2005 CHEVROLET AVEO Owners Manual

Q:What is wrong with this?
A:The belt is buckled in the wrong place.
{CAUTION:
You can be seriously injured if your belt is
buckled in the wrong place like this. In a crash,
the belt would go up over your abdomen. The
belt forces would be there, not at the pelvic
bones. This could cause serious internal
injuries. Always buckle your belt into the
buckle nearest you.
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Q:What is wrong with this?
A:The shoulder belt is worn under the arm. It should
be worn over the shoulder at all times.
{CAUTION:
You can be seriously injured if you wear the
shoulder belt under your arm. In a crash, your
body would move too far forward, which would
increase the chance of head and neck injury.
Also, the belt would apply too much force to
the ribs, which are not as strong as shoulder
bones. You could also severely injure internal
organs like your liver or spleen.
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Q:What is wrong with this?
A:The belt is twisted across the body.
{CAUTION:
You can be seriously injured by a twisted
belt. In a crash, you would not have the full
width of the belt to spread impact forces.
If a belt is twisted, make it straight so it can
work properly, or ask your dealer to x it.
To unlatch the belt, just push the button on the buckle.
The belt should go back out of the way.
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Before you close the door, be sure the belt is out of
the way. If you slam the door on it, you can damage
both the belt and your vehicle.
Shoulder Belt Height Adjustment
Before you begin to drive, move the shoulder belt height
adjuster to the height that is right for you.
Adjust the height so that the shoulder portion of the
belt is centered on your shoulder. The belt should
be away from your face and neck, but not falling off
your shoulder.
To move it down, press
the release button (A) and
move the height adjuster
to the desired position.
After you move the height adjuster to where you want
it, try to move it down without pressing the release
button to make sure it has locked into position.
Safety Belt Use During Pregnancy
Safety belts work for everyone, including pregnant
women. Like all occupants, they are more likely to be
seriously injured if they do not wear safety belts.
A pregnant woman should wear a lap-shoulder belt,
and the lap portion should be worn as low as possible,
below the rounding, throughout the pregnancy.
The best way to protect the fetus is to protect the
mother. When a safety belt is worn properly, it is more
likely that the fetus will not be hurt in a crash. For
pregnant women, as for anyone, the key to making
safety belts effective is wearing them properly.
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Right Front Passenger Position
The right front passenger’s safety belt works the same
way as the driver’s safety belt. To learn how to wear
the right front passenger’s safety belt properly see,
Driver Position on page 1-15.
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 Positions
Lap-Shoulder Belt
The positions next to the windows have lap-shoulder
belts. 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.
2. Push the latch plate into the buckle until it clicks.
Be sure you are using the correct buckle and that
the latch plate clicks when inserted into the buckle.
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If the belt stops before it reaches the buckle,
tilt the latch plate and keep pulling until you can
buckle it.
Pull up on the latch plate to make sure it is secure.
Make sure the release button on the buckle is
positioned so you would be able to unbuckle the
safety belt quickly if you ever had to.3. To make the lap part tight, pull down on the buckle
end of the belt as you pull up on the shoulder part.
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The lap part of the belt should be worn low and snug on
the hips, just touching the thighs. In a crash this applies
force to the strong pelvic bones. And you would be less
likely to slide under the lap belt. If you slid under it, the
belt would apply force at your abdomen. This could cause
serious or even fatal injuries. The shoulder belt should go
over the shoulder and across the chest. These parts of
the body are best able to take belt restraining forces.
The safety belt locks if there is a sudden stop or a crash,
or if you pull the belt very quickly out of the retractor.
{CAUTION:
You can be seriously hurt if your shoulder
belt is too loose. In a crash, you would move
forward too much, which could increase injury.
The shoulder belt should t against your body.
To unlatch the belt, just push the button on the buckle.
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Center Rear Passenger Position
Your vehicle has a removable safety belt in the center
rear seating position.
Here is how to use the center rear safety belt.
1. Pull the center rear safety belt from the retractor.
2. Push the latch plate at the end of the safety
belt strap into the buckle with the black release
button until the mechanism clicks. Make sure the
strap is not twisted. The sliding latch plate will face
the front of the vehicle.
3. Pick up the sliding 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.4. Push the latch plate into the buckle labeled
CENTER.
If the belt stops before it reaches the buckle,
tilt the latch plate and keep pulling until you can
buckle it.
Pull up on the latch plate to make sure it is secure.
Make sure the release button on the buckle is
positioned so you would be able to unbuckle the
safety belt quickly if you ever had to.
5. To make the lap part tight, pull down the
buckle end of the belt as you pull up on the
shoulder part.
Safety Belt Pretensioners
Your vehicle has safety belt pretensioners for the driver
and right front passenger. They help the safety belts
reduce a person’s forward movement in a moderate to
severe frontal and near frontal crash.
Pretensioners work only once. If they activate in a
crash, you will need to get new ones, and probably other
new parts for your safety belt system. SeeReplacing
Restraint System Parts After a Crash on page 1-53.
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