2003 CHEVROLET MALIBU child restraint

Seats and Restraint Systems........................... 1-1
Front Seats
............................................... 1-2
Rear Seats
............................................... 1-5
Safety Belts
.............................................. 1-6
Child Restraints
.......................................1-28
Supplemental Restraint System (SRS)
.........1-48
Restraint System Check
............................1-54
Features and Controls..................................... 2-1
Keys
........................................................ 2-2
Doors and Locks
....................................... 2-7
Windows
.................................................2-14
Theft-Deterrent Systems
............................2-15
Starting and Operating Your Vehicle
...........2-16
Mirrors
....................................................2-28
Storage Areas
.........................................2-30
Sunroof
..................................................2-31
Instrument Panel............................................. 3-1
Instrument Panel Overview
.......................... 3-2
Climate Controls
......................................3-17
Warning Lights, Gages and Indicators
.........3-22
Audio System(s)
.......................................3-36Driving Your Vehicle....................................... 4-1
Your Driving, the Road, and Your Vehicle
..... 4-2
Towing
...................................................4-28
Service and Appearance Care.......................... 5-1
Service
..................................................... 5-3
Fuel
......................................................... 5-4
Checking Things Under the Hood
................. 5-9
Bulb Replacement
....................................5-42
Windshield Wiper Blade Replacement
.........5-48
Tires
......................................................5-48
Appearance Care
.....................................5-67
Vehicle Identi®cation
.................................5-75
Electrical System
......................................5-76
Capacities and Speci®cations
.....................5-82
Normal Maintenance Replacement Parts
......5-83
Maintenance Schedule..................................... 6-1
Maintenance Schedule
................................ 6-2
Customer Assistance Information.................... 7-1
Customer Assistance Information
.................. 7-2
Reporting Safety Defects
............................ 7-8
Index................................................................ 1
2003 Chevy Malibu Owner ManualM

Front Seats......................................................1-2
Manual Seats................................................1-2
Six-Way Power Driver Seat..............................1-3
Reclining Seatbacks........................................1-3
Head Restraints.............................................1-5
Rear Seats.......................................................1-5
Rear Seat Operation.......................................1-5
Safety Belts.....................................................1-6
Safety Belts: They Are for Everyone.................1-6
Questions and Answers About
Safety Belts..............................................1-11
How to Wear Safety Belts Properly.................1-11
Driver Position..............................................1-12
Safety Belt Use During Pregnancy..................1-19
Right Front Passenger Position.......................1-20
Rear Seat Passengers..................................1-20
Center Rear Passenger Position.....................1-24
Rear Safety Belt Comfort Guides for
Children and Small Adults..........................1-25
Safety Belt Extender.....................................1-28
Child Restraints.............................................1-28
Older Children..............................................1-28
Infants and Young Children............................1-31
Child Restraint Systems.................................1-35Where to Put the Restraint.............................1-38
Top Strap....................................................1-38
Top Strap Anchor Location.............................1-39
Lower Anchorages and Top Tethers
or Children (LATCH System).......................1-40
Securing a Child Restraint Designed
for the LATCH System...............................1-41
Securing a Child Restraint in a
Rear Outside Seat Position.........................1-42
Securing a Child Restraint in a
Center Rear Seat Position..........................1-44
Securing a Child Restraint in the
Right Front Seat Position............................1-46
Supplemental Restraint System (SRS)..............1-48
Where Are the Air Bags?...............................1-50
When Should an Air Bag In¯ate?....................1-51
What Makes an Air Bag In¯ate?.....................1-52
How Does an Air Bag Restrain?.....................1-52
What Will You See After an Air Bag In¯ates?.......1-52
Servicing Your Air Bag-Equipped Vehicle.........1-54
Restraint System Check..................................1-54
Checking Your Restraint Systems...................1-54
Replacing Restraint System Parts
After a Crash............................................1-55
Section 1 Seats and Restraint Systems
1-1

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:Youcouldbe ± 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
canunbuckle and get out, ismuchgreater if
you are belted.
Q:If my vehicle has air bags, why should I have to
wear safety belts?
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.
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
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
Older Children on page 1-28orInfants and Young Children on page 1-31. 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.
1-11

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 front passenger's safety
belt properly, seeDriver Position on page 1-12.
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.
Rear Seat Passengers
It is very important for rear seat passengers to buckle
up! Accident statistics show that unbelted people in
the rear seat are hurt more often in crashes than those
who are wearing safety belts.
Rear passengers who are not safety belted can be
thrown out of the vehicle in a crash. And they can strike
others in the vehicle who are wearing safety belts.
Rear Seat Outside Passenger Positions
1-20

To make the belt shorter, pull its free end as shown
until the belt is snug.
Buckle, position and release it the same way as the lap
part of a lap-shoulder belt. If the belt isn't long
enough, see
Safety Belt Extender on page 1-28.
Make sure the release button on the buckle is positioned
so you would be able to unbuckle the safety belt
quickly if you ever had to.
Rear Safety Belt Comfort Guides for
Children and Small Adults
Your vehicle may have this feature already. If it doesn't,
you can get it from any GM dealer.
Rear shoulder belt comfort guides will provide added
safety belt comfort for older children who have outgrown
booster seats and for small adults. When installed on
a shoulder belt, the comfort guide better positions
the belt away from the neck and head.
There is one guide available for each outside passenger
position in the rear seat. To provide added safety belt
comfort for children who have outgrown child restraints
and booster seats 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:
1-25

Safety Belt Extender
If the vehicle's safety belt will fasten around you, you
should use it.
But if a safety belt isn't long enough to fasten, your
dealer will order you an extender. It's free. When you go
in to order it, take the heaviest coat you will wear, so
the extender will be long enough for you. The extender
will be just for you, and just for the seat in your
vehicle that you choose. Don't let someone else use it,
and use it only for the seat it is made to ®t. To wear
it, just attach it to the regular safety belt.
Child Restraints
Older Children
Older children who have outgrown booster seats should
wear the vehicle's safety belts.
If you have the choice, a child should sit next to a
window so the child can wear a lap-shoulder belt and
get the additional restraint a shoulder belt can provide.
1-28

Q:What is the proper way to wear safety belts?
A:If possible, an older child should wear a
lap-shoulder belt and get the additional restraint a
shoulder belt can provide. The shoulder belt
should not cross the face or neck. The lap belt
should ®t snugly below the hips, just touching the
top of the thighs. It should never be worn over
the abdomen, which could cause severe or even
fatal internal injuries in a crash.
Accident statistics show that children are safer if they
are restrained in the rear seat.
In a crash, children who are not buckled up can strike
other people who are buckled up, or can be thrown
out of the vehicle. Older children need to use safety
belts properly.
{CAUTION:
Never do this.
Here two children are wearing the same belt.
The belt can't properly spread the impact
forces. In a crash, the two children can be
crushed together and seriously injured. A belt
must be used by only one person at a time.
1-29

Q:What if a child is wearing a lap-shoulder belt,
but the child is so small that the shoulder belt
is very close to the child's face or neck?
A:Move the child toward the center of the vehicle,
but be sure that the shoulder belt still is on the
child's shoulder, so that in a crash the child's upper
body would have the restraint that belts provide.
If the child is sitting in a rear seat outside position,
see
Rear Safety Belt Comfort Guides for Children
and Small Adults on page 1-25
.
If the child is so small that the shoulder belt is still
very close to the child's face or neck, you might
want to place the child in the center seat position,
the one that has only a lap belt.
1-30