2009 BUICK ENCLAVE airbag off

Shoulder Belt Height Adjuster
The vehicle has a shoulder belt
height adjuster for the driver
and right front passenger seating
positions.
Adjust the height so that the
shoulder portion of the belt is
centered on the shoulder. The belt
should be away from the face
and neck, but not falling off of the
shoulder. Improper shoulder
belt height adjustment could reduce
the effectiveness of the safety
belt in a crash.To move it down, push down on
the button (A) and move the height
adjuster to the desired position.
You can move the height adjuster
up by pushing up on the shoulder
belt guide.
After the adjuster is set to the
desired position, try to move it down
without pushing the button to make
sure it has locked into position.
Safety Belt Pretensioners
This vehicle has safety belt
pretensioners for the front outboard
occupants. Although the safety
belt pretensioners cannot be seen,
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, for vehicles with 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 the
pretensioners activate in a crash,
they will need to be replaced,
and probably other new parts for the
vehicle’s safety belt system. See
Replacing Restraint System
Parts After a Crash on page 1-59.
1-22 Seats and Restraint System

{CAUTION
Never do this.
Never allow a child to wear the
safety belt with the shoulder belt
behind their back. A child can be
seriously injured by not wearing
the lap-shoulder belt properly. In a
crash, the child would not be
restrained by the shoulder belt.
The child could move too far
forward increasing the chance of
head and neck injury. The child
might also slide under the lap
belt. The belt force would then be
applied right on the abdomen.
That could cause serious or fatal
injuries. The shoulder belt should
go over the shoulder and across
the chest.
Infants and Young
Children
Everyone in a vehicle needs
protection! This includes infants and
all other children. Neither the
distance traveled nor the age and
size of the traveler changes the
need, for everyone, to use safety
restraints. In fact, the law in
every state in the United States and
in every Canadian province says
children up to some age must
be restrained while in a vehicle.
{CAUTION
Children can be seriously injured
or strangled if a shoulder belt is
wrapped around their neck and
the safety belt continues to
tighten. Never leave children
unattended in a vehicle and never
allow children to play with the
safety belts.
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. Every
time infants and young children
ride in vehicles, they should have
the protection provided by
appropriate child restraints.
Children who are not restrained
properly can strike other people, or
can be thrown out of the vehicle.
1-28 Seats and Restraint System

child riding in a booster seat; and
children, who are large enough,
using safety belts.
A label on the sun visor says, “Never
put a rear-facing child restraint 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
airbag inates. This is because the
back of the rear-facing child
restraint would be very close to the
inating airbag. A child in a
forward-facing child restraint can
be seriously injured or killed if the
right front passenger airbag
inates and the passenger seat is
in a forward position.
(Continued)
CAUTION (Continued)
Even if the passenger sensing
system has turned off the right
front passenger 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.
Secure rear-facing child restraints
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 1-52for additional
information.When securing a child restraint in a
rear seating position, study the
instructions that came with the child
restraint to make sure it is
compatible with this vehicle.
Wherever a child restraint is
installed, 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 the vehicle — even
when no child is in it.
Seats and Restraint System 1-33

6. If the child restraint has a top
tether, follow the child restraint
manufacturer’s instructions
regarding the use of the top
tether. SeeLower Anchors and
Tethers for Children (LATCH)
on page 1-34for more
information.
7. Push and pull the child restraint
in different directions to be sure
it is secure.
To remove the child restraint,
unbuckle the vehicle safety belt and
let it return to the stowed position.
If the top tether is attached to a top
tether anchor, disconnect it.Securing a Child
Restraint in the Right
Front Seat Position
The vehicle has airbags. A rear seat
is a safer place to secure a
forward-facing child restraint. See
Where to Put the Restraint on
page 1-32.
In addition, the vehicle has a
passenger sensing system which is
designed to turn off the right
front passenger frontal airbag and
seat-mounted side impact airbag
under certain conditions. See
Passenger Sensing System on
page 1-52andPassenger Airbag
Status Indicator on page 3-31
for more information, including
important safety information.
A label on the 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
airbag inates. This is because the
back of the rear-facing child
restraint would be very close to the
inating airbag. A child in a
forward-facing child restraint can
be seriously injured or killed if the
right front passenger airbag
inates and the passenger seat is
in a forward position.
Even if the passenger sensing
system has turned off the right
front passenger 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.
(Continued)
1-42 Seats and Restraint System

CAUTION (Continued)
Secure rear-facing child restraints
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 1-52for additional
information.
If the child restraint has the LATCH
system, seeLower Anchors and
Tethers for Children (LATCH)
on page 1-34for how and where to
install the child restraint using
LATCH. If a child restraint is secured
using a safety belt and it uses a
top tether, seeLower Anchors and
Tethers for Children (LATCH)
on page 1-34for top tether anchor
locations.Do not secure a child seat in a
position without a top tether anchor
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
strap must be anchored.
In Canada, the law requires that
forward-facing child restraints have
a top tether, and that the tether
be attached.
You will be using the lap-shoulder
belt to secure the child restraint in
this position. Follow the instructions
that came with the child restraint.
1. Move the seat as far back as it
will go before securing the
forward-facing child restraint.
When the passenger sensing
system has turned off the
right front passenger frontal
airbag and seat-mounted side
impact airbag, the off indicator on
the passenger airbag status
indicator should light and stay litwhen the vehicle is started. See
Passenger 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. Push the latch plate into the
buckle until it clicks.
Seats and Restraint System 1-43

Position the release button on
the buckle so that the safety belt
could be quickly unbuckled if
necessary.
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. When installing
a forward-facing child restraint, it
may be helpful to use your knee
to push down on the child
restraint as you tighten the belt.7. Push and pull the child restraint
in different directions to be sure
it is secure.
If the airbags are off, the off
indicator in the passenger airbag
status indicator will come on
and stay on when the vehicle is
started.
If a child restraint has been installed
and the on indicator is lit, see “If
the On Indicator is Lit for a
Child Restraint ” underPassenger
Sensing System on page 1-52
for more information.
To remove the child restraint,
unbuckle the vehicle safety belt and
let it return to the stowed position.
1-44 Seats and Restraint System

{CAUTION
Airbags inate with great force,
faster than the blink of an eye.
Anyone who is up against, or very
close to, any airbag when it
inates can be seriously injured or
killed. Do not sit unnecessarily
close to the airbag, as you would
be if you were sitting on the edge
of your seat or leaning forward.
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.
Occupants should not lean on or
sleep against the door or side
windows in seating positions with
seat-mounted side impact airbags
and/or roof-rail airbags.
{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. Always secure children
properly in your vehicle. To read
how, seeOlder Children on
page 1-26orInfants and Young
Children on page 1-28.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 3-31for
more information.
1-46 Seats and Restraint System

What Will You See After
an Airbag Inates?
After the frontal airbags and
seat-mounted side impact airbags
inate, they quickly deate, so
quickly that some people may not
even realize an airbag inated.
Roof-rail airbags may still be at least
partially inated for some time
after they deploy. Some components
of the airbag module may be hot
for several minutes. For location of
the airbag modules, seeWhat
Makes an Airbag Inflate? on
page 1-50.
The parts of the airbag that come
into contact with you may be warm,
but not too hot to touch. There
may be some smoke and dust
coming from the vents in the
deated airbags. Airbag ination
does not prevent the driver
from seeing out of the windshield or
being able to steer the vehicle,
nor does it prevent people from
leaving the vehicle.
{CAUTION
When an airbag inates, there
may be dust in the air. This dust
could cause breathing problems
for people with a history of
asthma or other breathing trouble.
To avoid this, everyone in the
vehicle should get out as soon as
it is safe to do so. If you have
breathing problems but cannot get
out of the vehicle after an airbag
inates, then get fresh air by
opening a window or a door. If
you experience breathing
problems following an airbag
deployment, you should seek
medical attention.
The vehicle has a feature that may
automatically unlock the doors,
turn the interior lamps on, and turn
the hazard warning ashers on
when the airbags inate. You can
lock the doors, turn the interiorlamps off, and turn the hazard
warning ashers off by using the
controls for those features.
In many crashes severe enough to
inate the airbag, windshields
are broken by vehicle deformation.
Additional windshield breakage
may also occur from the right front
passenger airbag.
Airbags are designed to inate
only once. After an airbag
inates, you will need some new
parts for the airbag system. If
you do not get them, the airbag
system will not be there to
help protect you in another crash.
A new system will include
airbag modules and possibly
other parts. The service manual
for your vehicle covers the
need to replace other parts.
The vehicle has a crash sensing
and diagnostic module which
records information after a crash.
SeeVehicle Data Recording and
Privacy on page 7-14andEvent
Data Recorders on page 7-15.
Seats and Restraint System 1-51