2011 GMC SIERRA 1500 belt

Black plate (18,1)GMC Sierra Owner Manual - 2011
3-18 Seats and Restraints
Q: What is wrong with this?
A:The belt is buckled in the wrong
buckle.
{WARNING
You can be seriously injured
if the belt is buckled in the wrong
place like this. In a crash, the belt
would go up over your abdomen.
The belt forces would be there,
not on the pelvic bones. This
could cause serious internal
injuries. Always buckle the belt
into the buckle nearest you. Q: What is wrong with this?
A:
The belt is over an armrest.

Black plate (19,1)GMC Sierra Owner Manual - 2011
Seats and Restraints 3-19
{WARNING
You can be seriously injured if the
belt goes over an armrest like
this. The belt would be much too
high. In a crash, you can slide
under the belt. The belt force
would then be applied on the
abdomen, not on the pelvic
bones, and that could cause
serious or fatal injuries. Be sure
the belt goes under the armrests.Q: What is wrong with this?
A:
The shoulder belt is worn under
the arm. It should be worn over
the shoulder at all times.
{WARNING
You can be seriously injured
if you wear the shoulder belt
under your arm. In a crash, your
body would move too far forward,
which would increase the chance
of head and neck injury. Also,
the belt would apply too much
force to the ribs, which are not
as strong as shoulder bones.
You could also severely injure
internal organs like your liver or
spleen. The shoulder belt should
go over the shoulder and across
the chest.

Black plate (20,1)GMC Sierra Owner Manual - 2011
3-20 Seats and Restraints
Q: What is wrong with this?
A:The belt is behind the body.
{WARNING
You can be seriously injured by
not wearing the lap-shoulder
belt properly. In a crash, you
would not be restrained by the
shoulder belt. Your body could
move too far forward increasing
the chance of head and neck
injury. You 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. Q: What is wrong with this?
A:
The belt is twisted across
the body.
{WARNING
You can be seriously injured by a
twisted belt. In a crash, you would
not have the full width of the belt
to spread impact forces. If a belt
is twisted, make it straight so it
can work properly, or ask your
dealer to fix it.

Black plate (21,1)GMC Sierra Owner Manual - 2011
Seats and Restraints 3-21
Lap-Shoulder Belt
If the vehicle is a regular cab,
then all seating positions in the
vehicle have a lap-shoulder belt.
If the vehicle is a crew or extended
cab, then all seating positions in
the vehicle have a lap-shoulder
belt except for the center front
passenger position (if equipped),
which has a lap belt. SeeLap Belt
(Crew and Extended Cab) on
page 3‑26 for more information.
The following instructions explain
how to wear a lap-shoulder belt
properly.
1. Adjust the seat, if the seat is adjustable, so you can sit up
straight. To see how, see “Seats”
in the Index. 2. Pick up the latch plate and pull
the belt across you. Do not let it
get twisted.
The lap-shoulder belt may lock if
you pull the belt across you very
quickly. If this happens, let the
belt go back slightly to unlock it.
Then pull the belt across you
more slowly.
If the shoulder portion of a
passenger belt is pulled out
all the way, the child restraint
locking feature may be engaged.
If this happens, let the belt go
back all the way and start again.
Engaging the child restraint
locking feature may affect the
passenger sensing system,
if equipped. See Passenger
Sensing System on page 3‑40
for more information.
If the belt stops before it reaches
the buckle, when using the
lap-shoulder belt in a rear center
seating position of a crew-cab,
tilt the latch plate and keep
pulling the safety belt until it
can be buckled.

Black plate (22,1)GMC Sierra Owner Manual - 2011
3-22 Seats and Restraints
3. Push the latch plate into thebuckle until it clicks.
Pull up on the latch plate to
make sure it is secure. If the belt
is not long enough, see Safety
Belt Extender on page 3‑27.
If the latch plate will not go fully
into the buckle, check if the
correct buckle is being used.
Position the release button on
the buckle so that the safety belt
could be quickly unbuckled if
necessary. 4. If equipped with a shoulder belt
height adjuster, move it to the
height that is right for you. See
“Shoulder Belt Height Adjuster”
later in this section.
5. To make the lap part tight, pull
up on the shoulder belt.
It may be necessary to pull
stitching on the safety belt
through the latch plate to fully
tighten the lap belt on smaller
occupants.
To unlatch the belt, push the button
on the buckle. The belt should
return to its stowed position.
Before a door is closed, be sure the
safety belt is out of the way. If a
door is slammed against a safety
belt, damage can occur to both the
safety belt and the vehicle.

Black plate (23,1)GMC Sierra Owner Manual - 2011
Seats and Restraints 3-23
Shoulder Belt Height Adjuster
The vehicle has a shoulder belt
height adjuster for the driver and
right front passenger.
Adjust the height so the shoulder
portion of the belt is on the
shoulder and not falling off of it.
The belt should be close to, but
not contacting, the neck. Improper
shoulder belt height adjustment
could reduce the effectiveness of
the safety belt in a crash. SeeHow
to Wear Safety Belts Properly on
page 3‑15.
Regular and Crew Cab
To move the adjuster down for the
regular and crew cabs, squeeze
the buttons (A) on the sides of the
height adjuster and move the height
adjuster to the desired position.Extended Cab
On the extended cab, push down
on the release button (A) and move
the height adjuster to the desired
position.
You can move the adjuster up just
by pushing up on the shoulder belt
guide.
After you move the adjuster to
where you want it, try to move it
down, without squeezing the buttons
for the regular and crew cabs,
or without pushing the release
button for extended cabs, to make
sure it has locked into position.

Black plate (24,1)GMC Sierra Owner Manual - 2011
3-24 Seats and Restraints
Safety Belt Pretensioners
This vehicle has safety belt
pretensioners for 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, if your
vehicle has 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.
SeeReplacing Safety Belt System
Parts After a Crash on page 3‑28.
Rear Safety Belt Comfort
Guides
This vehicle may have rear shoulder
belt comfort guides. If not, they
are available through your dealer.
The guides may provide added
safety belt comfort for older children
who have outgrown booster seats
and for some adults. When installed
and properly adjusted, the comfort
guide positions the belt away from
the neck and head.
Here is how to install a comfort
guide to the shoulder belt:
1. Remove the guide from its
storage clip on the interior body.
2. Place the guide over the beltand insert the two edges of the
belt into the slots of the guide.

Black plate (25,1)GMC Sierra Owner Manual - 2011
Seats and Restraints 3-25
3. Be sure that the belt isnot twisted and it lies flat.
The elastic cord must be under
the belt and the guide on top.
{WARNING
A safety belt that is not properly
worn may not provide the
protection needed in a crash.
The person wearing the belt could
be seriously injured. The shoulder
belt should go over the shoulder
and across the chest. These parts
of the body are best able to take
belt restraining forces.
4. Buckle, position, and releasethe safety belt as described
previously in this section. Make
sure the shoulder portion of the
belt is on the shoulder and not
falling off of it. The belt should
be close to, but not contacting,
the neck.
To remove and store the comfort
guide, squeeze the belt edges
together so that the safety belt can
be removed from the guide. Slide
the guide onto the storage clip.