2004 BUICK RANDEZVOUS Owner's Manual

2. Insert the metal knob on the shoulder belt into the
keyhole on the lap belt buckle as shown. Be sure to
slide the shoulder belt part into the keyhole until
it locks into place.3. To make the lap belt longer, tilt the latch plate and
pull it along the belt.
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To make the belt shorter, pull its free end as shown
until the belt is snug
4. Buckle, position and release the lap-shoulder belt
the same way as the other lap-shoulder belts. If
the belt isn’t long enough, seeSafety Belt Extender
on page 1-46.
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
Rear safety 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 a guide available for the center passenger
position in the second row 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 is how to install a comfort guide and use the
safety belt:
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For second row center position do the following:
1. Remove the elastic cord from under the head
restraint of the second row driver’s side position.2. Attach the elastic cord to the comfort guide on the
center passenger shoulder belt. Second Row Center Position
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3. Be sure that the belt is not twisted and it lies at.
The guide must be on top of the belt.
4. Buckle, position and release the safety belt as
described inCenter Rear Passenger Position
on page 1-42. Make sure that the shoulder belt
crosses the shoulder.
To remove and store the elastic cord, remove it from
the comfort guide. The elastic cord will go back
under the head restraint.
Safety Belt Pretensioners
Your vehicle has safety belt pretensioners. Although
you cannot see them, they are located on the retractor
part of the safety belts for the driver and right front
passenger. They help the safety belts reduce a person’s
forward movement in a moderate to severe crash in
which the front of the vehicle hits something.
Pretensioners work only once. If they activate in a
crash, you’ll need to get new ones, and probably other
new parts for your safety belt system. SeeReplacing
Restraint System Parts After a Crash on page 1-83.
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.
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Child Restraints
Older Children
Older children who have outgrown booster seats should
wear the vehicle’s safety belts.
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.
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{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.
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:If the child is sitting in a seat next to a window,
move the child toward the center of the vehicle.
If the child is sitting in the center rear seat
passenger position, move the child toward the
safety belt buckle. In either case, 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, seeRear Safety
Belt Comfort Guides for Children and Small
Adults on page 1-44.
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{CAUTION:
Never do this.
Here a child is sitting in a seat that has a
lap-shoulder belt, but the shoulder part is
behind the child. If the child wears the belt in
this way, in a crash the child might slide under
the belt. The belt’s force would then be applied
right on the child’s abdomen. That could cause
serious or fatal injuries.
The lap portion of the belt should be worn low and snug
on the hips, just touching the child’s thighs. This
applies belt force to the child’s pelvic bones in a crash.
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Infants and Young Children
Everyone in a vehicle needs protection! This includes
infants and all other children. Neither the distance
traveled nor the age and size of the traveler changes
the need, for everyone, to use safety restraints. In fact,
the law in every state in the United States and in
every Canadian province says children up to some age
must be restrained while in a vehicle.
Every time infants and young children ride in vehicles,
they should have the protection provided by appropriate
restraints. Young children should not use the vehicle’s
adult safety belts alone, unless there is no other choice.
Instead, they need to use a child restraint.
{CAUTION:
People should never hold a baby in their arms
while riding in a vehicle. A baby doesn’t weigh
much — until a crash. During a crash a baby
will become so heavy it is not possible to hold
CAUTION: (Continued)
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