2004 GMC SIERRA DENALI child seat

Securing a Child Restraint in a
Center Rear Seat Position
You can secure a child restraint in the center rear seat
position. There is limited space in the rear seating
area. If you want to secure a child restraint in a rear
seating position, especially in the rear center position, be
sure to study the instructions that came with your
child restraint to see if there is enough room to secure
your seat properly.
If your child restraint is equipped with the LATCH
system, see
Lower Anchorages and Top Tethers for
Children (LATCH System) on page 1-44. SeeTop Strap
on page 1-40if the child restraint has one.If your child restraint does not have the LATCH system,
you'll be using the lap 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. Make the belt as long as possible by tilting the latch
plate and pulling it along the belt.
2. Put the restraint on the seat.
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Securing a Child Restraint in the
Right Front Seat Position
Your vehicle has a right front passenger air bag. There
is a switch on the instrument panel that you can use
to turn off the right front passenger's frontal air bag. See
the following illustration. Your switch may vary slightly.
See
Air Bag Off Switch on page 1-68for more on
this, including important safety information and
illustrations of alternate switch designs.
{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. Be
sure the air bag is off before using a
rear-facing child restraint in the right front seat
position.
CAUTION: (Continued)
CAUTION: (Continued)
Even though the passenger sensing system
and/or air bag off switch are designed to turn
off the passenger's frontal air bag under
certain conditions, 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 transported in vehicles with a rear seat that
will accommodate a rear-facing child restraint,
whenever possible.
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In addition to the air bag off switch, your vehicle may
have the passenger sensing system. The passenger
sensing system is designed to turn off the right
front passenger's frontal air bag when an infant or small
child in a rear-facing infant seat, a forward-facing
child restraint, or a booster seat is detected. In addition
to the passenger sensing system, you may use the
air bag off switch located on the instrument panel to turn
the air bag off. See
Air Bag Off Switch on page 1-68andPassenger Sensing System on page 1-73.Never put a rear facing child restraint in the right front
passenger's seat unless the air bag is off. Here is why:
{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. Be
sure the air bag is off before using a
rear-facing child restraint in the right front seat
position. If you secure a forward-facing child
restraint in the right front seat, always move
the right front passenger seat as far back as it
will go.
A rear seat is a safer place to secure a forward facing
child restraint. See
Where to Put the Restraint on
page 1-39. If you need to secure a forward-facing child
restraint in the right front seat position, move the
seat as far back as it will go before securing a
forward-facing child restraint. See
Power Seats on
page 1-3.
1-57

{CAUTION:
If the air bag readiness light in the instrument
panel cluster ever comes on when you have
turned off the air bag, it means that something
may be wrong with the air bag system. The
right front passenger's air bag could in¯ate
even though the switch is off. If this ever
happens, have the vehicle serviced promptly.
Until you have the vehicle serviced, do not let
anyone whom the national government has
identi®ed as a member of a passenger air bag
risk group sit in the right front passenger's
position (for example, do not secure a
rear-facing child restraint in the right front
passenger's seat). See ªAir Bag Off Switchº in
the Index.
If your child restraint is equipped with the LATCH
system, see
Lower Anchorages and Top Tethers for
Children (LATCH System) on page 1-44. SeeTop Strap
on page 1-40if your child restraint has one.If your child restraint does not have the LATCH system,
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. See
Air Bag Off Switch on page 1-68andPassenger Sensing System on page 1-73. If your
child restraint is forward-facing, move the seat as far
back as it will go before securing the restraint in
this seat. See
Power Seats on page 1-3. If you need
to use a rear-facing child restraint in this seat,
make sure the air bag is off once the child restraint
has been installed.
When the passenger sensing system or the air bag
off switch 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. See
Passenger Air Bag Status Indicator on page 3-33.
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.
1-58

6. To tighten the belt, push down on the child restraint,
pull the shoulder belt to tighten the lap belt portion
and feed the shoulder belt back into the retractor.
If you are using a forward-facing child restraint, you
may ®nd it helpful to use your knee to push
down on the child restraint as you tighten the belt.
You should not be able to pull more of the belt
out of the retractor once the lock has been set.7. Push and pull the child restraint in different
directions to be sure it is secure.
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. Never put a rear-facing
child restraint in the right front passenger seat
unless the air bag is off.
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, use the air bag off switch to
turn off the air bag or secure the child in the child
restraint in a rear seat position in the vehicle if one is
available and check with your dealer. See
Air Bag
Off Switch on page 1-68for more on this, including
important safety information.
1-60

{CAUTION:
If the air bag ON indicator comes on when you
have a rear-facing child restraint installed in
the right front passenger's seat, it means that
the passenger sensing system has not turned
off the passenger's frontal air bag. 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. Don't use a
rear-facing child restraint in the right front
passenger's seat unless the air bag is off.
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 had turned the air bag off with the switch,
remember to be sure to use the air bag off switch to
turn on the right front passenger's air bag when
you remove the child restraint from the vehicle unless
the person who will be sitting there is a member of
a passenger air bag risk group. SeeAir Bag Off Switch
on page 1-68.
{CAUTION:
If the right front passenger's air bag is turned
off for a person who isn't in a risk group
identi®ed by the national government, that
person won't have the extra protection of an
air bag. In a crash, the air bag wouldn't be able
to in¯ate and help protect the person sitting
there. Don't turn off the passenger's air bag
unless the person sitting there is in a risk
group. See²Air Bag Off Switch²in the Index
for more on this, including important safety
information.
1-61

Infant. An infant (less than 1 year old)
must ride in the front seat because:
·
my vehicle has no rear seat;
·my vehicle has a rear seat too small to
accommodate a rear-facing infant seat; or
·the infant has a medical condition which, according
to the infant's physician, makes it necessary for the
infant to ride in the front seat so that the driver
can constantly monitor the child's condition.
Child age 1 to 12. A child age 1 to 12 must
ride in the front seat because:
·
my vehicle has no rear seat;
·although children ages 1 to 12 ride in the rear
seat(s) whenever possible, children ages 1 to 12
sometimes must ride in the front because no space
is available in the rear seat(s) of my vehicle; or
·the child has a medical condition which, according
to the child's physician, makes it necessary for the
child to ride in the front seat so that the driver
can constantly monitor the child's condition.
Medical Condition. A passenger has a
medical condition which, according to his
or her physician:
·
causes the passenger air bag to pose a special risk
for the passenger; and
·makes the potential harm from the passenger air
bag in a crash greater than the potential harm
from turning off the air bag and allowing the
passenger, even if belted, to hit the dashboard or
windshield in a crash.
{CAUTION:
If the right front passenger's air bag is turned
off for a person who isn't in a risk group
identi®ed by the national government, that
person won't have the extra protection of an
air bag. In a crash, the air bag wouldn't be able
to in¯ate and help protect the person sitting
there. Don't turn off the passenger's air bag
unless the person sitting there is in a risk
group. See ªAir Bag Off Switchº in the Index
for more on this, including important safety
information.
1-70

Accident statistics show that children are safer if they
are restrained in the rear rather than the front seat.
General Motors recommends that child restraints
be secured in a rear seat, including an infant riding in a
rear-facing infant seat, a child riding in a forward-facing
child seat and an older child riding in a booster seat.
Never put a child in a rear-facing child restraint in
the right front passenger seat unless the passenger air
bag status indicator shows off. Never put a rear-facing
child restraint in the right front passenger seat unless the
air bag is off.
{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.
Be sure the air bag is off before using a
rear-facing child restraint in the right front
seat position.
CAUTION: (Continued)
CAUTION: (Continued)
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 a rear seat whenever possible,
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
1-74