2006 SATURN ION Owners Manual

To remove the child restraint, if the top tether is attached
to the top tether anchor, disconnect it. 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
Right Front Seat Position
Your vehicle has a right front passenger’s airbag. A rear
seat is a safer place to secure a forward-facing child
restraint. SeeWhere to Put the Restraint on page 1-42.
In addition, your vehicle may have the passenger
sensing system. The passenger sensing system is
designed to turn off the right front 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 1-62andPassenger Airbag Status
Indicator on page 3-31for more information on
this including important safety information.
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 inates. This is because
the back of the rear-facing child restraint
would be very close to the inating 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. We recommend 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 position, move the seat as far
back as it will go before securing the forward-facing
child restraint. SeeManual Seats on page 1-2.
If your child restraint is equipped with the LATCH
system, seeLower Anchors and Tethers for Children
(LATCH) on page 1-43.
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There is no top tether anchor at the right front seating
position. Do not secure a child restraint in this position if
a national or local law requires that the top tether be
anchored or if the instructions that come with the child
restraint say that the top tether must be anchored.
SeeLower Anchors and Tethers for Children (LATCH)
on page 1-43if your child restraint has a top tether.
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 right front passenger’s frontal
airbag. SeePassenger Sensing System on
page 1-62. 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 right front passenger’s frontal airbag, the off
indicator in the passenger airbag status indicator
should light and stay lit when you turn the ignition
to RUN or START. SeePassenger Airbag
Status Indicator on page 3-31.2. 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.
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7. Push and pull the child restraint in different
directions to be sure it is secure.
8. If your vehicle has a passenger sensing system and
the airbag is off, the off indicator on the instrument
panel will be lit and stay lit when the key is
turned to RUN or START.
If a child restraint has been installed and the on
indicator is lit, turn the vehicle off. Remove the child
restraint from the vehicle and reinstall the child restraint.
If after reinstalling the child restraint and restarting
the vehicle, the on indicator is still lit, check to make
sure that the vehicle’s seatback is not pressing the
child restraint into the seat cushion. If this happens,
slightly recline the vehicle’s seatback and adjust the
seat cushion if possible. Also make sure the child
restraint is not trapped under the vehicle head restraint.
If this happens, adjust the head restraint.
If the on indicator is still lit, secure the child in the
child restraint in a rear seat position in the vehicle
and check with your dealer.
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.Airbag System
Your vehicle has a frontal airbag for the driver and a
frontal airbag for the right front passenger. Your vehicle
may also have roof-mounted side impact airbags.
Roof-mounted side impact airbags are available for the
driver and the passenger seated directly behind the
driver and for the right front passenger and the
passenger seated directly behind that passenger.
If your vehicle has roof-mounted side impact airbags,
the word AIRBAG will appear on the airbag covering on
the garnish trim near the ceiling and the side windows.
Frontal airbags are designed to help reduce the risk
of injury from the force of an inating frontal airbag.
But these airbags must inate very quickly to do their
job and comply with federal regulations.
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Here are the most important things to know about the
airbag system:
{CAUTION:
You can be severely injured or killed in a crash
if you are not wearing your safety belt — even if
you have airbags. Wearing your safety belt
during a crash helps reduce your chance of
hitting things inside the vehicle or being ejected
from it. Airbags are “supplemental restraints”
to the safety belts. All airbags are designed to
work with safety belts but do not replace them.
Frontal airbags for the driver and right front
passenger are designed to deploy in moderate
to severe frontal and near frontal crashes.
They are not designed to inate in rollover, rear
crashes, or in many side crashes. And, for some
unrestrained occupants, frontal airbags may
provide less protection in frontal crashes than
more forceful airbags have provided in the past.
CAUTION: (Continued)
CAUTION: (Continued)
Roof-mounted side impact airbags are designed
to inate in moderate to severe crashes where
something hits the side of your vehicle. They
are not designed to inate in frontal, in rollover
or in rear crashes. Everyone in your vehicle
should wear a safety belt properly — whether or
not there is an airbag for that person.
{CAUTION:
Both frontal and side impact 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 for airbag ination before and during
a crash. Always wear your safety belt even with
frontal airbags. The driver should sit as far back
as possible while still maintaining control of the
vehicle. Occupants should not lean on or sleep
against the door.
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{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 1-32orInfants and
Young Children on page 1-34.
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 3-30
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 roof-mounted 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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If your vehicle has a roof-mounted side impact airbag
for the right front passenger and the person seated
directly behind that passenger, it is in the ceiling above
the side windows.
{CAUTION:
If something is between an occupant and an
airbag, the bag might not inate properly
or it might force the object into that person
causing severe injury or even death. The path
of an inating airbag must be kept clear.
Do not put anything between an occupant and
an airbag, and do not attach or put anything
on the steering wheel hub or on or near any
other airbag covering. And, if your vehicle
has roof-mounted side impact airbags, never
secure anything to the roof of your vehicle
by routing the rope or tiedown through any
door or window opening. If you do, the path
of an inating side impact airbag will be
blocked. The path of an inating airbag
must be kept clear.
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