2009 CHEVROLET COLORADO Owners Manual

5. Pull the rest of the shoulder belt all the way out of
the retractor to set the lock.
6. If the vehicle does not have a rear seat and the
child restraint manufacturer recommends using a
top tether anchor, attach the top tether to the
top tether anchor. Refer to the instructions that
came with the child restraint and toLower Anchors
and Tethers for Children (LATCH) on page 1-45.7. 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 might be helpful to
use your knee to push down on the child restraint
as you tighten the belt.
8. Tighten the top tether. SeeLower Anchors and
Tethers for Children (LATCH) on page 1-45.
9. Push and pull the child restraint in different
directions to be sure it is secure.
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If the airbag is 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 on indicator is
lit, see “If the On Indicator is Lit for a Child Restraint”
underPassenger Sensing System on page 1-70
for more information.
To remove the child restraint, unbuckle the vehicle
safety belt and let it return to the stowed position.
Airbag System
The vehicle has the following airbags:
A frontal airbag for the driver.
A frontal airbag for the right front passenger
Your vehicle may also have the following airbags:
A roof-rail airbag for the driver and the passenger
seated directly behind the driver.
A roof-rail airbag for the right front passenger and
the passenger seated directly behind 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 roof-rail airbags, the word AIRBAG will appear
along the headliner or trim.
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.
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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 1-67.
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.
{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
roof-rail airbags.
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{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 1-35orInfants and Young Children on
page 1-38.There is an airbag
readiness light on the
instrument panel, 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 3-24
for more information.
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Where Are the Airbags?
The driver’s airbag is in the middle of the steering
wheel.The right front passenger’s airbag is in the instrument
panel on the passenger’s side.
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If your vehicle has roof-rail airbags for the driver, right
front passenger, and second row outboard passengers,
they are in the ceiling above the side windows.
{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.
Never secure anything to the roof of a vehicle with
roof-rail airbags by routing a rope or tie down
through any door or window opening. If you do,
the path of an inating roof-rail airbag will be
blocked. Driver Side shown, Passenger Side similar
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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.
Frontal airbags are not intended to inate during vehicle
rollovers, rear impacts, or in many side impacts.
Your vehicle has seat position sensors which enables
the sensing system to monitor the position of the driver’s
seat and the right front passenger’s seat. Seat position
sensors provide information that is used to determine
if the airbags should deploy at a reduced level or at full
deployment.
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.
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Your vehicle may or may not have roof-rail airbags.
SeeAirbag System on page 1-62. Roof-rail airbags are
intended to inate in moderate to severe side crashes.
Roof-rail airbags will inate if the crash severity is above
the system’s designed threshold level. The threshold
level can vary with specic vehicle design.
Roof-rail airbags are not intended to inate in frontal
impacts, near-frontal impacts, rollovers, or rear impacts.
Both roof-rail airbags will deploy when either side of
the vehicle is struck.
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 frontal airbags, ination is determined by what
the vehicle hits, the angle of the impact, and how quickly
the vehicle slows down. For roof-rail 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 roof-rail
airbags, there are airbag modules in the ceiling of the
vehicle, near the side windows that have occupant
seating positions.
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. Roof-rail 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 1-67for more information.
Airbags should never be regarded as anything more
than a supplement to safety belts.
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