2004 CADILLAC XLR Owners Manual

6. To tighten the belt, feed the shoulder belt back into
the retractor while you push down on the child
restraint. You may ®nd 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.
If you were using a rear-facing child restraint, turn on
the passenger's air bags 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. See
Air Bag Off Switch on
page 1-44.
{CAUTION:
If the passenger's air bags are turned off for a
person who is not in a risk group identi®ed by
the national government, that person will not
have the extra protection of the air bags. In a
crash, the air bags would not be able to in¯ate
and help protect the person sitting there. Do
not turn off the passenger's air bags unless
the person sitting there is in a risk group. See
Air Bag Off Switch on page 1-44for more on
this, including important safety information.
1-35

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 passenger, a
side impact air bag for the driver, and another side
impact air bag for the 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.
Here are the most important things to know about the
air bag systems:
{CAUTION:
You can be severely injured or killed in a crash
if you are not 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.
CAUTION: (Continued)
CAUTION: (Continued)
Air bags are designed to work with safety belts
but do not replace them.
Frontal air bags for the driver and passenger
are designed to deploy only in moderate to
severe frontal and near frontal crashes. They
are not designed to in¯ate 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.
The side impact air bags for the driver and
passenger are designed to in¯ate only in
moderate to severe crashes where something
hits the side of your vehicle. They are not
designed to in¯ate in frontal, in rollover or in
rear crashes.
Everyone in your vehicle should wear a safety
belt properly ± whether or not there is an air
bag for that person.
1-36

{CAUTION:
Both frontal and side impact air bags in¯ate
with great force, faster than the blink of an
eye. If you are too close to an in¯ating 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 in¯ation 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.
{CAUTION:
Anyone who is up against, or very close to,
any air bag when it in¯ates 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 part of this manual called ªOlder
Childrenº or ªInfants and Young Children.º
1-37

There is an 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. See
Air Bag Readiness Light on page 3-42for more information.
Where Are the Air Bags?
The driver's frontal air bag is in the middle of the
steering wheel.
1-38

The passenger's frontal air bag is in the instrument
panel on the passenger's side.The driver's side impact air bag is in the side of the
driver's seatback closest to the door.
1-39

The passenger's side impact air bag is in the side of the
passenger's seatback closest to the door.
{CAUTION:
If something is between an occupant and an
air bag, the bag might not in¯ate properly or it
might force the object into that person causing
severe injury or even death. The path of an
in¯ating air bag must be kept clear. Do not put
anything between an occupant and an air bag,
and do not attach or put anything on the
steering wheel hub or on or near any other air
bag covering. Do not let seat covers block the
in¯ation path of a side impact air bag.
1-40

When Should an Air Bag In¯ate?
The drivers and passenger's frontal air bags are
designed to in¯ate in moderate to severe frontal or
near-frontal crashes. But they are designed to in¯ate
only if the impact speed is above the system's designed
ªthreshold level.º
In addition, your vehicle has ªdual stageº frontal air
bags, which adjust the amount of restraint according to
crash severity. For moderate frontal impacts, these
air bags in¯ate at a level less than full deployment. For
more severe frontal impacts, full deployment occurs.
If the front of your vehicle goes straight into a wall that
does not move or deform, the threshold level for the
reduced deployment is about 12 to 16 mph (19 to
26 km/h), and the threshold level for a full deployment is
about 18 to 24 mph (29 to 38.5 km/h).
The threshold level can vary, however, with speci®c
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 driver's and passenger's frontal air bags
are not designed to in¯ate in rollovers, rear impacts, or
in many side impacts because in¯ation would not
help the occupant.Vehicles with dual stage air bags are also equipped with
seat position sensors which enable the sensing
system to monitor the position of the driver's and
passenger's seats. The seat position sensor provides
information which is used to determine if the air
bags should deploy at a reduced level or at full
deployment.
The side impact air bags are designed to in¯ate in
moderate to severe side crashes. A side impact air bag
will in¯ate if the crash severity is above the system's
designed ªthreshold level.º The threshold level can vary
with speci®c vehicle design. Side impact air bags are
not designed to in¯ate in frontal or near-frontal impacts,
rollovers or rear impacts, because in¯ation would not
help the occupant. A side impact air bag will only deploy
on the side of the vehicle that is struck.
In any particular crash, no one can say whether an air
bag should have in¯ated simply because of the damage
to a vehicle or because of what the repair costs were.
For frontal air bags, in¯ation is determined by the angle
of the impact and how quickly the vehicle slows down
in frontal and near-frontal impacts. For side impact
air bags, in¯ation is determined by the location
and severity of the impact.
1-41

What Makes an Air Bag In¯ate?
In an impact of sufficient severity, the air bag sensing
system detects that the vehicle is in a crash. For
both frontal and side impact air bags, the sensing
system triggers a release of gas from the in¯ator, which
in¯ates the air bag. The in¯ator, the air bag and
related hardware are all part of the air bag modules
inside the steering wheel, the instrument panel, and the
side of the front seatbacks closest to the door.
How Does 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. In moderate to severe side
collisions, even belted occupants can contact the inside
of the vehicle. The air bag supplements 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 the
frontal 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 the air bag. Side impact air bags would not
help you in many types of collisions, including frontal
or near frontal collisions, rollovers, and rear 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 for the driver's and passenger's frontal
air bags, and only in moderate to severe side collisions
for the driver's and passenger's side impact air bag.
What Will You See After an Air Bag
In¯ates?
After the air bag in¯ates, it quickly de¯ates, so quickly
that some people may not even realize the air bag
in¯ated. Some components of the air bag module ± the
steering wheel hub for the driver's air bag, the
instrument panel for the passenger's bag, the side of
the seatback closest to the door for the driver's
and passenger's side impact air bags ± 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 de¯ated air bags. Air bag in¯ation does not
prevent the driver from seeing or being able to steer
the vehicle, nor does it stop people from leaving
the vehicle.
1-42