1998 PONTIAC BONNEVILLE Owners Manual

Seats and Seat Controls
This section tells you about the seats -- how to
adjust them
-- and also about reclining seatbacks
and head restraints.
Manual Front Seat
A CAUTION:
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.
Pull
up on the control bar under the front of the seat to
unlock it. Slide the seat to where you want it. Then
release the bar and
try to move the seat with your body,
to make sure the seat is locked into place.
Power Seat (Option)
To adjust the power seats on
some models:
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 by pressing
the control forward, or backward by pressing the
control backward.
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.
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Power Lumbar Controls (Option)
d? Reshapes the lower back area of the seat.
d Reshapes the middle back area of the seat.
Reshapes the upper back area of the seat.
Adjustable Support Seat (Option)
& Adjusts the position of the seatback side bolsters.
'd Tilts the rear of the seat up or down.
A& Tilts the front of the seat up or down.
Reclining Front Seatbacks
On some models, you'll
find the controls on the center console. Slide the
selector switch to
L or R to
choose the front seat you
want to adjust.
4 d!. Adjusts the seat forward or back.
d Adjusts the seat up or down.
&' Adjusts the seatback to an upright or
reclined position.
To adjust the seatback, lift the lever on the outer side of
the seat and move the seatback to where you want it.
Release the lever to lock the seatback.
PuII up on the
lever and the seat
will go to an upright position.
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I
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.
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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.
On some models, the head restraints tilt forward and rearward also.
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.
A CAUTION:
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.
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A CAUTION:
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.
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1 Your vehicle has a light that
& FASTEN I buckle up. (See “Safety comes on as a reminder to
LW
BELTS the
Index.)
Belt Reminder Light” in
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!
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.
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Put someone on it. Get it up to speed. Then stop the vehicle. The rider
doesn’t stop.
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The person keeps going until stopped by something.
In a real vehicle, it could be the windshield ...
or the instrument panel ...
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or the safety belts!
With safety belts, you slow down as the vehicle does.
You get more time to stop. You stop over more distance,
and your strongest bones take the forces. That’s why
safety belts make such good sense.
Here Are Questions Many People Ask
About Safety Belts
-- and the Answers
Q; Won’t I be trapped in the vehicle after an
accident if I’m wearing a safety belt?
A: You could be -- whether you’re wearing a safety
belt or not. But you can unbuckle
a safety belt,
even
if you’re upside down. And your chance of
being conscious during and after an accident, so
you can unbuckle and get out, is much greater if
you are belted.
If my vehicle has air bags, why should I have to
wear safety belts?
A: Air bags are in many vehicles today and will be in
most of them in the future. But they are
supplemental systems only;
so they work with
safety belts -- not instead of them. Every air bag
system ever offered for sale has required the use of
safety belts. Even if you’re in a vehicle that has
air
bags, you still have to buckle up to get the most
protection. That’s
true not only in frontal collisions,
but especially in side and other collisions.
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