2003 CHEVROLET ASTRO CARGO VAN Owners Manual

Securing a Child Restraint in the
Right Front Seat Position
If your child restraint is equipped with the LATCH
system, seeLower Anchorages and Top Tethers for
Children (LATCH System) on page 1-52.
Your vehicle has a front passenger air bag.
Neverput a
rear facing child restraint in this seat. Here's why:
{CAUTION:
A child in a rear-facing child restraint can be
seriously injured or killed if the front
passenger's air bag in¯ates. This is because
the back of the rear-facing child restraint
would be very close to the in¯ating air bag.
If your vehicle is a passenger van, always
secure a rear-facing child restraint in a rear
seat.
If your vehicle is a cargo van, do not use a
rear-facing child restraint in this vehicle. If a
forward-facing child restraint is suitable for
your child, always move the passenger seat as
far back as it will go.
Although a rear seat is a safer place, you can secure a
forward-facing child restraint in the right front seat.
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You'll be using the lap-shoulder belt. SeeTop Strap on
page 1-48, if the child restraint has one. 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. Because your vehicle has a right front passenger
air bag, always move the seat as far back as it will
go before securing a forward-facing child restraint.
See
Manual Seats on page 1-2.
2. Put the restraint on the seat.
3. Pick up the latch plate, and run the lap and shoulder
portions of the vehicle's safety belt through or
around the restraint. The child restraint instructions
will show you how.
4. Buckle the belt. Make sure the release button is
positioned so you would be able to unbuckle the
safety belt quickly if you ever had to.
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5. Pull the rest of the belt all the way out of the
retractor to set the lock.6. To tighten the belt, feed the shoulder belt back
into the retractor while you push down on the
child restraint. You may ®nd it helpful to use your
knee to push down on the child restraint as
you tighten the belt.
7. Push and pull the child restraint in different
directions to be sure it is secure.
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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Air Bag System
This part explains the air bag system.
Your vehicle has air bags ± one air bag for the driver
and another air bag for the right front passenger.
Frontal air bags are designed to help reduce the risk of
injury from the force of an in¯ating air bag. But these
air bags must in¯ate very quickly to do their job
and comply with federal regulations.
Here are the most important things to know about the
air bag system:
{CAUTION:
You can be severely injured or killed in a crash
if you aren't wearing your safety belt Ð even if
you have air bags. Wearing your safety belt
during a crash helps reduce your chance of
CAUTION: (Continued)
CAUTION: (Continued)
hitting things inside the vehicle or being
ejected from it. Air bags are designed to work
with safety belts, but don't replace them.
Air bags are designed to deploy only in
moderate to severe frontal and near frontal
crashes. They aren't designed to in¯ate at all
in rollover, rear or low-speed frontal crashes,
or in many side crashes. And, for some
unrestrained occupants, 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 Ð whether or not there's an air
bag for that person.
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{CAUTION:
Air bags in¯ate with great force, faster than the
blink of an eye. If you're too close to an
in¯ating air bag, as you would be if you were
leaning forward, it could seriously injure you.
Safety belts help keep you in position before
and during a crash. Always wear your safety
belt, even with air bags. The driver should sit
as far back as possible while still maintaining
control of the vehicle.
{CAUTION:
Anyone who is up against, or very close to,
any air bag when it in¯ates can be seriously
injured or killed. 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. To read how,
see Older Children on page 1-35 and Infants
and Young Children on page 1-38.
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There is an air bag readiness light on the instrument
panel, which shows AIR BAG or 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
Air Bag Readiness Light on
page 3-26for more information.
Where Are the Air Bags?
The driver's air bag is in the middle of the steering
wheel. United States
Canada
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The right front passenger's air bag is in the instrument
panel on the passenger's side.
{CAUTION:
If something is between an occupant and an
air bag, the bag 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 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 In¯ate?
An air bag is designed to in¯ate in a moderate to severe
frontal, or near-frontal crash. The air bag will in¯ate
only if the impact speed is above the system's designed
ªthreshold levelº. If your vehicle goes straight into a
wall that doesn't move or deform, the threshold level is
about 9 to 16 mph (14 to 26 mph/h). The threshold
level can vary, however, with speci®c 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 in¯ate in rollovers,
rear impacts, or in many side impacts because in¯ation
would not help the occupant.In any particular crash, no one can say whether an air
bag should have in¯ated simply because of the damage
to a vehicle or because of what the repair costs were.
In¯ation is determined by the angle of the impact
and how quickly the vehicle slows down in frontal or
near-frontal impacts.
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