2010 BUICK LUCERNE warning

Securing a Child Restraint in the
Center Front Seat Position
{WARNING:
A child in a child restraint in the center front seat
can be badly injured or killed by the frontal
airbags if they inflate. Never secure a child
restraint in the center front seat. It is always better
to secure a child restraint in a rear seat.
Do not use child restraints in the center front seat
position.
Securing a Child Restraint in the
Right Front Seat Position
This 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 2‑42.
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 2‑67and Passenger Airbag Status
Indicatoron page 4‑34for 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.
2-52

{WARNING:
A child in a rear-facing child restraint can be
seriously injured or killed if the right front
passenger airbag inflates. This is because the
back of the rear-facing child restraint would be
very close to the inflating airbag. A child in a
forward-facing child restraint can be seriously
injured or killed if the right front passenger airbag
inflates 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.
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 2‑67
for additional information. If the child restraint has the LATCH system, see
Lower
Anchors and Tethers for Children (LATCH)
on
page 2‑43for 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, see Lower
Anchors and Tethers for Children (LATCH)
on
page 2‑43for 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 lit when you start the vehicle. See
Passenger Airbag Status Indicator on page 4‑34.
2. Put the child restraint on the seat.
2-53

Here are the most important things to know about the
airbag system:
{WARNING:
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 2‑61
.
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.
{WARNING:
Airbags inflate with great force, faster than the
blink of an eye. Anyone who is up against, or very
close to, any airbag when it inflates 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.
2-57

{WARNING:
Children who are up against, or very close to, any
airbag when it inflates 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 2‑33
or Infants and Young Childrenon
page 2‑36
.
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. See Airbag Readiness Light
on page 4‑33for
more information.
2-58

{WARNING:
If something is between an occupant and an
airbag, the airbag might not inflate properly or it
might force the object into that person causing
severe injury or even death. The path of an
inflating 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
inflation path of a seat-mounted side impact
airbag.
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 inflating roof-rail airbag will be
blocked.
When Should an Airbag Inflate?
Frontal airbags are designed to inflate 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 inflate 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 inflate 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.
2-61

What Will You See After an Airbag
Inflates?
After the frontal airbags and seat-mounted side impact
airbags inflate, they quickly deflate, so quickly that
some people may not even realize an airbag inflated.
Roof-rail airbags may still be at least partially inflated 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 2‑64.
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
deflated airbags. Airbag inflation 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.
{WARNING:
When an airbag inflates, 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 inflates, 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.
2-65

The vehicle has a feature that may automatically unlock
the doors, turn on the interior lamps and hazard warning
flashers, and shut off the fuel system after the airbags
inflate. You can lock the doors, turn off the interior
lamps and hazard warning flashers by using the
controls for those features.
{WARNING:
A crash severe enough to inflate the airbags may
have also damaged important functions in the
vehicle, such as the fuel system, brake and
steering systems, etc. Even if the vehicle appears
to be drivable after a moderate crash, there may
be concealed damage that could make it difficult
to safely operate the vehicle.
Use caution if you should attempt to restart the
engine after a crash has occurred.In many crashes severe enough to inflate the airbag,
windshields are broken by vehicle deformation.
Additional windshield breakage may also occur from the
right front passenger airbag.
.Airbags are designed to inflate only once. After an
airbag inflates, 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.
See
Vehicle Data Recording and Privacy
on
page 8‑19and Event Data Recorderson
page 8‑19.
.Let only qualified technicians work on the airbag
systems. Improper service can mean that an
airbag system will not work properly. See your
dealer for service.
2-66

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.
{WARNING:
A child in a rear-facing child restraint can be
seriously injured or killed if the right front
passenger airbag inflates. This is because the
back of the rear-facing child restraint would be
very close to the inflating airbag. A child in a
forward-facing child restraint can be seriously
injured or killed if the right front passenger airbag
inflates and the passenger seat is in a forward
position.
(Continued)
WARNING: (Continued)
Even if the passenger sensing system has turned
off the right front passenger frontal airbag and
seat-mounted side impact airbag (if equipped), no
system is fail-safe. No one can guarantee that an
airbag will not deploy under some unusual
circumstance, even though the airbag(s) are off.
Secure rear-facing child restraints in a rear seat,
even if the airbag(s) are 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.
2-68