1998 Oldsmobile Achieva Owner's Manuals

Section 1 Seats and Restraint Systems
Here you’ll find information about the seats in your Oldsmobile 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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1-11
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1-20
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1-28 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 1-32
1-34
1-36
1-39
1-50 1-53
1-53
1-53 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
1-1

Seats and Seat Controls
This section tells you about the seats -- how to
adjust them,
and also about reclining seatbacks and
head restraints.
Manual Seats
I
You can lose control of the vehicle if you try to
adjust
a manual driver’s seat while the vehicle is
moving. The sudden movement could startle and confuse you, or make
you push a pedal when you
don’t want to. Adjust the driver’s seat only when
the vehicle is not moving. lvlove the lever under the front seat to unlock it. Slide
the seat to where you want it. Then release the lever and
try to move the seat with your body, to make sure the
seat
is locked in place.
1-2

4-Way Manual Seat
There are two levers at the front of the seat. The left
lever adjusts
the seat forward and back. The right lever
adjusts the angle of the front of the seat.
The lever near the outer side of the seat unlocks the seat
allowing
it to slide forward and back. Then release the
lever and try to move the seat to be certain that it
is
locked in place.
The lever on the right allows you to tilt the seat
up
and down.
Manual Lumbar Support (If Equipped)
Turn the knob on the right of the driver’s seat cushion
to the right or to the left to adjust support for the
lower back.
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Power Seat (If Equipped)
To adjust the power seat:
Front Control (A): Raise the front of the seat by
holding the switch up. Lower the front
of the seat by
holding the switch down.
Center Control (B): Move the seat forward or back by
holding the control to the front or back.
Move the seat higher by holding the control up. Lower
the seat by holding
the control down.
Rear Control (C): Raise the rear of the seat by holding
the switch up. Lower the rear
of the seat by holding the
switch down.
Reclining Front Seatbacks
To adjust the seatback, lift the lever on the outer side of
the seat and move the seatback where you want it.
Release
the lever to lock the seatback.
Pull up
on the lever and the seat will go to an
upright position.

But don’t have a seatback reclined if your vehicle
is moving.
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 the Rear Seat
To fold down the rear seat, pull forward on
the seat tab.
Push the seatback up to return
it to its original position.
To make sure the seatback is secure, push it into a fully
upright position. A loose seatback can cause an injury in
a sudden stop.
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 A CAUTION: 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.
1-6

/1 CAUTIOl!. .
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.
- Your vehicle has a light
that comes
on as a reminder
to buckle up. (See “Safety
Belt Reminder Light”
in
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!
1-7

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. Put someone
on it.
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