1998 OLDSMOBILE SILHOUETTE Owners Manual

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.
Air bags are designed to inflate only once. After an
air bag inflates, 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 replace other parts.
Your vehicle is equipped with a crash sensing and
diagnostic module, which records information about
the frontal 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
systems. Improper service can mean that an air bag
system won’t work properly. See your retailer
for service.
I NOTICE:
If you damage the covering for the driver’s or the
right front passenger’s air bag, or the air bag
covering on the driver’s and right front
passenger’s seatback, the bag may not work
properly.
You may have to replace the air bag
module in the steering wheel, both the air bag
module and the instrument panel for the right
front passenger’s air bag, or both the air bag
module and seatback for the driver’s and right
front passenger’s side impact air bag.
Do not
open or break the air bag coverings.
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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
frontal and side impact air bags inflate and safety belt
pretensioners activate, even if there’s no crash. You
would have to replace the air bags, all the sensors and
related parts, parts of the safety belt system and parts
of
the driver and right front passenger’s seatbacks. 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.
Servicing Your Air Bag-Equipped Vehicle
Air bags affect how your vehicle should be serviced.
There are parts of the air bag systems in several places
around your vehicle. Your retailer and the Silhouette
Service Manual have information about servicing your
vehicle and the
air bag systems. To purchase a service
manual, see “Service and Owner Publications” in
the Index.
For up to 10 minutes after the ignition key is
, turned off and the battery is disconnected, an air
bag can still inflate during improper service. You
can be injured if you are close to an air bag when
it inflates. Avoid wires wrapped with yellow tape
or yellow connectors. They are probably part of
the air bag systems. Be sure
to follow proper
service procedures, and make sure the person
performing work for you is qualified to do
so.
~~ ~~
The air bag systems do not need regular maintenance.
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Rear Seat Passengers
It’s very important for rear seat passengers to buckle up!
Accident statistics show that unbelted people in the rear
seat are hurt more often in crashes than those who are
wearing safety belts.
Rear passengers who aren’t safety belted can be thrown
out
of the vehicle in a crash. And they can strike others
in the vehicle who are wearing safety belts.
Lap-Shoulder Belt
The positions next to the windows have lap-shoulder
belts. Here’s how
to wear one properly.
Rear Seat Outside Passenger Positions
1. Pick up the latch plate and pull the belt across you.
Don’t let it get twisted.
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The shoulder belt may lock if you pull the belt across
you very quickly. If
this happens, let the belt go back
slightly to unlock it. Then pull the belt across you
more slowly.
2. Push the latch plate into the buckle until it clicks.
Pull up on the latch plate to make sure it
is secure.
When the shoulder belt is pulled out
all the way, it
will lock.
If it does, let it go back all the way and
start again.
If the belt is not long enough, see “Safety
Belt Extender” at the end
of this section. Make sure
the release button on the buckle is positioned
so you
would be able to unbuckle the safety belt quickly if
you ever had to.
3. To make the lap part tight, pull down on the buckle
end of the belt as you pull up on the shoulder part.
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The lap part of the belt should be worn low and snug on
the hips, just touching the thighs. In a crash, this applies
force to the strong pelvic bones. And you’d be less likely
to slide under the lap belt. If
you slid under it, the belt
would apply force at your abdomen.
This could cause
serious or even fatal injuries. The shoulder belt
should go
over the shoulder and across the chest. These parts of the
body are best able to take belt restraining forces. The safety belt locks
if there’s
a sudden stop or a cram,
or
if you pull the belt very quickly out of the retractor.
I
You can be seriously hurt if your shoulder belt is
too loose. In a crash, you would move forward
too much, which could increase injury. The
shoulder belt should fit against your body.
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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
Your vehicle may have rear 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.
If your vehicle has bucket seats in the second row, there
is one guide for each outside passenger position. If your
vehicle has a bench seat in the second row, there is one
guide for the left-hand outside passenger position. If
your vehicle has third-row seats, there is one guide for
each outside passenger position.
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:
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1. Remove the guide from its storage clip on the side of
the seatback.
2. Place the guide over the belt and insert the two edges
of the belt into the slots of the guide.
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3. Be sure that the belt is not twisted and it lies flat. The 4. Buckle, position and release the safety belt as
guide must be
on top of the belt. described in “Rear Seat Outside Passenger Positions”
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.
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