2006 PONTIAC SOLSTICE child restraint

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.
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{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.
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A rear-facing infant seat (B) provides restraint with the
seating surface against the back of the infant. The
harness system holds the infant in place and, in a crash,
acts to keep the infant positioned in the restraint.A forward-facing child seat (C-E) provides restraint for
the child’s body with the harness and also sometimes
with surfaces such as T-shaped or shelf-like shields.
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A booster seat (F-G) is a child restraint designed to
improve the t of the vehicle’s safety belt system. Some
booster seats have a shoulder belt positioner, and some
high-back booster seats have a ve-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 ve-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 at 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 nd
these instructions on the restraint itself or in a booklet, or
both. These restraints use the belt system or the LATCH
(Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children) 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.
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.Lower Anchors and Tethers for
Children (LATCH)
Some child restraints have a LATCH system. As part of
the LATCH system, your child restraint may have lower
attachments and/or a top tether. The LATCH system can
help hold the child restraint in place during driving or in a
crash. Some vehicles have lower and/or top tether
anchors designed to secure a child restraint with lower
attachments and/or a top tether.
Some child restraints with a top tether are designed to be
used whether the top tether is anchored or not. Other
child restraints require that the top tether be anchored.
A national or local law may require that the top tether
be anchored.
In Canada, the law requires that forward-facing child
restraints have a top tether, and that the tether be
attached.
Your vehicle does not have lower anchors or top tether
anchors to secure a child restraint with the LATCH
system. If a national or local law requires that your top
tether be anchored, do not use a child restraint in this
vehicle because a top tether cannot be properly
anchored. You must use the safety belts to secure your
child restraint in this vehicle, unless a national or local
law requires that the top tether be anchored. Refer to
your child restraint instructions and instructions in this
manual for securing a child restraint using the vehicle’s
safety belts.
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Securing a Child Restraint in the
Passenger Seat Position
Your vehicle has a passenger’s airbag. A rear seat is a
safer place to secure a forward-facing child restraint.
In addition, your vehicle has the passenger sensing
system. The passenger sensing system is designed to
turn off the 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 1-37andPassenger Airbag
Status Indicator on page 3-25for more information on this
including important safety information.
{CAUTION:
A child in a rear-facing child restraint can be
seriously injured or killed if the right front
passenger’s airbag inates. This is because the
back of the rear facing child restraint would be
very close to the inating airbag. Be sure the
airbag is off before using a rear-facing child
restraint in the right front seat position.
Even though the passenger sensing system is
designed to turn off the passenger’s frontal
airbag under certain conditions, 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 transported in vehicles with
a rear seat that will accommodate a rear-facing
child restraint, whenever possible.
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There is no top strap anchor in your vehicle. Do not
secure a child seat in your vehicle 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. SeeLower Anchors and
Tethers for Children (LATCH) on page 1-26for more
information.
If you need to secure a forward-facing child restraint in
the passenger’s position, move the seat as far back as it
will go before securing the forward-facing child restraint.
SeeManual Seats on page 1-2.
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. Your vehicle has a passenger’s frontal airbag. See
Passenger Sensing System on page 1-37. General
Motors recommends that rear-facing child restraints
be secured in a rear seat, even if the airbag is off. If
your child restraint is forward-facing, move the seat
as far back as it will go before securing the child
restraint in this seat. SeeManual Seats on page 1-2.
When the passenger sensing system has turned off
the passenger’s frontal airbag, the off indicator in the
passenger airbag status indicator should light and
stay lit when the vehicle is started. SeePassenger
Airbag Status Indicator on page 3-25.2. Put the child restraint on the seat.
3. 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.
4. Buckle the belt. Make sure the release button is
positioned so you would be able to unbuckle the
safety belt quickly if you ever had to.
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5. Pull the rest of the shoulder belt all the way out of
the retractor to set the lock.6. 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. You should not be able to pull more
of the belt from the retractor once the lock has
been set.
7. Push and pull the child restraint in different directions
to be sure it is secure.
8. If the airbag is off, the off indicator on the instrument
panel will be lit and stay lit when the vehicle is
started.
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