2005 CHEVROLET MALIBU child seat

Seats and Restraint Systems........................... 1-1
Front Seats
............................................... 1-2
Rear Seats
............................................... 1-8
Safety Belts
.............................................1-10
Child Restraints
.......................................1-33
Airbag System
.........................................1-60
Restraint System Check
............................1-75
Features and Controls..................................... 2-1
Keys
........................................................ 2-3
Doors and Locks
......................................2-11
Windows
.................................................2-16
Theft-Deterrent Systems
............................2-17
Starting and Operating Your Vehicle
...........2-21
Mirrors
....................................................2-33
OnStar
®System
......................................2-38
HomeLink®Wireless Control System
...........2-40
Storage Areas
.........................................2-44
Sunroof
..................................................2-47
Instrument Panel............................................. 3-1
Instrument Panel Overview
.......................... 3-4
Climate Controls
......................................3-21
Warning Lights, Gages, and Indicators
........3-30
Driver Information Center (DIC)
..................3-47
Audio System(s)
.......................................3-54Driving Your Vehicle....................................... 4-1
Your Driving, the Road, and Your Vehicle
..... 4-2
Towing
...................................................4-34
Service and Appearance Care.......................... 5-1
Service
..................................................... 5-3
Fuel
......................................................... 5-5
Checking Things Under the Hood
...............5-10
Bulb Replacement
....................................5-41
Windshield Wiper Blade Replacement
.........5-45
Tires
......................................................5-47
Appearance Care
.....................................5-73
Vehicle Identication
.................................5-82
Electrical System
......................................5-83
Capacities and Specications
.....................5-91
Maintenance Schedule..................................... 6-1
Maintenance Schedule
................................ 6-2
Customer Assistance and Information.............. 7-1
Customer Assistance and Information
........... 7-2
Reporting Safety Defects
...........................7-10
Index................................................................ 1
2005 Chevrolet Malibu Owner ManualM

Front Seats......................................................1-2
Manual Seats................................................1-2
Six-Way Power Driver Seat..............................1-3
Manual Lumbar..............................................1-3
Heated Seats.................................................1-4
Reclining Seatbacks........................................1-4
Head Restraints.............................................1-6
Passenger Folding Seatback............................1-6
Rear Seats.......................................................1-8
Rear Seat Operation.......................................1-8
Safety Belts...................................................1-10
Safety Belts: They Are for Everyone................1-10
Questions and Answers About Safety Belts......1-15
How to Wear Safety Belts Properly.................1-16
Driver Position..............................................1-16
Shoulder Belt Height Adjustment.....................1-23
Safety Belt Use During Pregnancy..................1-24
Right Front Passenger Position.......................1-24
Rear Seat Passengers..................................1-25
Rear Safety Belt Comfort Guides....................1-28
Safety Belt Pretensioners...............................1-32
Safety Belt Extender.....................................1-32Child Restraints.............................................1-33
Older Children..............................................1-33
Infants and Young Children............................1-35
Child Restraint Systems.................................1-39
Where to Put the Restraint.............................1-42
Lower Anchors and Tethers for
Children (LATCH)......................................1-45
Securing a Child Restraint in a Rear Seat
Position...................................................1-53
Securing a Child Restraint in the Right Front
Seat Position............................................1-56
Airbag System...............................................1-60
Where Are the Airbags?................................1-62
When Should an Airbag Inate?.....................1-66
What Makes an Airbag Inate?.......................1-67
How Does an Airbag Restrain?.......................1-67
What Will You See After an Airbag Inates?.....1-68
Passenger Sensing System............................1-70
Servicing Your Airbag-Equipped Vehicle...........1-74
Adding Equipment to Your Airbag-Equipped
Vehicle....................................................1-74
Restraint System Check..................................1-75
Checking the Restraint Systems......................1-75
Replacing Restraint System Parts After
a Crash...................................................1-76
Section 1 Seats and Restraint Systems
1-1

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, seeOlder Children on page 1-33
orInfants and Young Children on page 1-35. Follow
those rules for everyone’s protection.
First, you will want to know which restraint systems your
vehicle has.
We will start with the driver position.
Driver Position
Lap-Shoulder Belt
The driver has a lap-shoulder belt. Here is 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 “Seats” in the Index.3. 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.
4. Push the latch plate into the buckle until it clicks.
1-16

Rear Safety Belt Comfort Guides
Rear shoulder belt comfort guides may provide added
safety belt comfort for older children who have outgrown
booster seats and for some adults. When installed on
a shoulder belt, the comfort guide positions the belt
away from the neck and head.
Malibu Sedan
There is one guide for each outside passenger position
in the rear seat. Here is how to install a comfort
guide and use the safety belt:
1. Pull the elastic cord out from between the edge of
the seatback and the interior body to remove the
guide from its storage clip.
1-28

Safety Belt Pretensioners
Your vehicle has safety belt pretensioners for the driver
and right front passenger. Although you cannot see
them, they are located on the retractor part of the safety
belts. They help the safety belts reduce a person’s
forward movement in a moderate to severe frontal or
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 1-76.
Safety Belt Extender
If the vehicle’s safety belt will fasten around you, you
should use it.
But if a safety belt is not long enough, your dealer will
order you an extender. It is free. When you go in to
order it, take the heaviest coat you will wear, so
the extender will be long enough for you. To help avoid
personal injury, do not let someone else use it, and
use it only for the seat it is made to t. The extender has
been designed for adults. Never use it for securing
child seats. To wear it, just attach it to the regular safety
belt. For more information, see the instruction sheet
that comes with the extender.
1-32

Child Restraints
Older Children
Older children who have outgrown booster seats should
wear the vehicle’s safety belts.
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.
1-33

{CAUTION:
Never do this.
Here two children are wearing the same belt.
The belt can not properly spread the impact
forces. In a crash, the two children can be
crushed together and seriously injured. A belt
must be used by only one person at a time.
Q:What if a child is wearing a lap-shoulder belt,
but the child is so small that the shoulder belt
is very close to the child’s face or neck?
A:If the child is sitting in a seat next to a window,
move the child toward the center of the vehicle.
Also seeRear Safety Belt Comfort Guides on
page 1-28. If the child is sitting in the center rear
seat passenger position, move the child toward the
safety belt buckle. In either case, be sure that
the shoulder belt still is on the child’s shoulder, so
that in a crash the child’s upper body would
have the restraint that belts provide.
1-34

{CAUTION:
Never do this.
Here a child is sitting in a seat that has a
lap-shoulder belt, but the shoulder part is
behind the child. If the child wears the belt in
this way, in a crash the child might slide under
the belt. The belt’s force would then be applied
right on the child’s abdomen. That could cause
serious or fatal injuries.Wherever the child sits, the lap portion of the belt
should be worn low and snug on the hips, just touching
the child’s thighs. This applies belt force to the child’s
pelvic bones in a crash.
Infants and Young Children
Everyone in a vehicle needs protection! This includes
infants and all other children. Neither the distance
traveled nor the age and size of the traveler changes
the need, for everyone, to use safety restraints. In fact,
the law in every state in the United States and in
every Canadian province says children up to some age
must be restrained while in a vehicle.
Every time infants and young children ride in vehicles,
they should have the protection provided by appropriate
restraints. Young children should not use the vehicle’s
adult safety belts alone, unless there is no other choice.
Instead, they need to use a child restraint.
1-35