2005 PONTIAC VIBE ECU

Front Seats......................................................1-2
Manual Seats................................................1-2
Driver Seat Height Adjuster..............................1-3
Reclining Seatbacks........................................1-3
Head Restraints.............................................1-5
Passenger Folding Seatback............................1-5
Rear Seats.......................................................1-7
Rear Seat Operation.......................................1-7
Safety Belts.....................................................1-8
Safety Belts: They Are for Everyone.................1-8
Questions and Answers About Safety Belts......1-13
How to Wear Safety Belts Properly.................1-14
Driver Position..............................................1-14
Shoulder Belt Height Adjustment.....................1-20
Safety Belt Use During Pregnancy..................1-21
Right Front Passenger Position.......................1-21
Rear Seat Passengers..................................1-21
Safety Belt Pretensioners...............................1-24
Safety Belt Extender.....................................1-25
Child Restraints.............................................1-26
Older Children..............................................1-26
Infants and Young Children............................1-28
Child Restraint Systems.................................1-31
Where to Put the Restraint.............................1-34Top Strap....................................................1-35
Top Strap Anchor Location.............................1-37
Lower Anchorages and Top Tethers for
Children (LATCH System)...........................1-38
Securing a Child Restraint Designed for
the LATCH System....................................1-39
Securing a Child Restraint in a
Rear Seat Position....................................1-40
Securing a Child Restraint in the
Right Front Seat Position............................1-42
Airbag System...............................................1-46
Where Are the Airbags?................................1-49
When Should an Airbag Inate?.....................1-51
What Makes an Airbag Inate?.......................1-53
How Does an Airbag Restrain?.......................1-53
What Will You See After an
Airbag Inates?.........................................1-54
Passenger Sensing System............................1-56
Servicing Your Airbag-Equipped Vehicle...........1-60
Adding Equipment to Your
Airbag-Equipped Vehicle.............................1-61
Restraint System Check..................................1-62
Checking Your Restraint Systems...................1-62
Replacing Restraint System Parts
After a Crash............................................1-63
Section 1 Seats and Restraint Systems
1-1

Head Restraints
Adjust your head restraint so that the top of the restraint
is closest to the top of your head. This position
reduces the chance of a neck injury in a crash.
Press the release button near the base of the
restraint to lower and raise the restraint to a
comfortable position.
Passenger Folding Seatback
{CAUTION:
If you fold the seatback forward to carry longer
objects, such as skis, be sure any such cargo
is not near an airbag. In a crash, an inating
airbag might force that object toward a person.
This could cause severe injury or even death.
Secure objects away from the area in which
an airbag would inate. For more information,
seeWhere Are the Airbags? on page 1-49and
Loading Your Vehicle on page 4-32.
{CAUTION:
Things you put on this seatback can strike
and injure people in a sudden stop or turn,
or in a crash. Remove or secure all items
before driving.
1-5

4. Push the latch plate into the buckle until it clicks.
Pull up on the latch plate to make sure it is secure.
If the belt is not long enough, seeSafety Belt
Extender on page 1-25.
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 on the buckle
end of the belt as you pull up on the shoulder belt.6. 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
crash, or if you pull the belt very quickly out of
the retractor.
1-15

Lap-Shoulder Belt
All rear seating positions have lap-shoulder belts.
Here is how to wear one 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.
Pull up on the latch plate to make sure it is secure.
If the buckle does not click, check to be sure
that you are using the correct buckle. The buckle
for the center rear passenger position has the word
CENTER on it.
When the shoulder belt is pulled out all the way, it
will lock. If it does, let it go back all the way
and start again.
If the belt is not long enough, seeSafety Belt
Extender on page 1-25.
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.
1-22

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.
Always disconnect the extender from the safety belt
after you use it so that the airbag will work properly the
next time someone uses that seat.When you use a safety belt extender in the right front
passenger’s seat, make sure the passenger airbag
status indicator shows “ON”. SeePassenger Airbag
Status Indicator on page 3-30. If the indicator shows
“OFF”, disconnect the extender’s latch from the buckle
then reconnect the safety belt. Make sure the indicator
light shows “ON, then reconnect the safety belt
extender. If you use the safety belt extender while
the indicator light shows “OFF”, the right front
passenger’s frontal and seat-mounted side impact
airbags (if equipped) may not activate correctly.
SeeAirbag System on page 1-46for important safety
information about your airbags.
1-25

{CAUTION:
People should never hold a baby in their arms
while riding in a vehicle. A baby does not weigh
much — until a crash. During a crash a baby will
become so heavy it is not possible to hold it.
For example, in a crash at only 25 mph
(40 km/h), a 12-lb. (5.5 kg) baby will suddenly
become a 240-lb. (110 kg) force on a person’s
arms. A baby should be secured in an
appropriate restraint.
{CAUTION:
Children who are up against, or very close to,
any airbag when it inates can be seriously
injured or killed. Airbags plus lap-shoulder belts
offer protection for adults and older children,
but not for young children and infants. Neither
the vehicle’s safety belt system nor its airbag
system is designed for them. Young children
and infants need the protection that a child
restraint system can provide.
1-29

Q:What are the different types of add-on
child restraints?
A:Add-on child restraints, which are purchased by the
vehicle’s owner, are available in four basic types.
Selection of a particular restraint should take
into consideration not only the child’s weight, height,
and age but also whether or not the restraint will
be compatible with the motor vehicle in which it will
be used.
For most basic types of child restraints, there are
many different models available. When purchasing a
child restraint, be sure it is designed to be used
in a motor vehicle. If it is, the restraint will have a
label saying that it meets federal motor vehicle
safety standards.
The restraint manufacturer’s instructions that come
with the restraint state the weight and height
limitations for a particular child restraint. In addition,
there are many kinds of restraints available for
children with special needs.
{CAUTION:
Newborn infants need complete support,
including support for the head and neck.
This is necessary because a newborn infant’s
neck is weak and its head weighs so much
compared with the rest of its body. In a crash,
an infant in a rear-facing seat settles into
the restraint, so the crash forces can be
distributed across the strongest part of an
infant’s body, the back and shoulders.
Infants always should be secured in
appropriate infant restraints.
1-30

{CAUTION:
The body structure of a young child is quite
unlike that of an adult or older child, for whom
the safety belts are designed. A young child’s
hip bones are still so small that the vehicle’s
regular safety belt may not remain low on the
hip bones, as it should. Instead, it may settle
up around the child’s abdomen. In a crash,
the belt would apply force on a body area
that is unprotected by any bony structure.
This alone could cause serious or fatal
injuries. Young children always should be
secured in appropriate child restraints.
Child Restraint Systems
An infant car bed (A), a special bed made for use in a
motor vehicle, is an infant restraint system designed
to restrain or position a child on a continuous at
surface. Make sure that the infant’s head rests toward
the center of the vehicle.
1-31