2011 CHEVROLET HHR Owners Manual

Black plate (57,1)Chevrolet HHR Owner Manual - 2011
5. Pull the shoulder belt all the way out of theretractor to set the lock. When the retractor lock is
set, the belt can be tightened but not pulled out of
the retractor.6. To tighten the belt, push down on the childrestraint, 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.
Try to pull the belt out of the retractor to make sure
the retractor is locked. If the retractor is not locked,
repeat Steps 5 and 6.
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Black plate (58,1)Chevrolet HHR Owner Manual - 2011
7. If the vehicle does not have a rear seat and yourchild restraint has a top tether, follow the child
restraint manufacturer's instructions regarding the
use of the top tether. See Lower Anchors and
Tethers for Children (LATCH)
on page 2‑43for
more information.
8. Before placing a child in the child restraint, make sure it is securely held in place. To check, grasp
the child restraint at the safety belt path and
attempt to move it side‐to‐side and back‐and‐forth.
When the child restraint is properly installed, there
should be no more than 2.5 cm (1 in) of movement.
If the vehicle is equipped with the passenger sensing
system, and the passenger sensing system has turned
off the right front passenger frontal airbag, the off
indicator on the passenger airbag status indicator
should light and say lit when you start the vehicle.
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 2‑66for more information.
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.
Airbag System
The vehicle has the following airbags:
.A frontal airbag for the driver.
.A frontal airbag for the right front passenger.
The vehicle may 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 that
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.
Even if you do not have a right front passenger seat in
your vehicle there is still an active frontal airbag in the
right side of the instrument panel. Do not place cargo in
front of this airbag.
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Black plate (59,1)Chevrolet HHR Owner Manual - 2011
{WARNING:
Be sure that cargo is not near an airbag. In a
crash, an inflating airbag might force that object
toward a person. This could cause severe injury
or even death. Secure objects away from the area
in which an airbag would inflate. For more
information, seeWhere Are the Airbags?
on
page 2‑61
and Loading the Vehicleon
page 5‑22
.
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 inflating bag, all airbags must inflate very
quickly to do their job. 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 2‑63
.
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.
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Black plate (60,1)Chevrolet HHR Owner Manual - 2011
{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
roof-rail airbags.
{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(Continued)
WARNING: (Continued)
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 2‑34
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 4‑26for
more information.
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Black plate (61,1)Chevrolet HHR Owner Manual - 2011
Where Are the Airbags?
The driver's frontal 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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Black plate (62,1)Chevrolet HHR Owner Manual - 2011
Driver Side shown, Passenger Side similar
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.
{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.
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.
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Black plate (63,1)Chevrolet HHR Owner Manual - 2011
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.
Frontal airbags may inflate at different crash speeds.
For example:
.If the vehicle hits a stationary object, the airbags
could inflate at a different crash speed than if the
vehicle hits a moving object.
.If the vehicle hits an object that deforms, the
airbags could inflate at a different crash speed
than if the vehicle hits an object does not deform.
.If the vehicle hits a narrow object (like a pole), the
airbags could inflate 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 inflate at a different crash speed
than if the vehicle goes straight into the object.
Thresholds can also vary with specific vehicle design.
Frontal airbags are not intended to inflate during vehicle
rollovers, rear impacts, or in many side impacts.
In addition, your vehicle has dual-stage frontal airbags.
Dual-stage airbags adjust the restraint according to
crash severity. Your vehicle has an electronic frontal
sensor, which helps the sensing system distinguish
between a moderate frontal impact and a more severe
frontal impact. For moderate frontal impacts, dual-stage
airbags inflate at a level less than full deployment. For
more severe frontal impacts, full deployment occurs.
Your vehicle may or may not have roof-rail airbags. See
Airbag System
on page 2‑58. Roof-rail airbags are
intended to inflate in moderate to severe side crashes.
In addition, these roof-rail airbags are intended to inflate
during a rollover. Roof-rail airbags will inflate if the crash
severity is above the system's designed threshold level.
The threshold level can vary with specific vehicle
design.
Roof-rail airbags are not intended to inflate in frontal
impacts, near-frontal impacts, or rear impacts.
A roof-rail airbag is intended to deploy on the side of the
vehicle that is struck or if the sensing system predicts
that the vehicle is about to roll over.
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Black plate (64,1)Chevrolet HHR Owner Manual - 2011
In any particular crash, no one can say whether an
airbag should have inflated simply because of the
damage to a vehicle or because of what the repair costs
were. For frontal airbags, inflation 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. In a rollover event, roof-rail airbag
deployment is determined by the direction of the roll.
What Makes an Airbag Inflate?
In a deployment event, the sensing system sends an
electrical signal triggering a release of gas from the
inflator. Gas from the inflator fills the airbag causing the
bag to break out of the cover and deploy. The inflator,
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.
Rollover capable roof-rail airbags are designed to help
contain the head and chest of occupants in the
outboard seating positions in the first and second rows.
The rollover capable roof-rail airbags are designed to
help reduce the risk of full or partial ejection in rollover
events, although no system can prevent all such
ejections.
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 2‑63for more information.
Airbags should never be regarded as anything more
than a supplement to safety belts.
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