2003 CHEVROLET ASTRO Owners Manual

3. To raise the seatback, do the following:
3.1. Unlock the seatback latch by pulling up on
the latch release lever at the right rear
of the
seat, while pushing down on the upper
edge of the seatback.
3.2. Move the seatback into the upright position.
Make sure the seatback is locked when it is
back in the upright position.
If you are replacing the center seat, connect the right
lap-shoulder belt to the attachment on the seat cushion.
If you have a safety belt guide
on your seat, pull the
belt through the guide before reattaching the
lap-shoulder belt to the side
of the seat. The release
hole should be facing outward.
If you installed the safety belt with the release hole facing
inward (toward the seat), slide the plastic cover up
so you
can see the buckle. Disconnect the seat belt. Slide the
cover back down and reinstall the belt correctly.
A safety
--It that __ impropc routed, not
properly attached, or twisted won’t provide the
protection needed in a crash. The person
wearing the belt could be seriously injured. After raising the rear seatback, always check
to be sure that the safety belts are properly routed and attached, and are not twisted.
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Bench Seat
Each bench seat can carry up to three passengers.
They can also be removed to increase storage space.
Only the rear bench seat can be adjusted forward
or rearward using the lever at the front of the seat.
Move the seat adjustment
lever located at the front
of the seat toward the
passenger’s side to
unlock it. Slide the seat
to where you want it.
Then release the lever
and try to move the seat
with your body, to make
sure the seat is locked
into place. The optional
bench seats come with moveable armrests,
individual reclining seatbacks, adjustable headrests
and a fold-down center armrest console.
The center bench seat has a pivoting right armrest. To
adjust your seatback, pull up on the lever located on
the outboard side of the seat cushion.
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If your vehicle has the
optional touring package,
your vehicle will have
a center console.
To raise
or lower the center
console, press the button
located between the
beverage holders. Sit in
the center seating position only when the console
is in an upright and
locked position.
For details about headrests, see
Head Restraints
on page 1-5.
Bucket Seats
Your vehicle may have rear bucket seats with an
adjustment release bar located under the front
of the
seats. These seats can be adjusted forward or rearward
with the release bar. Pull the release bar up to release
the seat bottom. Slide the seat where you want it
and then let go of the release bar. Then try to move the
seat with your body to make sure the seat is locked
into place.
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Safety Belts
Safety Belts: They Are for Everyone
This part of the manual tells you how to use safety
belts properly. It also tells you some things you should
r-+ do with safety belts.
Don’t let anyone ride where he or she can’t
wear a safety
belt properly. If you are in a
crash and you’re not wearing a safety belt,
your injuries can be much worse. You can
hit
things inside the vehicle or be ejected from it.
You can be seriously injured or killed. In the
same crash, you might not be, if you are
buckled up. Always fasten your safety belt,
and check that your passengers’ belts are
fastened properly too.
it is extremely dangerous to ride in a CN~G
area, inside or outside of a vehicle. In a
collision, people riding in these areas are more likely to be seriously injured or killed.
Do not
allow people to ride
in any area of your vehicle
that
is not equipped with seats and safety
belts. Be sure everyone
in your vehicle is in
a seat and using a safety belt properly.
Your vehicle has a light
that comes
on as a
reminder to buckle up.
See
Safety Belt Reminder
Light on page 3-26.
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In most states and in all Canadian provinces, the law
says to wear safety belts. Here’s why:
They work.
You never know if you’ll be in a crash. If you do have
a crash, you don’t know
if it will be a bad one.
A few crashes are mild, and some crashes can be
so
serious that even buckled up, a person wouldn’t survive.
But most crashes are in between. In many of them,
people who buckle up can survive and sometimes
walk away. Without belts they could have been badly
hurt or killed.
After more than
30 years of safety belts in vehicles.
the facts are clear. In most crashes buckling up
does matter
... a lot!
Why Safety Belts Work
When you ride in or on anything, you go as fast as
it goes.
Take the simplest vehicle. Suppose it’s just a seat
on wheels.
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Sic-1
'I! uo au0aUlos ]nd

The person keeps going until stopped by something.
In a real vehicle, it could be the windshield ...
or the instrument panel ...
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Questions and Answers About
Safety Belts
Q: Won’t I be trapped in the vehicle after an
accident if
I’m wearing a safety belt?
A: You could be - whether you’re wearing a safety
belt or not. But you can unbuckle a safety belt,
even
if you’re upside down. And your chance
of being conscious during and after an accident,
so you can unbuckle and get out, is much greater
if you are belted.
Q: If my vehicle has air bags, why should I have to
wear safety belts?
or the safety belts!
With safety belts, you slow down as the vehicle does,
You get more time to stop. You stop over more distance,
and your strongest bones take the forces. That’s why
safety belts make such good sense. A: Air bags are in many vehicles today and will
be in most of them in the future. But they are
supplemental systems only;
so they work with
safety belts - not instead of them. Every air bag
system ever offered for sale has required the use
of
safety belts. Even if you’re in a vehicle that has
air bags, you still have to buckle up to get the most
protection. That’s true not only in frontal collisions,
but especially in side and other collisions.
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