2008 CADILLAC ESCALADE EXT Owners Manual

{CAUTION:
Children who are up against, or very close to,
any airbag when it inates can be seriously
injured or killed. Airbags plus lap-shoulder
belts offer protection for adults and older
children, 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.
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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
should always 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 should always be secured in
appropriate child restraints.
Child Restraint Systems
A rear-facing infant
seat (A) 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 (B) provides
restraint for the
child’s body with
the harness.
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A booster seat (C-D) is a child restraint designed to
improve the t of the vehicle’s safety belt system.
A booster seat can also help a child to see out the
window.
Securing an Add-On Child Restraint
in the Vehicle
{CAUTION:
A child can be seriously injured or killed in
a crash if the child restraint is not properly
secured in the vehicle. Make sure the child
restraint is properly installed in the vehicle
using the vehicle’s safety belt or LATCH
system, following the instructions that came
with that restraint, and also the instructions
in this manual.
1-40

To help reduce the chance of injury, the child restraint
must be secured in the vehicle. Child restraint systems
must be secured in vehicle seats by lap belts or
the lap belt portion of a lap-shoulder belt, or by the
LATCH system. SeeLower Anchors and Tethers
for Children (LATCH) on page 1-43for more information.
A child can be endangered in a crash if the child
restraint is not properly secured in the vehicle.
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.Securing the Child Within the
Child Restraint
{CAUTION:
A child can be seriously injured or killed in
a crash if the child is not properly secured
in the child restraint. Because there are
different systems, it is important to refer
to the instructions that come with the restraint.
Make sure the child is properly secured,
following the instructions that came with
that restraint.
1-41

Where to Put the Restraint
Accident statistics show that children are safer if they
are restrained in the rear rather than the front seat.
We recommend that children and child restraints
be secured in a rear seat, including: an infant or a child
riding in a rear-facing child restraint; a child riding in
a forward-facing child seat; an older child riding in
a booster seat; and children, who are large enough,
using safety belts.
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 right front 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
a rear seat, even if the airbag is off.
If you secure a forward-facing child restraint
in the right front seat, always move the front
passenger seat as far back as it will go. It is
better to secure the child restraint in a rear seat.
SeePassenger Sensing System on page 1-65
for additional information.
1-42

When securing a child restraint in a rear seating
position, study the instructions that came with your child
restraint to make sure it is compatible with this vehicle.
Wherever you install a child restraint, be sure to
secure the child restraint properly.
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)
The LATCH system holds a child restraint during
driving or in a crash. This system is designed to make
installation of a child restraint easier. The LATCH
system uses anchors in the vehicle and attachments
on the child restraint that are made for use with
the LATCH system.Make sure that a LATCH-compatible child restraint
is properly installed using the anchors, or use the
vehicle’s safety belts to secure the restraint, following
the instructions that came with that restraint, and
also the instructions in this manual. When installing
a child restraint with a top tether, you must also
use either the lower anchors or the safety belts to
properly secure the child restraint. A child restraint
must never be installed using only the top tether
and anchor.
In order to use the LATCH system in your vehicle,
you need a child restraint that has LATCH attachments.
The child restraint manufacturer will provide you with
instructions on how to use the child restraint and
its attachments. The following explains how to attach
a child restraint with these attachments in your vehicle.
Not all vehicle seating positions or child restraints
have lower anchors and attachments or top tether
anchors and attachments.
1-43

Lower Anchors
Lower anchors (A) are metal bars built into the vehicle.
There are two lower anchors for each LATCH seating
position that will accommodate a child restraint with
lower attachments (B).
Top Tether Anchor
A top tether (A, C) anchors the top of the child restraint
to the vehicle. A top tether anchor is built into the
vehicle. The top tether attachment (B) on the child
restraint connects to the top tether anchor in the vehicle
in order to reduce the forward movement and rotation
of the child restraint during driving or in a crash.
1-44