2005 CHEVROLET MALIBU Owners Manual

{CAUTION:
A child in a rear-facing child restraint can be
seriously injured or killed if the right front
passenger’s airbag inates. This is because
the back of the rear-facing child restraint
would be very close to the inating airbag.
Even though the passenger sensing system is
designed to turn off the passenger’s frontal
airbag if the system detects a rear-facing child
restraint, no system is fail-safe, and no one
can guarantee that an airbag will not deploy
under some unusual circumstance, even
though it is turned off. General Motors
recommends that rear-facing child restraints
be secured in the rear seat, even if the airbag
is off.
If you need to secure a forward-facing child
restraint in the right front seat, always move
the front passenger seat as far back as it will
go. It is better to secure the child restraint in a
rear seat.If you need to secure more than one child restraint in
the rear seat, review the following illustrations.
Depending on where you place the child restraint, you
may not be able to access certain safety belt assemblies
or LATCH anchors for additional passengers or child
restraints.
1-43

Congurations for Use of Child
Restraints
A. Child restraint
using LATCH
B. Child restraint or
occupant using
safety belt
A. Occupant prohibited
B. Child restraint
using LATCH
A. Child restraint
using LATCH
B. Child restraint or
occupant using
safety belt
C. Child restraint using
safety belt or LATCH
or occupant using
safety beltA. Child restraint or
occupant using
safety belt
A. Child restraint or
occupant using
safety belt
B. Child restraint
using LATCH
Wherever you install a child restraint, be sure to secure
the child restraint properly.
Keep in mind that an unsecured child restraint can
move around in a collision or sudden stop and injure
people in the vehicle. Be sure to properly secure
any child restraint in your vehicle — even when no child
is in it.
1-44

Lower Anchors and Tethers for
Children (LATCH)
Your vehicle has the LATCH system. The LATCH
system holds a child restraint during driving or in a
crash. This system is designed to make installation of a
child restraint easier. The LATCH system uses
anchors in the vehicle and attachments on the child
restraint that are made for use with the LATCH system
Make sure that a LATCH-compatible child restraint
is properly installed using the anchors, or use the
vehicle’s safety belts to secure the restraint, following
the instructions that came with that restraint, and
also the instructions in this manual. When installing a
child restraint with a top tether, you must also use either
the lower anchors or the safety belts to properly
secure the child restraint. A child restraint must never
be attached using only the top tether and anchor.
In order to use the LATCH system in your vehicle, you
need a child restraint equipped with LATCH
attachments. The child restraint manufacturer will
provide you with instructions on how to use the child
restraint and its attachments. The following explains how
to attach a child restraint with these attachments in
your vehicle.Your vehicle has lower anchors and top tether anchors.
Your child restraint may have lower attachments and
a top tether.
Not all vehicle seating positions or child restraints have
lower anchors and attachments or top tether anchors
and attachments.
Lower Anchors
Lower anchors (A) are metal bars built into the vehicle.
There are two lower anchors for each LATCH seating
position that will accommodate a child restraint with
lower attachments (B).
1-45

Top Tether Anchor
A top tether (A, C) anchors the top of the child restraint
to the vehicle. A top tether anchor is built into the
vehicle. The top tether attachment (B) on the child
restraint connects to the top tether anchor in the vehicle
in order to reduce the forward movement and rotation
of the child restraint during driving or in a crash.Your child restraint may have a single tether (A) or a
dual tether (C). Either will have a single attachment (B)
to secure the top tether to the anchor.
Some top tether-equipped child restraints are designed
for use with or without the top tether being attached.
Others require the top tether always to be attached. In
Canada, the law requires that forward-facing child
restraints have a top tether, and that the tether be
attached. In the United States, some child restraints also
have a top tether. Be sure to read and follow the
instructions for your child restraint.
If the child restraint does not have a top tether, one can
be obtained, in kit form, for many child restraints. Ask
the child restraint manufacturer whether or not a kit
is available.
1-46

Lower Anchor and Top Tether Anchor
Locations
j(Lower Anchor):
Seating positions with two
lower anchors.
i(Top Tether Anchor):
Seating positions with
top tether anchors.For MAXX models, to
assist you in locating the
lower anchors, each
rear anchor position has a
label, near the crease
between the seatback and
the seat cushion,
showing where the
anchors are located.
For sedan models, each rear seating position has
exposed metal lower anchors in the crease between the
seatback and the seat cushion.
For MAXX models, to
assist you in locating the
top tether anchors, the top
tether anchor symbol is
located on the back of the
rear seatback near the top
tether anchors. Rear Seat
1-47

For sedan models, the top tether anchors are located
behind the rear seat on the ller panel. For MAXX
models, the top tether anchors are located on the back
of the rear seatback. Be sure to use an anchor
located on the same side of the vehicle as the seating
position where the child restraint will be placed.
Do not secure a child restraint in the right front
passenger’s position if a national or local law requires
that the top tether be attached, or if the instructions that
come with the child restraint say that the top tether
must be attached. There is no place to attach the top
tether in this position.
Accident statistics show that children are safer if they
are restrained in the rear rather than the front seat. See
Where to Put the Restraint on page 1-42for additional
information. Sedan
MAXX
1-48

Securing a Child Restraint Designed for
the LATCH System
{CAUTION:
If a LATCH-type child restraint is not attached
to anchors, the restraint will not be able to
protect the child correctly. In a crash, the child
could be seriously injured or killed. Make sure
that a LATCH-type child restraint is properly
installed using the anchors, or use the
vehicle’s safety belts to secure the restraint,
following the instructions that came with that
restraint, and also the instructions in this
manual.
{CAUTION:
Each top tether anchor and lower anchor in the
vehicle is designed to hold only one child
restraint. Attaching more than one child
restraint to a single anchor could cause the
anchor or attachment to come loose or even
break during a crash. A child or others could
be injured if this happens. To help prevent
injury to people and damage to your vehicle,
attach only one child restraint per anchor.
If you need to secure more than one child restraint in
the rear seat, seeWhere to Put the Restraint on
page 1-42. Depending on where you place the child
restraint, you may not be able to access certain safety
belt assemblies or LATCH anchors for additional
passengers or child restraints.
1-49

You cannot secure three child restraints using the
LATCH anchors in the rear seat at the same time, but
you can install two of them. If you want to do this, install
one LATCH child restraint in the passenger-side
position, and install the other one either in the
driver’s-side position or in the center position. Refer to
the following illustration to learn which anchors to use.
A. Passenger’s Side Rear Seat Lower Anchors
B. Center Rear Seat Lower Anchors
C. Driver’s Side Rear Seat Lower AnchorsSedan
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