2003 GMC SONOMA child restraint

Unless your vehicle has the air bag off switch and the
passenger’s air bag has been turned off, never put a rear
facing child restraint in the right front passenger’s seat.Here’s why:
{CAUTION:
A child in a rear-facing child restraint can be
seriously injured or killed if the right 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 crewcab, do not use a
rear-facing child restraint in the right front
passenger’s position. If your vehicle is a
regular cab pickup or an extended cab pickup,
be sure to turn off the air bag before using a
rear-facing child restraint in the right front
seat position.
CAUTION: (Continued)
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CAUTION: (Continued)
Even though the AIR BAG OFF switch is
designed to turn off the passenger’s frontal air
bag, no system is fail-safe, and no one can
guarantee that an air bag will not deploy under
some unusual circumstance, even though it is
turned off. General Motors therefore
recommends that rear-facing child restraints
be transported in vehicles with a rear seat that
will accommodate a rear-facing child restraint,
whenever possible.
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 of
a crew cab.
{CAUTION:
If the air bag readiness light ever comes on
when you have turned off the air bag, it means
that something may be wrong with the air bag
system. The right front passenger’s air bag
could inflate even though the switch is off.
If this ever happens, don’t let anyone whom
the national government has identified as a
member of a passenger air bag risk group
sit in the right front passenger’s position
(for example, don’t secure a rear-facing child
restraint in your vehicle) until you have your
vehicle serviced. See″Air Bag Off Switch″in
the Index.
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You’ll be using the lap-shoulder belt. SeeTop Strap on
page 1-41if 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. Your vehicle has a right front passenger air bag.
If your vehicle is a regular cab pickup or extended
cab pickup and you are using a rear-facing child
restraint in this seat, make sure the air bag is turned
off. SeeAir Bag Off Switch on page 1-60.Onall
models, if your child restraint is forward-facing,
always move the seat as far back as it will go before
securing it in this seat. SeeManual Seats on
page 1-3orPower Seats on page 1-4.
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 lap 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. If you are using a forward-facing 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.
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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.
If you were using a rear-facing child restraint in a
regular cab model or a extended cab model, turn on the
right front passenger’s air bag when you remove the
rear-facing child restraint from the vehicle unless
the person who will be sitting there is a member of a
passenger air bag risk group. SeeAir Bag Off Switch
on page 1-60.
{CAUTION:
If the right front passenger’s air bag is turned
off for a person who isn’t in a risk group
identified by the national government, that
person won’t have the extra protection of an
air bag. In a crash, the air bag wouldn’t be able
to inflate and help protect the person sitting
there. Don’t turn off the passenger’s air bag
unless the person sitting there is in a risk
group. See″Air Bag Off Switch″in the Index
for more on this, including important safety
information.
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)
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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.
{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 a air bag
readiness light on the
instrument panel, which
shows 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 3-24.
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The AIR BAG OFF light will come on to let you know
that the right front passenger’s air bag is off. The
right front passenger’s air bag will remain off until you
turn it back on again, and the AIR BAG OFF light
will stay on to remind you that the air bag is off.
{CAUTION:
If the air bag readiness light ever comes on
when you have turned off the air bag, it means
that something may be wrong with the air bag
system. The right front passenger’s air bag
could inate even though the switch is off.
If this ever happens, don’t let anyone whom
the national government has identied as a
member of a passenger air bag risk group
sit in the right front passenger’s position
(for example, don’t secure a rear-facing child
restraint in your vehicle) until you have your
vehicle serviced.To turn the right front passenger’s air bag on again,
insert your ignition key into the switch, push in,
and move the switch to the on position.
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{CAUTION:
If the right front passenger’s air bag is turned
off for a person who isn’t in a risk group
identied by the national government, that
person won’t have the extra protection of an air
CAUTION: (Continued)
CAUTION: (Continued)
bag. In a crash, the air bag wouldn’t be able to
inate and help protect the person sitting there.
Don’t turn off the passenger’s air bag unless the
person sitting there is in a risk group identied
by the national government. See″Air Bag Off
Switch″in the Index for more on this, including
important safety information.
{CAUTION:
If the air bag readiness light ever comes on
when you have turned off the air bag, it means
that something may be wrong with the air bag
system. The right front passenger’s air bag
could inate even though the switch is off. If
this ever happens, don’t let anyone whom the
national government has identied as a member
of a passenger air bag risk group sit in the right
front passenger’s position (for example, don’t
secure a rear-facing child restraint in your
vehicle) until you have your vehicle serviced.
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