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Seats and Restraint Systems........................... 1-1
Front Seats
............................................... 1-2
Rear Seats
............................................... 1-9
Safety Belts
.............................................1-10
Child Restraints
.......................................1-30
Airbag System
.........................................1-49
Restraint System Check
............................1-59
Features and Controls..................................... 2-1
Keys
........................................................ 2-2
Doors and Locks
....................................... 2-7
Windows
.................................................2-13
Theft-Deterrent Systems
............................2-15
Starting and Operating Your Vehicle
...........2-16
Mirrors
....................................................2-31
OnStar
®System
......................................2-38
Storage Areas
.........................................2-39
Sunroof
..................................................2-41
Instrument Panel............................................. 3-1
Instrument Panel Overview
.......................... 3-4
Climate Controls
......................................3-18
Warning Lights, Gages, and Indicators
........3-25
Message Center
.......................................3-39
Audio System(s)
.......................................3-44Driving 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
Headlamp Aiming
.....................................5-46
Bulb Replacement
....................................5-47
Windshield Wiper Blade Replacement
.........5-55
Tires
......................................................5-56
Appearance Care
.....................................5-83
Vehicle Identi cation
.................................5-92
Electrical System
......................................5-93
Capacities and Speci cations
...................5-100
Maintenance Schedule..................................... 6-1
Maintenance Schedule
................................ 6-2
Customer Assistance and Information.............. 7-1
Customer Assistance and Information
........... 7-2
Reporting Safety Defects
............................ 7-8
Index.................................................................1
2005 Saturn ION Owner ManualM
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Vehicle Damage Warnings
Also, in this manual you will nd these notices:
Notice:These mean there is something that could
damage your vehicle.
A notice tells about something that can damage the
vehicle. Many times, this damage would not be covered
by your vehicle’s warranty, and it could be costly. But
the notice will tell what to do to help avoid the damage.
When you read other manuals, you might see
CAUTION and NOTICE warnings in different colors or in
different words.
There are also warning labels on the vehicle. They use
the same words, CAUTION or NOTICE.
Vehicle Symbols
The vehicle has components and labels that use
symbols instead of text. Symbols are shown along with
the text describing the operation or information
relating to a speci c component, control, message,
gage, or indicator.
If you need help guring out a speci c name of a
component, gage, or indicator, reference the following
topics:
Seats and Restraint Systems in Section 1
Features and Controls in Section 2
Instrument Panel Overview in Section 3
Climate Controls in Section 3
Warning Lights, Gages, and Indicators in Section 3
Audio System(s) in Section 3
Engine Compartment Overview in Section 5
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or the instrument panel... or the safety belts!
With safety belts, you slow down as the vehicle does.
You get more time to stop. You stop over more distance,
and your strongest bones take the forces. That is why
safety belts make such good sense.
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There is an airbag
readiness light on the
instrument panel cluster,
which shows the airbag
symbol.
The system checks the airbag electrical system for
malfunctions. The light tells you if there is an electrical
problem. SeeAirbag Readiness Light on page 3-28
for more information.Where Are the Airbags?
The driver’s frontal airbag is in the middle of the
steering wheel.
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The right front passenger’s frontal airbag is in the
instrument panel on the passenger’s side.If your vehicle has a side impact airbag for the driver
and the person seated directly behind the driver, it is in
the ceiling above the side windows.
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Your vehicle may or may not have side impact airbags.
SeeAirbag System on page 1-49. Side impact
airbags are intended to in ate in moderate to severe
side crashes. A side impact airbag will in ate if the crash
severity is above the system’s designed “threshold
level.” The threshold level can vary with speci c vehicle
design. Side impact airbags are not intended to
in ate in frontal or near-frontal impacts, rollovers or rear
impacts. A side impact airbag is intended to deploy
on the side of the vehicle that is struck.
It is possible that, in a crash involving the front of your
vehicle, only one of the two frontal airbags in your
vehicle will deploy. This is rare, but it can happen in a
crash just severe enough to make a frontal airbag
in ate.
In any particular crash, no one can say whether an
airbag should have in ated simply because of the
damage to a vehicle or because of what the repair costs
were. For frontal airbags, in ation is determined by
what the vehicle hits, the angle of the impact, and how
quickly the vehicle slows down in frontal and
near-frontal impacts. For side impact airbags, in ation is
determined by the location and severity of the impact.What Makes an Airbag In ate?
In an impact of sufficient severity, the airbag sensing
system detects that the vehicle is in a crash. The
sensing system triggers a release of gas from the
in ator, which in ates the airbag. The in ator, airbag,
and related hardware are all part of the airbag modules
inside the steering wheel and in the instrument panel
in front of the right front passenger. For vehicles
with side impact airbags, there are also airbag modules
in the ceiling of the vehicle, near the side windows.
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How Does an Airbag Restrain?
In moderate to severe frontal or near frontal collisions,
even belted occupants can contact the steering wheel or
the instrument panel. In moderate to severe side
collisions, even belted occupants can contact the inside
of the vehicle. The airbag supplements the protection
provided by safety belts. Airbags distribute the force of
the impact more evenly over the occupant’s upper
body, stopping the occupant more gradually. But the
frontal airbags would not help you in many types
of collisions, including rollovers, rear impacts, and many
side impacts, primarily because an occupant’s motion
is not toward the airbag. Side impact airbags would not
help you in many types of collisions, including many
frontal or near frontal collisions, rollovers, and rear
impacts, primarily because an occupant’s motion is not
toward those airbags. Airbags should never be
regarded as anything more than a supplement to safety
belts, and then only in moderate to severe frontal or
near-frontal collisions for the driver’s and right front
passenger’s frontal airbags, and only in moderate to
severe side collisions for vehicles with a driver’s
and right front passenger’s side impact airbag.
What Will You See After an Airbag
In ates?
After an airbag in ates, it quickly de ates, so quickly
that some people may not even realize the airbag
in ated. Some components of the airbag module — the
steering wheel hub for the driver’s airbag, the
instrument panel for the right front passenger’s bag or
the ceiling of your vehicle near the side windows — will
be hot for a short time. The parts of the bag that
come into contact with you may be warm, but not too
hot to touch. There will be some smoke and dust coming
from the vents in the de ated airbags. Airbag in ation
does not prevent the driver from seeing or being able to
steer the vehicle, nor does it stop people from leaving
the vehicle.
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Notice:If you damage the covering for the driver’s
or the right front passenger’s airbag, or the side
impact airbag covering on the ceiling near the side
windows, the airbag may not work properly. You
may have to replace the airbag module in the
steering wheel, both the airbag module and the
instrument panel for the right front passenger’s
airbag, or side impact airbag module and ceiling
covering for roof-mounted side impact airbags. Do
not open or break the airbag coverings.
Servicing Your Airbag-Equipped
Vehicle
Airbags affect how your vehicle should be serviced.
There are airbag system parts in several places around
your vehicle. You do not want the system to in ate
while someone is working on your vehicle. Your retailer
and the Saturn Service Manual have information
about servicing your vehicle and the airbag system. To
purchase a service manual, seeService Publications
Ordering Information on page 7-9.
{CAUTION:
For up to one minute after the ignition key is
turned off and the battery is disconnected, an
airbag can still in ate during improper service.
You can be injured if you are close to an
airbag when it in ates. Avoid wires wrapped
with yellow tape, yellow coverings, or yellow
connectors. They are probably part of the
airbag systems. Be sure to follow proper
service procedures, and make sure the person
performing work for you is quali ed to do so.
The airbag system does not need regular maintenance.
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