1998 OLDSMOBILE SILHOUETTE Owners Manual

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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
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.
way. If you slam the door on it, you can damage both the
belt and your vehicle.
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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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.
Supplemental Restraint Systems (SRS)
This part explains the frontal and side impact
Supplemental Restraint Systems (SRS) or
air bag systems.
Your vehicle has four air bags
-- a “Next Generation”
reduced-force frontal air bag for the driver, another
“Next Generation” reduced-force frontal frontal air bag
for the right front passenger, a side impact air bag for
the driver, and another side impact air bag for the right
front passenger. Reduced-force
frontal air bags are designed to help
reduce the risk of injury from the force of an inflating
frontal air bag. But even these air bags must inflate very
quickly if they are
to do their job and comply with
federal regulations.
Here are the most imponant things to know about the air
bag systems:
A “I C’ u T1C”T:
rn
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 hitting things
inside the vehicle or being ejected from
it. 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.
CAUTION: (Continued)
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CAUTION: (Continued) .
Reduced-force frontal air bags for the driver and
right front passenger are designed to work only
in moderate to severe crashes where the front of
your vehicle hits something. They aren’t designed
to inflate
at all in rollover, rear, side or low-speed
frontal crashes. And, for unrestrained occupants,
reduced-force frontal air bags may provide less
protection in frontal crashes than more forceful air bags have provided in the past. The side
impact
air bags for the driver and right front
passenger are designed to inflate only in
moderate to severe crashes where something hits
the side of your vehicle. They aren’t designed
to
inflate in frontal, in rollover or in rear crashes.
Everyone in your vehicle should wear a safety belt properly
-- whether or not there’s an air bag
for that person.
A CAUTION:
Both frontal and side impact 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 for air bag inflation before
and during
a crash. Always wear your safety belt,
’ even with reduced-force frontal air bags. The
~ driver should sit as far back as possible while still
l
maintaining control of the vehicle. Front occupants
should not lean on or sleep against the door.
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I
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 though your vehicle
has reduced-force frontal air bags. Air bags plus
lap-shoulder belts offer the best protection for 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. There
is an air bag
readiness light on the
instrument panel, which
shows a deployed 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.
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How the Air Bag Systems Work
Where are the air bags?
The driver’s frontal air bag is in the middle of the
steering wheel. The right front
passenger’s frontal air bag is in the
instrument panel on the passenger’s side.
The driver’s side impact air bag is in the side of the
driver’s seatback closest to the door.
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The right front passenger’s side impact air bag is in the
side
of the passenger’s seatback closest to the door. A CAUTION:
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 and don’t let seat covers block the
inflation path
of a side impact air bag.
When should an air bag inflate?
The driver’s and right front passenger’s frontal air bags
are designed to inflate in moderate to severe frontal or
near-frontal crashes. The frontal air bags are designed to
inflate
only if the impact speed is above the system’s
designed “threshold level.” If your vehicle goes straight
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into a wall that doesn’t move or deform, the threshold
level is about
9 to 15 mph (14 to 24 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 driver’s and right front passenger’s
frontal air bags are not designed to inflate in rollovers,
side impacts, or rear impacts, because inflation would
not help the occupant.
The driver’s and right front passenger’s side impact air
bags are designed
to inflate in moderate to severe side
crashes involving a front door.
A side impact air bag
will inflate if the crash severity is above the system’s
designed “threshold level.” The threshold level can vary
with specific vehicle design. Side impact air bags are not
designed to inflate in frontal or near-frontal impacts,
rollovers or rear impacts, because inflation would not
help the occupant.
A side impact air bag will only
deploy on the side of the vehicle that is struck. 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. For
frontal air bags, inflation is determined by the angle
of
the impact and how quickly the vehicle slows down in
frontal and near-frontal impacts. For side impact air
bags, inflation
is determined by the location of the
impact and how quickly the side
of the vehicle deforms.
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. For both
frontal and side impact air bags, 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, instrument panel and the side
of the front
seatbacks closest to the door.
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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. In moderate
to severe side
collisions, even belted occupants can contact the inside
of the vehicle. The
air bag supplements 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 the frontal
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
the air bag. Side impact air bags would not help you in
many types of collisions, including frontal or near
’ frontal collisions, rollovers, and rear 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 for
the driver’s and right front passenger’s frontal air bags,
and only in moderate to severe side collisions for the
driver’s and right front passenger’s side impact air bags.
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, the
instrument panel for the right front passenger’s bag, the
side of the seatback closest to the door for the driver and
right front passenger’s side impact air bags
-- 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 the
vents in the deflated air bags. Air bag inflation doesn’t
prevent the driver from seeing or being able to steer the
vehicle, nor does it stop people from leaving the vehicle.
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 a door.
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