2003 GMC SAFARI Owner's Manual

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 inflates. This is because
the back of the rear-facing child restraint
would be very close to the inflating 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.
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.
SeeManual 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.
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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.5. Pull the rest of the belt all the way out of the
retractor to set the lock.
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6. To tighten the belt, feed the shoulder belt back into
the retractor while you push down on the child
restraint. You mayfind 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 inflating air bag. But these
air bags must inflate 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 — even if
you have air bags. Wearing your safety belt
during a crash helps reduce your chance of
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.
CAUTION: (Continued)
CAUTION: (Continued)
They aren’t designed to inflate 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 — whether or not there’s an air
bag for that person.
{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.
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.
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{CAUTION:
Anyone who is up against, or very close to,
any air bag when it inflates 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 the parts of this manual called “Older
Children” and “Infants and Young Children.”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. SeeAir Bag Readiness Light on
page 3-26for more information. United States
Canada
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Where Are the Air Bags?
The driver’s air bag is in the middle of the steering
wheel.The right front passenger’s air bag is in the instrument
panel on the passenger’s side.
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{CAUTION:
If something is between an occupant and an
air bag, the bag might not inflate properly or it
might force the object into that person causing
severe injury or even death. The path of an
inflating 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.
When Should an Air Bag Inflate?
An air bag is designed to inflate in a moderate to severe
frontal, or near-frontal crash. The air bag will inflate
only if the impact speed is above the system’s designed
“threshold level”. 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 specific 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 inflate in
rollovers, rear impacts, or in many side impacts because
inflation would not help the occupant.
In any particular crash, no one can say whether an air
bag should have inflated simply because of the damage
to a vehicle or because of what the repair costs were.
Inflation is determined by the angle of the impact
and how quickly the vehicle slows down in frontal or
near-frontal impacts.
What Makes an Air Bag Inflate?
In an impact of sufficient severity, the air bag sensing
system detects that the vehicle is in a crash. The
sensing system triggers a release of gas from the
inflator, which inflates the air bag. The inflator, air bag,
and related hardware are all part of the air bag
modules inside the steering wheel and in the instrument
panel in front of the right front passenger.
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HowDoes an Air Bag Restrain?
In moderate to severe frontal or near-frontal collisions,
even belted occupants can contact the steering wheel or
the instrument panel. Air bags supplement the
protection provided by safety belts. Air bags distribute
the force of the impact more evenly over the occupant’s
upper body, stopping the occupant more gradually.
But air bags would not help you in many types of
collisions, including rollovers, rear impacts and many
side impacts, primarily because an occupant’s motion is
not toward those air bags. Air bags should never be
regarded as anything more than a supplement to safety
belts, and then only in moderate to severe frontal or
near-frontal collisions.
What Will You See After an Air Bag
Inflates?
After an air bag inflates, it quickly deflates, so quickly
that some people may not even realize the air bag
inflated. Some components of the air bag module–the
steering wheel hub for the driver’s air bag, or the
instrument panel for the right front passenger’sbag–will be hot for a short time. The parts of the bag
that come into contact with you may be warm, but
not too hot to touch. There will be some smoke and dust
coming from the vents in the deflated air bags. Air
bag inflation doesn’t prevent the driver from seeing or
being able to steer the vehicle, nor does it stop
people from leaving the vehicle.
{CAUTION:
When an air bag inflates, there is dust in the
air. This dust could cause breathing problems
for people with a history of asthma or other
breathing trouble. To avoid this, everyone in
the vehicle should get out as soon as it is safe
to do so. If you have breathing problems but
can’t get out of the vehicle after an air bag
inflates, then get fresh air by opening a
window or a door. If you experience breathing
problems following an air bag deployment, you
should seek medical attention.
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