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
The positions next to the windows have lap-shoulder
belts.
Lap-Shoulder Belt
Here is how to wear a lap-shoulder belt properly.
1. Pick up the latch plate and pull the belt across you.
Do not let it get twisted.
The shoulder belt may lock if you pull the belt
across you very quickly. If this happens, let the belt
go back slightly to unlock it. Then pull the belt
across you more slowly.
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There is no top strap anchor in the right front
passenger’s position. Do not secure a child seat in this
position if a national or local law requires that the
top strap be anchored, or if the instructions that come
with the child restraint say that the top strap must
be anchored. SeeTop Strap on page 1-63if your child
restraint has one.
You will be using the lap-shoulder belt to secure the
child restraint in this position. 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’s frontal air
bag. SeePassenger Sensing System on page 1-88.
General Motors recommends that rear-facing
child restraints be secured in a rear seat, even if
the air bag is off. If your child restraint is
forward-facing, move the seat as far back as it will
go before securing the child restraint in this
seat. SeePower Seats on page 1-3.
When the passenger sensing system has turned off
the right front passenger’s frontal air bag, the off
indicator in the passenger air bag status indicator
should light and stay lit when you turn the ignition to
RUN or START. SeePassenger Air Bag Status
Indicator on page 3-38.2. Put the child 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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8. If your vehicle has the passenger sensing system
and the air bag is off, the off indicator will be lit and
stay lit in the inside rearview mirror when the key
is turned to RUN or START.
If a child restraint has been installed and the on
indicator is lit, turn the vehicle off. Remove the child
restraint from the vehicle and reinstall the child restraint.
If after reinstalling the child restraint and restarting
the vehicle, the on indicator is still lit, check to make
sure that the vehicle’s seatback is not pressing the child
restraint into the seat cushion. If this happens, slightly
recline the vehicle’s seatback and adjust the seat
cushion if possible. Also make sure the child restraint is
not trapped under the vehicle head restraint. If this
happens, adjust the head restraint.
If the on indicator is still lit, secure the child in the child
restraint in a rear seat position in the vehicle and
check with your dealer.
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.Air Bag Systems
This part explains the frontal and side impact air bag
systems.
Your vehicle has four air bags – a frontal air bag for the
driver, another frontal air bag for the right front
passenger, a side impact air bag for the driver, and
another side impact air bag for the right front passenger.
Frontal air bags are designed to help reduce the risk
of injury from the force of an in ating frontal air bag. But
these air bags must in ate very quickly to do their job
and comply with federal regulations.
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There is a air bag
readiness light on the
instrument panel cluster,
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 3-36
for more information.Where Are the Air Bags?
The driver’s frontal air bag is in the middle of the
steering wheel.
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Your vehicle has a rear seat that will accommodate a
rear-facing child restraint. A label on your sun visor says,
“Never put a rear-facing child seat in the front.” This
is because the risk to the rear-facing child is so great, if
the air bag deploys.
{CAUTION:
A child in a rear-facing child restraint can be
seriously injured or killed if the right front
passenger’s air bag in ates. This is because
the back of the rear-facing child restraint
would be very close to the in ating air bag.
Even though the passenger sensing system is
designed to turn off the passenger’s frontal air
bag if the system detects a rear-facing child
restraint, 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
recommends that rear-facing child restraints
be secured in the rear seat, even if the air bag
is off.The passenger sensing system is designed to turn off
the right front passenger’s frontal air bag if:
the right front passenger seat is unoccupied
the system determines that an infant is present in a
rear-facing infant seat
the system determines that a small child is present
in a forward-facing child restraint
the system determines that a small child is present
in a booster seat
a right front passenger takes his/her weight off of
the seat for a period of time
the right front passenger seat is occupied by a
smaller person, such as a child who has outgrown
child restraints
or if there is a critical problem with the air bag
system or the passenger sensing system.
When the passenger sensing system has turned off the
passenger’s frontal air bag, the off indicator will light
and stay lit to remind you that the air bag is off.
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If a child restraint has been installed and the on
indicator is lit, turn the vehicle off. Remove the child
restraint from the vehicle and reinstall the child restraint
following the child restraint manufacturer’s directions
and refer toSecuring a Child Restraint in the Right Front
Seat Position on page 1-75.
If after reinstalling the child restraint and restarting the
vehicle, the on indicator is still lit, check to make
sure that the vehicle’s seatback is not pressing the child
restraint into the seat cushion. If this happens, slightly
recline the vehicle’s seatback and adjust the seat
cushion if possible. Also make sure the child restraint is
not trapped under the vehicle head restraint. If this
happens, adjust the head restraint.
If the on indicator is still lit, secure the child in the child
restraint in a rear seat position in the vehicle and
check with your dealer.The passenger sensing system is designed to enable
(may in ate) the right front passenger’s frontal air
bag anytime the system senses that a person of adult
size is sitting properly in the right front passenger’s seat.
When the passenger sensing system has allowed the
air bag to be enabled, the on indicator will light and stay
lit to remind you that the air bag is active.
For some children who have outgrown child restraints
and for very small adults, the passenger sensing system
may or may not turn off the right front passenger’s
frontal air bag, depending upon the person’s seating
posture and body build. Everyone in your vehicle
who has outgrown child restraints should wear a safety
belt properly — whether or not there is an air bag
for that person.
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{CAUTION:
If the air bag readiness light in the instrument
panel cluster ever comes on and stays on, it
means that something may be wrong with the
air bag system. If this ever happens, have the
vehicle serviced promptly, because an
adult-size person sitting in the right front
passenger’s seat may not have the protection
of the frontal air bag. See “Air Bag Readiness
Light” in the Index for more on this, including
important safety information.Aftermarket equipment, such as seat covers, can affect
how well the passenger sensing system operates.
You may want to consider not using seat covers or other
aftermarket equipment if your vehicle has the passenger
sensing system. SeeAdding Equipment to Your Air
Bag-Equipped Vehicle on page 1-94for more
information about modi cations that can affect how the
system operates.
{CAUTION:
Stowing of articles under the passenger’s seat
or between the passenger’s seat cushion and
seatback may interfere with the proper
operation of the passenger sensing system.
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