2007 BUICK LACROSSE Owner's Manual

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 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.
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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 ceiling near the
side windows.
Airbags are designed to supplement the protection
provided by safety belts. Even though today’s
airbags are also designed to help reduce the risk
of injury from the force of an inating bag, all
airbags must inate very quickly to do their job.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
CAUTION: (Continued)
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CAUTION: (Continued)
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.
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 39orInfants and Young
Children on page 42.
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 182for more information.
Where Are the Airbags?
The driver’s frontal airbag is in the middle of the
steering wheel.
68

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 located 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
directly behind that passenger, it is located 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 tie down 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.
70

When Should an Airbag Inate?
The driver’s and right front passenger’s frontal
airbags are designed to inate in moderate to
severe frontal or near-frontal crashes. But they are
designed to inate only if the impact exceeds a
predetermined deployment threshold. Deployment
thresholds take into account a variety of desired
deployment and non-deployment events and are
used to predict how severe a crash is likely to be in
time for the airbags to inate and help restrain the
occupants. Whether your frontal airbags will or
should deploy is not based on how fast your vehicle
is traveling. It depends largely on what you hit, the
direction of the impact and how quickly your vehicle
slows down.In addition, your vehicle has “dual-stage” frontal
airbags, which adjust the restraint according to
crash severity. Your vehicle has electronic frontal
sensors which help the sensing system distinguish
between a moderate frontal impact and a more
severe frontal impact. For moderate frontal impacts,
these airbags inate at a level less than full
deployment. For more severe frontal impacts, full
deployment occurs. If the front of your vehicle goes
straight into a wall that does not move or deform,
the threshold level for the reduced deployment is
about 12 to 16 mph (19 to 26 km/h), and the
threshold level for a full deployment is about
18 to 22 mph (29 to 35.5 km/h). The threshold level
can vary, however, with specic vehicle design, so
that it can be somewhat above or below this range.
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Frontal airbags may inate at different crash
speeds. For example:
If the vehicle hits a stationary object, the
airbags could inate at a different crash speed
than if the vehicle hits a moving object.
If the vehicle hits an object that deforms,
the airbags could inate at a different crash
speed than if the vehicle hits an object that
does not deform.
If the vehicle hits a narrow object (like a pole)
the airbags could inate at a different crash
speed than if the vehicle hits a wide object
(like a wall).
If the vehicle goes into an object at an angle the
airbags could inate at a different crash speed
than if the vehicle goes straight into the object.Frontal airbags (driver and right front passenger)
are not intended to inate during vehicle rollovers,
rear impacts, or in many side impacts.
Your vehicle may or may not have roof-mounted
side impact airbags. SeeAirbag System on
page 66. Roof-mounted side impact airbags are
intended to inate in moderate to severe side
crashes. A roof-mounted side impact airbag will
inate if the crash severity is above the system’s
designed threshold level. The threshold level can
vary with specic vehicle design. Roof-mounted
side impact airbags are not intended to inate in
frontal or near-frontal impacts, rollovers or rear
impacts. A roof-mounted side impact airbag is
intended to deploy on the side of the vehicle
that is struck.
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