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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.
Wherever you install it, be sure to secure the child
restraint properly.
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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.
Top Strap
Some child restraints have a top strap, or “top tether.”
It can help restrain the child restraint during a collision.
For it to work, a top strap must be properly anchored
to the vehicle. Some top strap-equipped child restraints
are designed for use with or without the top strap
being anchored. Others require the top strap always
to be anchored. Be sure to read and follow the
instructions for your child restraint. If yours requires
that the top strap be anchored, do not use the restraint
unless it is anchored properly.
If the child restraint does not have a top strap, one
can be obtained, in kit form, for many child restraints.
Ask the child restraint manufacturer whether or not
a kit is available.In Canada, the law requires that forward-facing child
restraints have a top strap, and that the strap be
anchored. In the United States, some child restraints
also have a top strap. If your child restraint has a
top strap, it should be anchored.
Anchor the top strap to an anchor point speci ed in
Top Strap Anchor Location on page 1-42. 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.
For 5 passenger vehicles, fold down the head restraint
and route the top strap under it. SeeRear Seat
Operation on page 1-9.
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For 7 passenger vehicles, if the position you are
using has an adjustable head restraint, raise the
head restraint and route the top strap under it.
SeeHead Restraints on page 1-9.
{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
For  ve-passenger vehicles, there is a top strap anchor
for each rear seating position. The anchors are
located on the  oor in the cargo area of your vehicle.
Do not use the rear tie-down brackets near the
liftgate for top straps.Five-passenger Vehicles
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For seven-passenger vehicles, there is a top strap
anchor for each seating position in the second row.
The anchors are located at the bottom rear of the
seat cushion.Do not secure a child restraint in the right front
passenger’s position or in the third row seating positions
(if equipped) 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 these positions.
Seven-passenger Vehicles
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Lower Anchorages and Top Tethers
for Children (LATCH System)
Your vehicle has the LATCH system. There are anchors
for the outboard seating positions in the second row.
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 Tether
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A. Lower Anchorage
B. Lower Anchorage
In order to use the LATCH system in your vehicle, you
need a child restraint designed for that system.
To assist you in locating the
lower anchors for this child
restraint system, each
seating position with the
LATCH system has a label
on the seatback at each
lower anchor position.For  ve-passenger vehicles, the labels are located
above a  ap, at the base of the seatback, in the rear
outside seating positions. The anchors are located under
the  ap. In order to get to the anchors you will need
to pull the strap at the center of the seat where the
seat cushion meets the seatback. This will allow you to
fold the seat cushion up and out of the way. Lift the
 ap to expose the anchors and then lower the seat
cushion. Be sure the cushion is locked into place.
For seven-passenger vehicles, the labels are located
near the base of the seatback in the second row outside
seating positions.{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.
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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 1-44.
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 1-41.
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 Outside Seat Position
If your child restraint is equipped with the LATCH
system, seeLower Anchorages and Top Tethers for
Children (LATCH System) on page 1-44. SeeTop Strap
on page 1-41if the child restraint has one.
There are no top strap anchors at the third row seating
positions. Do not secure a child seat in these positions
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.
If your child restraint does not have the LATCH
system, you will be using the lap-shoulder belt to secure
the child restraint in this position. 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  nd 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
Center Seat Position
Many child restraints are too wide to be correctly secured
in the center rear seat, although some of them will  t
there. If the center seat position is too narrow for your
child restraint, secure it in a rear outside seat position.
If you secure a child restraint in the center seat position,
follow the instructions inSecuring a Child Restraint in
a Rear Outside Seat Position on page 1-46.
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