2004 CHEVROLET OPTRA Owners Manual

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.
Air Bag Systems
This part explains the frontal and side impact air bag
systems.
Your vehicle has air bags – a frontal air bag for the
driver and another frontal air bag for the right front
passenger. Your vehicle may also have a side impact
air bag for the driver.If your vehicle has a side
impact air bag for the driver
it will say AIR BAG on the
air bag covering on the side
of the driver’s seatback
closest to the door.
Frontal air bags are designed to help reduce the risk of
injury from the force of an inflating frontal air bag.
But these air bags must inflate very quickly to do their
job and comply with federal regulations.
1-51

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. Air bags are designed to work
with safety belts but do not 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.
CAUTION: (Continued)
CAUTION: (Continued)
They are not designed to inate 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 bag for the driver is
designed to inate only in moderate to severe
crashes where something hits the driver’s side
of your vehicle. It is not designed to inate 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.
1-52

{CAUTION:
Both frontal and side impact air bags inate
with great force, faster than the blink of an
eye. If you are too close to an inating 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 ination 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, and should
not lean on the door.
{CAUTION:
Anyone who is up against, or very close to,
any air bag when it inates can be seriously
injured or killed. Air bags plus lap-shoulder
belts offer the best protection for adults,
CAUTION: (Continued)
CAUTION: (Continued)
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 “Older
Children” or “Infants and Young Children.”
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. SeeAir Bag Readiness Light on page 3-28
for more information.
1-53

Where Are the Air Bags?
The driver’s air bag is in the middle of the steering
wheel.The right front passenger’s air bag is in the instrument
panel on the passenger’s side.
1-54

If your vehicle has one, the driver’s side impact air bag is
in the side of the driver’s seatback closest to the door.
{CAUTION:
If something is between an occupant and an
air bag, the bag might not inate properly or it
might force the object into that person causing
severe injury or even death. The path of an
inating 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
ination path of a side impact air bag.
1-55

When Should an Air Bag Inate?
The driver’s and right front passenger’s frontal air bags
are designed to inflate in moderate to severe frontal
or near-frontal crashes. But they are designed to inflate
only if the impact speed is above the system’s
designed “threshold level.”
If the front of your vehicle goes straight into a wall that
doesn’t move or deform, the threshold level is about
9 to 14 mph (14.5 to 23 km/h). The threshold level can
vary, however, with specific 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 right front passenger’s frontal
air bags are not designed to inflate in rollovers, rear
impacts, or in many side impacts because inflation
would not help the occupant.Your vehicle may or may not have a side impact air
bag. See “Air Bag Systems” in the Index. A driver’s side
impact air bag is designed to inflate in moderate to
severe side crashes involving the driver’s door. A side
impact air bag will inflate if the crash severity is
above the system’s designed “threshold level.” The
threshold level can vary with specific vehicle design. A
driver’s side impact air bag is not designed to inflate
in frontal or near-frontal impacts, rollovers or rear
impacts, because inflation would not help the occupant.
In any particular crash, no one can say whether an
air bag should have inflated simply because of
the damage to a vehicle or because of what the repair
costs were. For frontal air bags, inflation 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, inflation is determined by
the location and severity of the impact.
1-56

What Makes an Air Bag Inate?
In an impact of sufficient severity, the air bag sensing
system detects that the vehicle is in a crash. For
both the frontal and side impact air bags, the sensing
system triggers a release of gas from the inflator, which
inflates the air bag. The inflator, air bag and related
hardware are all part of the air bag modules. Frontal air
bag modules are located inside the steering wheel
and instrument panel. For vehicles with a driver’s side
impact air bag, the air bag modules are located in
the seatback closest to the driver’s 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. A side impact air bag
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 that air bag. 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 right front
passenger’s frontal air bags, and only in moderate
to severe side collisions for vehicles with a driver’s side
impact air bag.
1-57

What Will You See After an Air Bag
Inates?
After the air bag inflates, it quickly deflates, so quickly
that some people may not even realize the air bag
inflated. Some components of the air bag module will be
hot for a short time. These components include the
steering wheel hub for the driver’s frontal air bag and the
instrument panel for the right front passenger’s frontal
air bag. For vehicles with a side impact air bag, the side
of the seatback closest to the driver’s door will be
hot. 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
deflated air bags. Air bag inflation doesn’t prevent the
driver from seeing or being able to steer the vehicle, nor
does it stop people from leaving the vehicle.
{CAUTION:
When an air bag inates, there is dust in the
air. This dust could cause breathing problems
for people with a history of asthma or other
breathing trouble. To avoid this, everyone in
the vehicle should get out as soon as it is safe
to do so. If you have breathing problems but
can not get out of the vehicle after an air bag
inates, then get fresh air by opening a
window or a door. If you experience breathing
problems following an air bag deployment, you
should seek medical attention.
1-58