Safety Belt Pretensioners
Your vehicle has safety belt pretensioners for front
outboard occupants. Although you cannot see them,
they are part of the safety belt assembly. They can help
tighten the safety belts during the early stages of a
moderate to severe frontal, near frontal, or rear crash if
the threshold conditions for pretensioner activation are
met. And, if your vehicle has side impact airbags, safety
belt pretensioners can help tighten the safety belts in a
side crash or a rollover event.
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 1-89.
Rear Safety Belt Comfort Guides
Rear shoulder belt comfort guides may provide added
safety belt comfort for older children who have outgrown
booster seats and for some adults. When installed on
a shoulder belt, the comfort guide positions the belt
away from the neck and head.There is one guide for each outboard passenger
position in the rear seat. Here is how to install a
comfort guide to the shoulder belt:
1. Remove the guide from its storage clip on the
interior body.
2. Place the guide over the belt and insert the
two edges of the belt into the slots of the guide.
1-31
Securing a Child Restraint in
the Right Front Seat Position
(With Passenger Sensing System)
Your vehicle has airbags. A rear seat is a safer place to
secure a forward-facing child restraint. SeeWhere to
Put the Restraint on page 1-44.
In addition, your vehicle may have a passenger sensing
system which is designed to turn off the right front
passenger’s frontal airbag under certain conditions. See
Passenger Sensing System on page 1-81andPassenger
Airbag Status Indicator on page 3-43for 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 in ates. This is because
the back of the rear-facing child restraint
would be very close to the in ating airbag.
CAUTION: (Continued)
CAUTION: (Continued)
Even if the passenger sensing system has
turned off the right front passenger’s frontal
airbag, no system is fail-safe. No one can
guarantee that an airbag will not deploy under
some unusual circumstance, even though it is
turned off. Rear-facing child restraints should
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 1-81
for additional information.
If your vehicle does not have a rear seat that will
accommodate a rear-facing child restraint, we
recommend that rear-facing child restraints not be
transported in your vehicle, even if the airbag is off.
1-62
Airbag Off Switch
If one of the switches pictured in the following
illustrations is located in your glove box, your vehicle
has an airbag on-off switch that you can use to
manually turn on or off the right front passenger’s
airbag. Your switch may vary slightly.
If your vehicle does not have an airbag off switch, it
may have a passenger sensing system. SeePassenger
Sensing System on page 1-81.This switch should only be turned to the off position if
the person in the right front passenger’s position is
a member of a passenger risk group identi ed by the
national government as follows:
Infant.An infant (less than 1 year old) must
ride in the front seat because:
My vehicle has no rear seat;
My vehicle has a rear seat too small to
accommodate a rear-facing infant seat; or
The infant has a medical condition which, according
to the infant’s physician, makes it necessary for the
infant to ride in the front seat so that the driver
can constantly monitor the child’s condition.
Child age 1 to 12.A child age 1 to 12 must
ride in the front seat because:
My vehicle has no rear seat;
Although children ages 1 to 12 ride in the rear
seat(s) whenever possible, children ages 1 to 12
sometimes must ride in the front because no space
is available in the rear seat(s) of my vehicle; or
The child has a medical condition which, according
to the child’s physician, makes it necessary for the
child to ride in the front seat so that the driver
can constantly monitor the child’s condition. United States
Canada
1-78
Medical Condition.A passenger has a
medical condition which, according to his or
her physician:
Causes the passenger airbag to pose a special risk
for the passenger; and
Makes the potential harm from the passenger
airbag in a crash greater than the potential
harm from turning off the airbag and allowing the
passenger, even if belted, to hit the dashboard
or windshield in a crash.
{CAUTION:
If the right front passenger’s airbag is turned
off for a person who is not in a risk group
identi ed by the national government, that
person will not have the extra protection of an
airbag. In a crash, the airbag will not be able to
in ate and help protect the person sitting there.
Do not turn off the passenger’s airbag unless
the person sitting there is in a risk group.To turn off the right front passenger’s airbag, insert your
ignition key into the switch, push in, and move the
switch to the off position.
The word OFF or the off symbol will come on in the
passenger airbag status indicator located in the overhead
console to let you know that the right front passenger’s
airbag is off, after the system check is completed. The
airbag off light will come on and stay on to let you know
that the right front passenger’s airbag is off. SeeAirbag
Off Light on page 3-41. United States
Canada
1-79
Passenger Sensing System
If your vehicle has one of the indicators pictured in the
following illustrations, then your vehicle has a passenger
sensing system for the right front passenger’s position,
unless there is an airbag off switch located in the glove
box. If there is an airbag off switch, your vehicle does not
have a passenger sensing system. SeeAirbag Off Switch
on page 1-78for more information.
The passenger airbag status indicator will be visible on
the overhead console when you start your vehicle.
The words ON and OFF, or the symbol for on and off,
will be visible during the system check. When the system
check is complete, either the word ON or the word OFF,
or the symbol for on or the symbol for off, will be visible.
SeePassenger Airbag Status Indicator on page 3-43.The passenger sensing system will turn off the right
front passenger’s frontal airbag under certain conditions.
The driver’s airbags are not part of the passenger
sensing system.
The passenger sensing system works with sensors that
are part of the right front passenger’s seat and safety
belt. The sensors are designed to detect the presence
of a properly-seated occupant and determine if the
right front passenger’s frontal airbag should be enabled
(may in ate) or not.
Accident statistics show that children are safer if they
are restrained in the rear rather than the front seat.
We recommend that children 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.
United States
Canada
1-81
In addition, your vehicle may have a passenger
sensing system for the right front passenger’s
position, which includes sensors that are part of the
passenger’s seat. The passenger sensing system
may not operate properly if the original seat trim is
replaced with non-GM covers, upholstery or trim, or
with GM covers, upholstery or trim designed for a
different vehicle. Any object, such as an aftermarket
seat heater or a comfort enhancing pad or device,
installed under or on top of the seat fabric, could also
interfere with the operation of the passenger sensing
system. This could either prevent proper deployment
of the passenger airbag(s) or prevent the passenger
sensing system from properly turning off the
passenger airbag(s). SeePassenger Sensing
System on page 1-81.
If you have any questions about this, you should
contact Customer Assistance before you modify
your vehicle. The phone numbers and addresses
for Customer Assistance are in Step Two of
the Customer Satisfaction Procedure in this manual.
SeeCustomer Satisfaction Procedure on page 7-2.
If your vehicle has rollover roof-rail airbags, see
Different Size Tires and Wheels on page 5-88
for additional important information.Q:What if I added a snow plow? Will it keep the
airbags from working properly?
A:We have designed our airbag systems to work
properly under a wide range of conditions, including
snow plowing with vehicles that have the optional
Snow Plow Prep Package (RPO VYU). But do
not change or defeat the snow plow’s “tripping
mechanism.” If you do, it can damage your snow
plow and your vehicle, and it may cause an airbag
in ation.
Q:Because I have a disability, I have to get my
vehicle modi ed. How can I nd out whether
this will affect my airbag system?
A:If you have questions, call Customer Assistance.
The phone numbers and addresses for Customer
Assistance are in Step Two of the Customer
Satisfaction Procedure in this manual. See
Customer Satisfaction Procedure on page 7-2.
In addition, your dealer/retailer and the service manual
have information about the location of the airbag
sensors, sensing and diagnostic module and airbag
wiring.
1-87