2006 PONTIAC SOLSTICE page 5 16

GENERAL MOTORS, GM, the GM Emblem, PONTIAC,
and the PONTIAC Emblem, are registered trademarks,
and the name SOLSTICE is a trademark of General
Motors Corporation.
This manual includes the latest information at the time it
was printed. We reserve the right to make changes after
that time without further notice. For vehicles rst sold in
Canada, substitute the name “General Motors of Canada
Limited” for Pontiac Division whenever it appears in this
manual.
Keep this manual in the vehicle, so it will be there if it is
needed while you are on the road. If the vehicle is sold,
leave this manual in the vehicle.
Canadian Owners
A French language copy of this manual can be obtained
from your dealer or from:
Helm, Incorporated
P.O. Box 07130
Detroit, MI 48207
How to Use This Manual
Many people read the owner manual from beginning to
end when they rst receive their new vehicle. If this is
done, it can help you learn about the features and
controls for the vehicle. Pictures and words work together
in the owner manual to explain things.
Index
A good place to quickly locate information about the
vehicle is the Index in the back of the manual. It is an
alphabetical list of what is in the manual and the page
number where it can be found.
Litho in U.S.A.
©2005 General Motors Corporation All Rights Reserved
Part No. 06SOLSTICE A First Printing
ii

{CAUTION:
Do not let anyone ride where he or she can not
wear a safety belt properly. If you are in a crash
and you are not wearing a safety belt, your
injuries can be much worse. You can hit things
inside the vehicle or be ejected from it. You can
be seriously injured or killed. In the same crash,
you might not be if you are buckled up. Always
fasten your safety belt, and check that your
passenger’s belt is fastened properly too.
{CAUTION:
It is extremely dangerous to ride in a cargo area,
inside or outside of a vehicle. In a collision,
people riding in these areas are more likely to
be seriously injured or killed. Do not allow
people to ride in any area of your vehicle that
is not equipped with seats and safety belts.
Be sure everyone in your vehicle is in a seat
and using a safety belt properly.Your vehicle has indicators to remind you and your
passenger to buckle your safety belts. SeeSafety Belt
Reminder Light on page 3-23andPassenger Safety
Belt Reminder Light on page 3-23.
In most states and in all Canadian provinces, the law
says to wear safety belts. Here is why:They work.
You never know if you will be in a crash. If you do have
a crash, you do not know if it will be a bad one.
A few crashes are mild, and some crashes can be so
serious that even buckled up, a person would not survive.
But most crashes are in between. In many of them,
people who buckle up can survive and sometimes walk
away. Without belts they could have been badly hurt or
killed.
After more than 30 years of safety belts in vehicles,
the facts are clear. In most crashes buckling up does
matter...a lot!
1-5

How to Wear Safety Belts Properly
This part is only for people of adult size.
Be aware that there are special things to know about
safety belts and children. And there are different rules for
smaller children and babies. If a child will be riding in your
vehicle, seeOlder Children on page 1-18orInfants and
Young Children on page 1-20. Follow those rules for
everyone’s protection.
First, you will want to know which restraint systems your
vehicle has.
We will start with the driver position.
Driver Position
Lap-Shoulder Belt
The driver has a lap-shoulder belt. Here is how to wear
it properly.
1. Close and lock the door.
2. Adjust the seat so you can sit up straight. To see
how, see “Seats” in the Index.3. Pick up the latch plate and pull the belt across you.
Do not let it get twisted.
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 1-17.
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.
1-10

Passenger Position
To learn how to wear the passenger’s safety belt
properly, seeDriver Position on page 1-10.
The passenger’s safety belt works the same way as the
driver’s safety belt — except for one thing. If you ever pull
the shoulder portion of the belt out all the way, you will
engage the child restraint locking feature. If this happens,
just let the belt go back all the way and start again.
Safety Belt Pretensioners
Your vehicle has safety belt pretensioners for the driver
and right front passenger. Although you cannot see them,
they are located on the retractor part of the safety belts.
They help the safety belts reduce a person’s forward
movement in a moderate to severe frontal or near frontal
crash.
Pretensioners work only once. If they activate in a
crash, you will need to get new ones, and probably other
new parts for your safety belt system. SeeReplacing
Restraint System Parts After a Crash on page 1-43.
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.
1-17

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.
1-27

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.
1-28

CAUTION: (Continued)
They are not designed to inate in rollover,
rear crashes, or in many side crashes. And, for
some unrestrained occupants, airbags may
provide less protection in frontal crashes than
more forceful airbags have provided in the
past. Everyone in your vehicle should wear a
safety belt properly — whether or not there is
an airbag for that person.
{CAUTION:
Airbags inate with great force, faster than the
blink of an eye. If you are too close to an
inating airbag, as you would be if you were
leaning forward, it could seriously injure you.
Safety belts help keep you in position before
and during a crash. Always wear your safety
belt, even with airbags. The driver should sit
as far back as possible while still maintaining
control of the vehicle.
{CAUTION:
Anyone who is up against, or very close to, any
airbag when it inates can be seriously injured
or killed. Airbags plus lap-shoulder belts offer
the best protection for adults, 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. Always secure children properly in
your vehicle. To read how, seeOlder Children
on page 1-18andInfants and Young Children on
page 1-20.
1-31

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 3-24
for more information.Where Are the Airbags?
The driver’s airbag is in the middle of the steering wheel.
1-32