2009 CADILLAC XLR Owners Manual

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 1-45for more information.
To remove the child restraint, unbuckle the vehicle
safety belt and let it return to the stowed position.
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Airbag System
The vehicle has the following airbags:
A frontal airbag for the driver.
A frontal airbag for the right front passenger.
A seat-mounted side impact airbag for the driver.
A seat-mounted side impact airbag for the right front
passenger.
All of the airbags in your vehicle will have the word
AIRBAG embossed in the trim or on an attached label
near the deployment opening.
For frontal airbags, the word AIRBAG will appear on
the middle part of the steering wheel for the driver and
on the instrument panel for the right front passenger.
With seat-mounted side impact airbags, the word
AIRBAG will appear on the side of the seatback
closest to the door.
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. Airbags are designed to work with
safety belts, but do not replace them. Also, airbags
are not designed to deploy in every crash. In some
crashes safety belts are your only restraint. See
When Should an Airbag Inflate? on page 1-42.
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.
Everyone in your vehicle should wear a safety
belt properly — whether or not there is an airbag
for that person.
1-38

{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 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 1-23or
Infants and Young Children on page 1-27.
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 3-44
for more information.
1-39

Where Are the Airbags?
The driver frontal airbag is in the middle of the steering
wheel.The passenger frontal airbag is in the instrument panel
on the passenger side.
1-40

The seat-mounted side impact airbags for the driver and
right front passenger are in the side of the seatbacks
closest to the door.
{CAUTION:
If something is between an occupant and an
airbag, the airbag 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.
Do not use seat accessories that block the
ination path of a seat-mounted side impact
airbag.
Driver Side shown, Passenger Side similar
1-41

When Should an Airbag Inate?
Frontal airbags are designed to inate in moderate to
severe frontal or near-frontal crashes to help reduce the
potential for severe injuries mainly to the driver’s or right
front passenger’s head and chest. However, they are only
designed to inate if the impact exceeds a predetermined
deployment threshold. Deployment thresholds 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.
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.Thresholds can also vary with specic vehicle design.
In addition, your vehicle has dual-stage frontal airbags.
Dual-stage airbags 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, dual-stage
airbags inate at a level less than full deployment.
For more severe frontal impacts, full deployment occurs.
Frontal airbags are not intended to inate during
vehicle rollovers, rear impacts, or in many side impacts.
The vehicle has seat-mounted side impact airbags.
SeeAirbag System on page 1-38. Seat-mounted side
impact airbags are intended to inate in moderate
to severe side crashes. Seat-mounted side impact
airbags will inate if the crash severity is above
the system’s designed threshold level. The threshold
level can vary with specic vehicle design.
Seat-mounted side impact airbags are not intended to
inate in frontal impacts, near-frontal impacts, rollovers,
or rear impacts. A seat-mounted side impact airbag is
intended to deploy on the side of the vehicle that is
struck.
The vehicle has seat position sensors which enables the
sensing system to monitor the position of the driver seat
and the right front passenger seat. Seat position sensors
provide information that is used to determine if the
airbags should deploy at a reduced level or at full
deployment.
1-42

In any particular crash, no one can say whether an
airbag should have inated simply because of the
damage to a vehicle or because of what the repair
costs were. For seat-mounted side impact airbags,
deployment is determined by the location and severity
of the side impact.
What Makes an Airbag Inate?
In a deployment event, the sensing system sends
an electrical signal triggering a release of gas from the
inator. Gas from the inator lls the airbag causing the
bag to break out of the cover and deploy. The inator, the
airbag, and related hardware are all part of the airbag
module.
Frontal airbag modules are located inside the
steering wheel and instrument panel. For vehicles
with seat-mounted side impact airbags, there are
airbag modules in the side of the front seatbacks
closest to the door.
How Does an Airbag Restrain?
In moderate to severe frontal or near frontal collisions,
even belted occupants can contact the steering wheel
or the instrument panel. In moderate to severe side
collisions, even belted occupants can contact the inside
of the vehicle.
Airbags supplement the protection provided by safety
belts. Frontal airbags distribute the force of the
impact more evenly over the occupant’s upper body,
stopping the occupant more gradually. Seat-mounted
side impact airbags distribute the force of the impact
more evenly over the occupant’s upper body.
But airbags would not help in many types of collisions,
primarily because the occupant’s motion is not toward
those airbags. SeeWhen Should an Airbag Inflate? on
page 1-42for more information.
Airbags should never be regarded as anything more
than a supplement to safety belts.
1-43

What Will You See After an Airbag
Inates?
After the frontal and seat-mounted side impact
airbags inate, they quickly deate, so quickly that
some people may not even realize the airbags inated.
Some components of the airbag module may be hot for
several minutes. For location of the airbag modules, see
What Makes an Airbag Inflate? on page 1-43.
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 on
the hazard warning ashers when the airbags inate.
You can lock the doors, turn the interior lamps off, and
turn the hazard warning ashers off by using the controls
for those features.
1-44