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A booster seat (F-G) is a child restraint designed to
improve the fit of the vehicle’s safety belt system. Some
booster seats have a shoulder belt positioner, and
some high-back booster seats have a five-point
harness. A booster seat can also help a child to see out
the window.
Q:How do child restraints work?
A:A child restraint system is any device designed for
use in a motor vehicle to restrain, seat, or position
children. A built-in child restraint system is a
permanent part of the motor vehicle. An add-on
child restraint system is a portable one, which
is purchased by the vehicle’s owner.
For many years, add-on child restraints have used
the adult belt system in the vehicle. To help
reduce the chance of injury, the child also has to be
secured within the restraint. The vehicle’s belt
system secures the add-on child restraint in the
vehicle, and the add-on child restraint’s harness
system holds the child in place within the restraint.
One system, the three-point harness, has straps
that come down over each of the infant’s shoulders
and buckle together at the crotch. The five-point
harness system has two shoulder straps,
two hip straps and a crotch strap. A shield may
take the place of hip straps. A T-shaped shield has
shoulder straps that are attached to a flat pad
which rests low against the child’s body. A shelf- or
armrest-type shield has straps that are attached
to a wide, shelf-like shield that swings up or to
the side.
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When choosing a child restraint, be sure the child
restraint is designed to be used in a vehicle. If it is, it
will have a label saying that it meets federal motor
vehicle safety standards.
Then follow the instructions for the restraint. You may
find these instructions on the restraint itself or in a
booklet, or both. These restraints use the belt system or
the LATCH system in your vehicle, but the child also
has to be secured within the restraint to help reduce the
chance of personal injury. When securing an add-on
child restraint, refer to the instructions that come with the
restraint which may be on the restraint itself or in a
booklet, or both, and to this manual. The child restraint
instructions are important, so if they are not available,
obtain a replacement copy from the manufacturer.
Where to Put the Restraint
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.
Your vehicle has a rear seat that will accommodate
a rear-facing child restraint. A label on your sun visor
says, “Never put a rear-facing child seat in the
front.” This is because the risk to the rear-facing child is
so great, if the airbag deploys.
{CAUTION:
A child in a rear-facing child restraint can be
seriously injured or killed if the right front
passenger’s airbag in ates. This is because
the back of the rear-facing child restraint
would be very close to the in ating 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.
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Anchor the top strap to an anchor point specified inTop
Strap Anchor Location on page 1-36. Be sure to use
an anchor point located on the same side of the vehicle
as the seating position where the child restraint will
be placed.
{CAUTION:
Each top tether bracket is designed to anchor
only one child restraint. Attaching more than
one child restraint to a single bracket could
cause the anchor 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 bracket.
Once you have the top strap anchored, you will be
ready to secure the child restraint itself. Tighten the top
strap when and as the child restraint manufacturer’s
instructions say.
Top Strap Anchor Location
Top strap anchors are already installed in your vehicle
for the rear seating positions.
Do not secure a child restraint with a top strap in the
right front passenger’s position if a national or local law
requires that the top strap be anchored, or if the
instructions that come with the child restraint say that
the top strap must be anchored. There is no place
to anchor the top strap in this position.
You will find the three anchors on your sedan behind
the rear seat on the filler panel.Sedan
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You will find the anchor (A) for the center seating
position on your wagon, on the ceiling (B).Each top strap anchor is covered by a plastic cover
when not in use.
The plastic cover has a
child restraint anchor
symbol on it as shown.
Squeeze and pull the front part of the plastic cover to
access the top strap anchors.
Wagon — Center Position
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Lower Anchorages and Top Tethers
for Children (LATCH System)
Your vehicle has the LATCH system. You will find
anchors for the rear outside seating positions.
This system, designed to make installation of child
restraints easier, does not use the vehicle’s safety belts.
Instead, it uses vehicle anchors and child restraint
attachments to secure the restraints. Some restraints
also use another vehicle anchor to secure a top
tether strap.
A. Lower Anchorage
B. Lower Anchorage
C. Top TetherA. Lower Anchorage
B. Lower Anchorage
In order to use the LATCH system in your vehicle, you
need a child restraint designed for that system.
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To assist you in locating the lower anchors for this child
restraint system, each seating position with the
LATCH system has either label A or B on the seatback.
These labels are located at each lower anchor position,
near the base of the seat.Child restraints and booster cushions that can be used
with the LATCH system are identified with label A.
{CAUTION:
If a LATCH-type child restraint is not attached
to its anchorage points, 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
anchorage points, 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. A
B
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Securing a Child Restraint Designed
for the LATCH System
1. Find the LATCH anchorages for the seating
position you want to use, where the bottom of the
seatback meets the back of the seat cushion.
SeeLower Anchorages and Top Tethers for
Children (LATCH System) on page 1-39.
2. Put the child restraint on the seat.
3. 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.
4. 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 seeTop Strap on page 1-35.
5. Push and pull the child restraint in different
directions to be sure it is secure.
To remove the child restraint, simply unhook the top
tether from the top tether anchorage and then
disconnect the LATCH attachments from the LATCH
anchorages.
Securing a Child Restraint in a Rear
Seat Position
If your child restraint is equipped with the LATCH
system, seeLower Anchorages and Top Tethers for
Children (LATCH System) on page 1-39. SeeTop Strap
on page 1-35if the 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. 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. Put the child restraint on the seat.
2. 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.
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5. To tighten the belt, push down on the child restraint,
pull the shoulder portion of the belt to tighten the
lap portion of the belt and feed the shoulder
belt back into the retractor. If you are using a
forward-facing child restraint, you may find it helpful
to use your knee to push down on the child
restraint as you tighten the belt.
6. Push and pull the child restraint in different
directions to be sure it is secure.
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.
Securing a Child Restraint in the
Right Front Seat Position
Your vehicle has a right front passenger airbag. A rear
seat is a safer place to secure a forward-facing child
restraint. SeeWhere to Put the Restraint on page 1-34.
In addition, your vehicle has a passenger sensing
system. The passenger sensing system is designed to
turn off the right front passenger’s frontal airbag
when an infant in a rear-facing infant seat or a small
child in a forward-facing child restraint or booster seat is
detected. SeePassenger Sensing System on page 1-58
andPassenger Airbag Status Indicator on page 3-30
for more information on this including important
safety information.
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