2003 PONTIAC BONNEVILLE Owners Manual

A child in a child restraint in the center front
seat can be badly injured or killed by the right
front passenger’s air bag if
it inflates. Never
secure a child restraint
in the center front seat.
It’s always better to secure a child restraint in
the rear seat. You may secure a forward-facing
child restraint
in the right front passenger seat,
but before you do, always move the front
passenger seat as far back
as it will go. It’s
better to secure the child restraint in a rear
seat.
You’ll be using the lap-shoulder belt. See
Top Strap on
page 1-37 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. Put the restraint on the seat.
2. 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. Tilt the
latch plate to adjust the belt
if needed.
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3. 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.
4. To tighten the belt, pull up on the shoulder belt
while you push down on the child restraint.
If
you’re using a forward-facing child restraint, you
the child restraint as you tighten the belt.
5. Push and pull the child restraint in different
directions to be sure
it is secure.
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To remwethexhild restraint, just unbuckle the vehicle’s
safety
bel: and let it GG back all the wzy. The safety
belt will move freely again and be ready to work for an
adult or larger child passenger.
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Securing a Child Restraint in the
Right Front Seat Position
Your vehicle has a right front passenger air bag.
Never put a rear facing child restraint in this seat.
t e’s why:
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. Always secure
a rear-facing child restraint in a
rear seat.
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. See
Top Strap on
page 1-37 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
Power 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 lap belt all the way out of the
retractor to set the lock.
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6. To tighten the belt, feed the lap belt back into the
retractor while you push down on the child restraint.
down on the child restraint as you tighten the belt.
directions to be sure it is secure.
I You may find it helpful to use your knee to push
7. Push and pull the child restraint in different
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.
k
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Air Bag Systems
This part explains the frontal and side impact air bag
systems.
Your vehicle has a frontal air bag for the driver and a
frontal air bag for the right front passenger. Your vehicle
may also have a side impact air bag for the driver,
and another side impact air bag for the right front
passenger.
If your vehicle has a side impact air bag for the
driver, the words AIR BAG will appear on the air bag
covering on the side of the driver’s seatback closest
to the door.
If your vehicle has a side impact air bag for the right
front passenger, the words
AIR BAG will appear on the
air bag covering on the side
of the right front
passenger’s seatback closest to the door.
Frontal air bags are designed to help reduce the risk of
injury
from the force oi ai-1 hiititiiiy f~~t~l zir bag.
But these air bags must inflate very quickly to do their
job and comply with federal regulations.
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Here are the most important things to know about the
air bag systems:
You cam
I oe ,,.,:ely injured or ki....d 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.
Frontal air bags for the driver and right front
passenger are designed to deploy only in
moderate to severe frontal and near frontal
crashes. 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, frontal air bags may provide less
protection
in frontal crashes than more forceful
air bags have provided
in the past.
CAUTION: (Continued) The
side impact air bags for the driver and
right front passenger are designed to inflate
only inmoderate to severe crashes where
something hits the side of your vehicle. They
aren’t designed to inflate in frontal, in rollover
or
in rear crashes.
Everyone
in your vehicle should wear a safety
belt properly
- whether or not there’s an air
bag for that person.
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Both frontal a1 ._ .mpac- -ir bags infli---
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 for air bag inflation before and
during a crash. Always wear your safety belt,
even with frontal air bags. The driver should sit
as far back
as possible while still maintaining
control of the vehicle. Front occupants should not lean on or sleep against the door.
,yone
10 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 chiidren and infants. ~ ~~~ ~
CAUTION: (Continued) 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 part of
this manual called
“Older Children” or “Infants and Young
Children”.
AIR
BAG
instrument panel, which
shows
AIR BAG.
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 3-40.
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