
person sitting there. Make sure the
air bag is
turned on unless
you are using a rear-facing child
restraint in the right front seat position.
0 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.
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To unlatch the belt, just push the button on the buckle.
Rear Safety Belt Comfort Guides for
Children and Small Adults
If your vehicle has a rear seat, your vehicle may have
shoulder belt comfort guides. This feature will provide
added safety belt comfort for children who have
outgrown child restraints and for small adults. When
installed on a shoulder belt, the comfort guide pulls the
belt away from the neck and head. There is one guide for each outside passenger position
in
the rear seat. To provide added safety belt comfort for
children who have outgrown child restraints and for
smaller adults, the comfort guides may be installed on
the shoulder belts. Here’s how
to install a comfort guide
and use the safety belt:
1. Remove the guide from its storage clip on the side of
the seatback.
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I
4. Buckle, position and release the safety belt as
described in “Rear Seat Outside Passenger Positions
(Extended Cab)” or “Rear Seat Outside Passenger
Positions (Crew Cab)” earlier
in this section. Make
sure that the shoulder belt
crosses the shoulder.
To remove and store the comfort guides, squeeze the
belt edges together
so that you can take them out from
the guides. Slide the guide onto the storage clip.
Make sure
you remove the comfort guide from the belt
before
you fold a rear seat down or use an easy-entry
seat, if your vehicle has one.
Children
Everyone in a vehicle needs protection! That includes
infants and all children smaller than adult size. Neither
the distance traveled nor the age and
size of the traveler
changes the need, for everyone,
to use safety restraints.
In fact, the law
in every state in the United States and in
every Canadian province
says children up to some age
must be restrained while in a vehicle.
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A forward-facing child restraint (C-E) positions a
child upright to fxe folwa-d in the vehicle. These
forward-facing restraints
a-e designed to help protect
children
who are from 20 to 40 Ibs. (9 to 18 kg) and
about
26 to 40 inches (66 to 102 cm) in height, or up
to around four years of age. One type, a convertible
restraint, is designed to be used either
as a rear-facing
infant seat or
a forwa-d-facing child seat.
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A booster seat (F, G) is designed for children who
are about
40 to 60 Ibs. (1 8 to 27 kg) and about
four to eight years of age. It's designed to improve
the
fit of the vehicle's safety belt system. Booster
seats with shields use lap-only belts; however,
booster seats without shields use lap-shoulder belts.
Booster seats can also help a child to see out
the window.
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When choosing a child restraint, be sure the child
restraint is designed to be used
in a vehicle. If it is, it
will have a label saying that it meets Federal Motor
Vehicle Safety Standards.
Then follow
the instructions for the restraint. You may
find these instructions on the restraint itself or
in a
booklet, or both. These restraints use the belt system in
your vehicle, but the child also has to be secured within
the restraint to help reduce the chance of personal injury.
The instructions that come with the infant or child
restraint will show you how
to do that. Both the owner’s
manual and the child restraint instructions are important,
so if either one of these is not available, obtain a
replacement copy from the manufacturer.
Where to Put the Restraint (Except
Extended Cab and Crew Cab)
The child restraint must be secured properly in the
center or right front passenger seat.
If your vehicle has
air bags and you want
to secure a rear-facing child
restraint
in the right front passenger‘s seat, you need to
turn
off the passenger’s air bag. See “Securing a Child
Restraint
in the Right Front Seat Position” in the Index
for more on this, including important safety information
p, CAUTION:
A child in a rear-facing child restraint can be
seriously injured or killed if the right front
passenger’s air
bag inflates, even though your
vehicle has reduced-force frontal air bags.
CAUTION: (Continued)
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