1999 CHEVROLET MALIBU child restraint

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Section 1 Seats and Seat Restraints
Here you'll find information about the seats in your vehicle and how to use your safety belts properly. You can also
learn about some things you should not do with air bags and safety belts.
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-2 Seats and Seat Controls
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-6 Safety Belts: They're for Everyone
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-10 Here Are Questions Many People Ask About
Safety Belts
-- and the Answers
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-11 How to Wear Safety Belts Properly
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-12 Driver Position
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-19 Safety Belt Use During Pregnancy
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-20 Right Front Passenger Position
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-20 Supplemental Restraint System (SRS)
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-26 Rear Seat Passengers1
-30 Rear Safety Belt Comfort Guides for
Children and Small Adults
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-32 Center Passenger Position
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-34 Children
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-37 Child Restraints
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-50 Larger Children
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-53 Safety Belt Extender
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-53 Checking Your Restraint Systems
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-53 Replacing Restraint System Parts
After a Crash

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Q:If I'm a good driver, and I never drive far from
home, why should I wear safety belts?
A:You may be an excellent driver, but if you're in an
accident
-- even one that isn't your fault -- you and
your passengers can be hurt. Being a good driver
doesn't protect you from things beyond your
control, such as bad drivers.
Most accidents occur within 25 miles (40 km) of
home. And the greatest number of serious
injuries and deaths occur at speeds of less than
40 mph (65 km/h).
Safety belts are for everyone.
How to Wear Safety Belts Properly
Adults
This part is only for people of adult size.
Be aware that there are special things to know about safety
belts and children. And there are different rules for smaller
children and babies. If a child will be riding in your
vehicle, see the part of this manual called ªChildren.º
Follow those rules for everyone's protection.
First, you'll want to know which restraint systems your
vehicle has.
We'll start with the driver position.

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CAUTION:
Air bags inflate with great force, faster than the blink
of an eye. If you're too close to an inflating air bag, as
you would be if you were leaning forward, it could
seriously injure you. This is true even with Next
Generation frontal air bags. Safety belts help keep
you in position before and during a crash. Always
wear your safety belt, even with Next Generation air
bags. The driver should sit as far back as possible
while still maintaining control of the vehicle.
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
Next Generation 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 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 ªChildrenº 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 the air
bag symbol.
The system checks the air bag electrical system for
malfunctions. The light tells you if there is an electrical
problem. See ªAir Bag Readiness Lightº in the Index
for more information.

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Rear Safety Belt Comfort Guides for
Children and Small Adults
Rear shoulder belt comfort guides 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.
There is one guide for each outside passenger position in
the rear seat. 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:
1. Pull the elastic cord out from between the edge of
the seatback and the interior body to remove the
guide from its storage clip.

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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
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 Next Generation 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.

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CAUTION:
Smaller children and babies should always be
restrained in a child or infant restraint. The
instructions for the restraint will say whether it is
the right type and size for your child. A very
young child's hip bones are so small that a
regular belt might not stay low on the hips, as it
should. Instead, the belt will likely be over the
child's abdomen. In a crash, the belt would apply
force right on the child's abdomen, which could
cause serious or fatal injuries. So, be sure that
any child small enough for one is always properly
restrained in a child or infant restraint.
Infants need complete support, including support for the
head and neck. This is necessary because an infant's
neck is weak and its head weighs so much compared
with the rest of its body. In a frontal crash, an infant in a
rear
-facing restraint settles into the restraint, so the crash
forces can be distributed across the strongest part of the
infant's body, the back and shoulders. A baby should be
secured in an appropriate infant restraint. This is so
important that many hospitals today won't release a
newborn infant to its parents unless there is an infant
restraint available for the baby's first trip in a
motor vehicle.

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Child Restraints
Every time infants and young children ride in vehicles,
they should have protection provided by
appropriate restraints.
Q:What are the different types of add-on
child restraints?
A:Add-on child restraints are available in four basic
types. When selecting a child restraint, take into
consideration not only the child's weight and size,
but also whether or not the restraint will be
compatible with the motor vehicle in which it will
be used.
An infant car bed (A) is a special bed made for use
in a motor vehicle. It's an infant restraint system
designed to restrain or position a child on a
continuous flat surface. With an infant car bed,
make sure that the infant's head rests toward the
center of the vehicle.

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A forward-facing child restraint (C-E) positions a
child upright to face forward in the vehicle. These
forward
-facing restraints are designed to help
protect children who are from 20 to 40 lbs.
(9 to 18 kg) and about 26 to 40 inches
(66 to 102 cm) in height, or up to around four
years of age. One type, a convertible restraint, is
designed to be used either as a rear
-facing infant
seat or a forward
-facing child seat.