1998 PONTIAC BONNEVILLE Owners Manual

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 fiont passenger’s safety belt works the same way
as
the driver’s safety belt -- except for one thing. If you ever pull
the lap 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.
If your vehicle has a center passenger position, be sure
to use the correct buckle when buckling your
lap-shoulder belt.
If you find that the latch plate will not
go fully into the buckle, see if you are using the buckle
for the center passenger position.
Supplemental Restraint System (SRS)
This part explains the Supplemental Restraint System
(SRS) or air bag system.
Your vehicle has “Next Generation” reduced-force
frontal air bags
-- one air bag for the driver and another
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 important things to know about the air
bag system:
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pu 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 redud-force air bags -- are
designed to work with safety belts, but don’t
replace them. Air bags ace designed to work only
in moderate to severe crashes where the front of
your vehicle hits something. They aren’t designed
to Mate at all in rollover, rear, side or low-speed
CAUTION: (Continued)

frontal crashes. And, for unrestrained occupants,
reduced-force
air bags may provide less protection
in frontal crashes than more forceful air bags have
provided
in the past. Everyone in your vehicle
should
wear a safety belt properly -- whether or
not there’s an
air bag for that person.
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&A CAUTION:
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 before and during
a crash. Always wear your safety belt, even with
reduced-force air bags. The driver should sit as
far back as possible while still maintaining
control of the vehicle.
’ A CAUTION:
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 and older children, 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.
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1-19

BAG 4
AIR 0.
There is an air bag
readiness light
on the
instrument panel, which
shows 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.
How the Air Bag System Works
Where are the air bags?
The driver’s air bag is in the middle of the
steering wheel.
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The right front passenger’s air bag is in the instrument
panel
on the passenger’s side.
‘ A CAUTION: I I
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.
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When should an air bag inflate?
An air bag is designed to inflate in a moderate to severe
frontal or near-frontal crash. The
air bag will inflate
only if the impact speed is above the system’s designed
“threshold level.”
If your vehicle goes straight 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
air bag is not designed to inflate in rollovers, side
impacts or rear impacts, because inflation would not
help the occupant.
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.
Inflation is determined
by the angle of the impact and
how quickly the vehicle slows down in frontal
or
near-frontal impacts.
What makes an air bag inflate?
In an impact of suEcient severity, the air bag sensing
system detects that the vehicle is in a crash. 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 and
in the instrument panel in front
of the
right front passenger.
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.
Air bags supplement 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 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
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.
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, or the
instrument panel for the right front passenger’s
bag
-- 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 vents in the deflated
air bags.
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Air bag inflation doesn’t prevent the driver from seeing or from being able to steer
the vehicle, nor does it stop
people from leaving the vehicle.
A CAUTION:
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 door.
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 they inflate, 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.
0 Your vehicle is equipped with a crash sensing and
diagnostic module, which 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.
air bag system. Improper service can mean that your
air bag system won’t work properly. See your dealer
for service.
Let only qualified technicians work on your
NOTICE:
If you damage the covering for the driver’s or the
right front passenger’s air bag, the bag may not
work properly. You may have
to replace the air
bag module in the steering wheel or both the air
bag module and the instrument panel for the
right front passenger’s
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 air
bags inflate, even if there’s no crash. You would have to
replace the air bags
as well as the sensors and related
parts.
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 system in several places
around your vehicle. You don’t want the system to
inflate while someone
is working on your vehicle. Your
dealer and the Bonneville Service Manual have
information about servicing
your vehicle and the air bag
system.
To purchase a service manual, see “Service and
Owner Publications” in the Index.
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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 yellow connectors. They are
probably part
of the air bag system. Be sure to
follow proper service procedures, and make sure
the person performing work for you
is qualified
to do so.
The air bag system does not need regular maintenance.
Center Passenger Position
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Lap Belt
If your vehicle has front and rear bench seats, someone
can sit in the center positions.
When you sit in
a center seating position, you have a lap
safety belt, which has no retractor.
To make the belt
longer, tilt the latch plate and pull it along the belt.
To make the belt shorter, pull its free end as shown until
the belt is snug.
Buckle, position and release it the same way as the lap
part of a lap-shoulder belt. If the belt isn’t 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.