2004 GMC SIERRA seats

Safety Belts
Safety Belts: They Are for Everyone
This part of the manual tells you how to use safety
belts properly. It also tells you some things you should
not do with safety belts.
{CAUTION:
Don't let anyone ride where he or she can't
wear a safety belt properly. If you are in a
crash and you're not wearing a safety belt,
your injuries can be much worse. You can hit
things inside the vehicle or be ejected from it.
You can be seriously injured or killed. In the
same crash, you might not be, if you are
buckled up. Always fasten your safety belt,
and check that your passengers' belts are
fastened properly too.
{CAUTION:
It is extremely dangerous to ride in a cargo
area, inside or outside of a vehicle. In a
collision, people riding in these areas are more
likely to be seriously injured or killed. Do not
allow people to ride in any area of your vehicle
that is not equipped with seats and safety
belts. Be sure everyone in your vehicle is in a
seat and using a safety belt properly.
Your vehicle has a light
that comes on as a
reminder to buckle up. See
Safety Belt Reminder
Light on page 3-36.
In most states and in all Canadian provinces, the law
says to wear safety belts. Here's why:
They work.
You never know if you'll be in a crash. If you do have a
crash, you don't know if it will be a bad one.
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Q:If I'm a good driver, and I never drive far from
home, why should I wear safety belts?
A:You may be an excellent driver, but if you're in an
accident ± even one that isn't your fault ± you and
your passengers can be hurt. Being a good
driver doesn't protect you from things beyond your
control, such as bad drivers.
Most accidents occur within 25 miles (40 km) of
home. And the greatest number of serious injuries
and deaths occur at speeds of less than
40 mph (65 km/h).
Safety belts are for everyone.
How to Wear Safety Belts Properly
This part is only for people of adult size.
Be aware that there are special things to know about
safety belts and children. And there are different
rules for smaller children and babies. If a child will be
riding in your vehicle, see
Older Children on page 1-33orInfants and Young Children on page 1-35. Follow
those rules for everyone's protection.
First, you'll want to know which restraint systems your
vehicle has.
We'll start with the driver position.
Driver Position
This part describes the driver's restraint system.
Lap-Shoulder Belt
The driver has a lap-shoulder belt. Here's how to wear it
properly.
1. Close and lock the door.
2. Adjust the seat so you can sit up straight. To see
how, see ªSeatsº in the Index.
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The best way to protect the fetus is to protect the
mother. When a safety belt is worn properly, it's more
likely that the fetus won't be hurt in a crash. For
pregnant women, as for anyone, the key to making
safety belts effective is wearing them properly.
Right Front Passenger Position
To learn how to wear the right front passenger's safety
belt properly, seeDriver Position on page 1-16.
The right front passenger's safety belt works the same
way as the driver's safety beltÐexcept for one thing.
If you ever pull the shoulder portion of the belt out all the
way, you will engage the child restraint locking feature
which may turn off the passenger's frontal air bag. If this
happens unintentionally, just let the belt go back all
the way and start again.
Center Passenger Position
If your vehicle has front and rear bench seats, someone
can sit in the center positions.
When you sit in the center rear seat position of a crew
cab you have a lap-shoulder belt which is similar to
the rear outside seat positions. To learn how to wear this
belt see ªLap-Shoulder Beltº under
Rear Seat
Passengers on page 1-27.
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To unlatch the belt, just push the button on the buckle.
Rear Safety Belt Comfort Guides for
Children and Small Adults
Rear seat comfort guides 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 one guide for each outside passenger in the
rear seat. Here's how to install a comfort guide and use
the safety belt:
1. Remove the guide from its storage clip on the
interior body.
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Child Restraints
Older Children
Older children who have outgrown booster seats should
wear the vehicle's safety belts.
If you have the choice, a child should sit in a seat that
has a lap-shoulder belt to get the additional restraint
a shoulder belt can provide.
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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A forward-facing child seat (C-E) provides restraint for
the child's body with the harness and also sometimes
with surfaces such as T-shaped or shelf-like shields.A booster seat (F-G) is a child restraint designed to
improve the ®t of the vehicle's safety belt system. Some
booster seats have a shoulder belt positioner, and
some high-back booster seats have a ®ve-point harness.
A booster seat can also help a child to see out the
window.
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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 1-76andPassenger Sensing System on page 1-81.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 1-42. 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
Manual Seats on
page 1-3orPower Seats on page 1-4.
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{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). See²Air Bag Off Switch²in
the Index.1. Your vehicle has a right front passenger's frontal air
bag. See
Air Bag Off Switch on page 1-76andPassenger Sensing System on page 1-81. 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
Manual Seats on page 1-3orPower
Seats on page 1-4. 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 3-40.
2. Find the LATCH anchorages where the bottom of
the seatback meets the back of the cushion.
3. Put the child restraint on the seat.
4. Attach and tighten the LATCH attachments on the
child restraint to the LATCH anchorages in the
vehicle. The child restraint instructions will show
you how.
5. If the child restraint is forward-facing, attach and
tighten the top tether to the top tether anchorage.
The child restraint instructions will show you
how. Also see
Top Strap on page 1-43.
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