1998 PONTIAC GRAND PRIX inflate

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 fiont 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 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
fiontal air bags are designed to help reduce
the risk of injury from
the force of an inflating 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:
’
A CAUTION: I
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 %pplemental 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.
Air bags 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
air bags may provide less protection
in frontal crashes than more forcefid 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.

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.
/I 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, but not for young children and infants.
CAUTION: (Continued)
CAUTION: (Continued)
Neither the vehicle’s safety belt system nor its
airbag 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
SRS
SRS AIR BAG AIRBAG.
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.
1-23

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.
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 sufficient 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.
1-25

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 anythmg 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. 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.
I
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.
1-26

0
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.
Let only qualified technicians work on your
air bag
system. Improper service can mean that your
air
bag system won’t work properly. See your dealer
for service.
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.
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 fist 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 Grand
Prix 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.
1-27

A CAUTION:
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
i3
Lap Belt
U
If your vehicle has a bench seat, someone can sit in the
center position.
1-28

4. Buckle, position and release the safety belt as
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
@des. Pull the guide upward to expose its storage clip,
and then slide the guide onto the clip. Rotate the guide and \
clip inward and in between the seatback and the interior
body, leaving only the
loop of elastic cord exposed.
Children
Everyone in a vehicle needs protection! That includes
infants and all children smaller
than adult size. Neither
the distance traveled nor the age and size
of the traveler
changes the need, for everyone, to use safety restraints.
In fact, the law in every state in the United States and
in
every Canadian province says children up to some age
must be restrained while in a vehicle.
Smaller Children and Babies
A CAUTION:
Children who are up against, or very close to, any
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.
1-35

I A CAUTION:
A child in a rearfacing child restraint can be
seriously injured if the right front passenger’s air
bag inflates, even though your vehicle has
reduced-force frontal air bags. This is because
the back of the rear-facing child restraint would
be very close to the inflating air bag. Always
secure a rearfacing child restraint
in a rear seat.
You may secure a forward-facing child restraint
in the right front seat, but before you do, always
move the front passenger seat as far back
as it
will go. It’s better to secure the child restraint in
a rear seat.
A CAUTION:
A child in a child restraint in the center front seat
can be badly injured or killed by the right front
passenger air bag if it inflates, even though your
vehicle has reduced-force frontal air bags. Never
secure a child restraint in the center front seat.
It’s always better to secure a child restraint in the
rear seat. You may secure
a forward-facing child
restraint in the right front passenger seat, but
before you do, always move the front passenger
seat
as far back as it will go. It’s better to secure
the child restraint in a rear seat.
Wherever you install it, be sure to secure the child
restraint properly.
Keep in mind that an unsecured child restraint can move around in
a collision or sudden stop and injure people in
the vehicle. Be sure
to properly secure any child
restraint in your vehicle
-- even when no child is in it.