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A label on your sun visor says, “Never put a rear-facing
child seat in the front.” This is because the risk to the
rear-facing child is so great, if the airbag deploys.
{CAUTION:
A child in a rear-facing child restraint can be
seriously injured or killed if the right front
passenger’s airbag in ates. This is because
the back of the rear-facing child restraint
would be very close to the in ating airbag.
Even though the passenger sensing system is
designed to turn off the passenger’s frontal
airbag and side airbag (if equipped), if the
system detects a rear-facing child restraint, no
system is fail-safe, and no one can guarantee
that an airbag or airbags will not deploy under
some unusual circumstance, even though it is
turned off. General Motors recommends that
rear-facing child restraints be secured in the
rear seat, even if the airbag or airbags are off.
If you need to secure a forward-facing child restraint in
the right front seat position, move the seat as far
back as it will go before securing the forward-facing
child restraint. SeeManual Seats on page 1-2.If your child restraint is equipped with the LATCH
system, seeLower Anchors and Tethers for Children
(LATCH) on page 1-42.
There is no top tether anchor in the right front
passenger’s position. Do not secure a child seat in this
position if a national or local law requires that the
top tether be anchored, or if the instructions that come
with the child restraint say that the top tether must
be anchored. SeeLower Anchors and Tethers
for Children (LATCH) on page 1-42if your child restraint
has a top tether.
You will be using the lap-shoulder belt to secure the child
restraint in this position. Be sure to follow the instructions
that came with the child restraint. Secure the child in the
child restraint when and as the instructions say.
1. Your vehicle has airbags. SeePassenger Sensing
System on page 1-65. General Motors recommends
that rear-facing child restraints be secured in a rear
seat, even if the right front passenger’s frontal airbag
and side airbag (if equipped) is off. If your child
restraint is forward-facing, move the seat as far back
as it will go before securing the child restraint in this
seat. SeeManual Seats on page 1-2.
When the passenger sensing system has turned off
the right front passenger’s frontal airbag and side
airbag (if equipped), the off symbol in the passenger
airbag status indicator should light and stay lit
when you turn the ignition to ON or START. See
Passenger Airbag Status Indicator on page 3-26.
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7. Push and pull the child restraint in different
directions to be sure it is secure.
8. If the airbag or airbags are off, the off symbol on
the instrument panel near the clock will be lit and
stay lit when the key is turned to ON or START.
If a child restraint has been installed and the off symbol
is not lit, turn the vehicle off. Remove the child
restraint from the vehicle and reinstall the child restraint.
If after reinstalling the child restraint and restarting
the vehicle, the off symbol is still not lit, check to make
sure that the vehicle’s seatback is not pressing the
child restraint into the seat cushion. If this happens,
slightly recline the vehicle’s seatback and adjust the seat
cushion if possible. Also make sure the child restraint
is not trapped under the vehicle head restraint. If
this happens, adjust the head restraint.A thick layer of additional material such as a blanket, or
aftermarket equipment such as seat covers heaters
or massagers, located between the seat cushion and the
child restraint or small occupant, can affect how the
passenger sensing system operates. Remove any
additional material from the seat cushion before
reinstalling/securing the child restraint or small occupant.
If the off symbol is still not lit, secure the child in the
child restraint in a rear seat position in the vehicle and
check with your dealer.
To remove the child restraint, just unbuckle the vehicle’s
safety belt and let it go back all the way. The safety
belt will move freely again and be ready to work for an
adult or larger child passenger.
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Airbag System
Your vehicle has a frontal airbag for the driver and a
frontal airbag for the right front passenger. Your vehicle
may also have side impact airbags. Side impact
airbags are available for the driver and right front
passenger.
If your vehicle has a side impact airbag for the driver
and/or the right front passenger, the word AIRBAG will
appear on the airbag covering on the side of the
seatback closest to the door.
Frontal airbags are designed to help reduce the risk of
injury from the force of an inflating frontal airbag.
But these airbags must inflate very quickly to do their
job and comply with federal regulations.Here are the most important things to know about the
airbag system:
{CAUTION:
You can be severely injured or killed in a crash
if you are not wearing your safety belt — even
if you have airbags. Wearing your safety belt
during a crash helps reduce your chance of
hitting things inside the vehicle or being
ejected from it. Airbags are “supplemental
restraints” to the safety belts. Airbags are
designed to work with safety belts but do not
replace them.
Frontal airbags for the driver and right front
passenger are designed to deploy in moderate
to severe frontal and near frontal crashes.
They are not designed to in ate in rollover,
rear crashes, or in many side crashes. And, for
some unrestrained occupants, frontal airbags
may provide less protection in frontal crashes
than more forceful airbags have provided in
the past.
CAUTION: (Continued)
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CAUTION: (Continued)
Side impact airbags are designed to in ate in
moderate to severe crashes where something
hits the side of your vehicle. They are not
designed to in ate in frontal, in rollover or in
rear crashes.
Everyone in your vehicle should wear a safety
belt properly — whether or not there is an
airbag for that person.
{CAUTION:
Both frontal and side impact airbags in ate with
great force, faster than the blink of an eye. If you
are too close to an in ating airbag, as you
would be if you were leaning forward, it could
seriously injure you. Safety belts help keep you
in position for airbag in ation before and during
a crash. Always wear your safety belt, even with
frontal airbags. The driver should sit as far back
as possible while still maintaining control of the
vehicle. Front occupants should not lean on or
sleep against the door.
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{CAUTION:
Anyone who is up against, or very close to,
any airbag when it in ates can be seriously
injured or killed. Airbags 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 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,
seeOlder Children on page 1-30orInfants and
Young Children on page 1-32.There is an airbag
readiness light on the
instrument panel cluster,
which shows the airbag
symbol.
The system checks the airbag electrical system for
malfunctions. The light tells you if there is an electrical
problem. SeeAirbag Readiness Light on page 3-32
for more information.
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Where Are the Airbags?
The driver’s airbag is in the middle of the steering
wheel.The right front passenger’s airbag is in the instrument
panel on the passenger’s side.
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If your vehicle has one, the driver’s side impact airbag
is in the side of the driver’s seatback closest to the door.If your vehicle has one, the passenger’s side impact
airbag is in the side of the passenger’s seatback closest
to the door.
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{CAUTION:
If something is between an occupant and an
airbag, the airbag might not in ate properly or
it might force the object into that person
causing severe injury or even death. The path
of an in ating airbag must be kept clear. Do
not put anything between an occupant and an
airbag, and do not attach or put anything on
the steering wheel hub or on or near any other
airbag covering. Do not let seat covers block
the in ation path of a side impact airbag.
When Should an Airbag In ate?
The driver’s and right front passenger’s frontal airbags
are designed to inflate in moderate to severe frontal
or near-frontal crashes. But they are designed to inflate
only if the impact exceeds a predetermined deployment
threshold. Deployment thresholds take into account
a variety of desired deployment and non-deployment
events and are used to predict how severe a crash
is likely to be in time for the airbags to inflate and help
restrain the occupants. Whether your frontal airbags
will or should deploy is not based on how fast your
vehicle is traveling. It depends largely on what you hit,
the direction of the impact and how quickly your
vehicle slows down.
If the front of your vehicle goes straight into a wall that
does not move or deform, the threshold level is
about 9 to 14 mph (14 to 23 km/h). (The threshold level
can vary, however, with specific vehicle design, so
that it can be somewhat above or below this range.)
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