Black plate (45,1)Chevrolet Impala Owner Manual - 2012
Seats and Restraints 3-45
Depending on where you place the
child restraint and the size of the
child restraint, you may not be able
to access adjacent safety belt
assemblies or LATCH anchors for
additional passengers or child
restraints. Adjacent seating
positions should not be used if the
child restraint prevents access to or
interferes with the routing of the
safety belt.
Wherever a child restraint is
installed, be sure to secure the child
restraint properly.
Keep in mind that an unsecured
child restraint can move around in a
collision or sudden stop and injure
people in the vehicle. Be sure to
properly secure any child restraint in
your vehicle—even when no child
is in it.Lower Anchors and
Tethers for Children
(LATCH System)
The LATCH system holds a child
restraint during driving or in a crash.
This system is designed to make
installation of a child restraint easier.
The LATCH system uses anchors in
the vehicle and attachments on the
child restraint that are made for use
with the LATCH system.
Make sure that a LATCH-compatible
child restraint is properly installed
using the anchors, or use the
vehicle's safety belts to secure the
restraint, following the instructions
that came with that restraint, and
also the instructions in this manual.
When installing a child restraint with
a top tether, you must also use
either the lower anchors or the
safety belts to properly secure the
child restraint. A child restraint must
never be installed using only the top
tether and anchor. In order to use the LATCH system in
your vehicle, you need a child
restraint that has LATCH
attachments. The child restraint
manufacturer will provide you with
instructions on how to use the child
restraint and its attachments. The
following explains how to attach a
child restraint with these
attachments in your vehicle.
Not all vehicle seating positions or
child restraints have lower anchors
and attachments or top tether
anchors and attachments.
Black plate (48,1)Chevrolet Impala Owner Manual - 2012
3-48 Seats and Restraints
Securing a Child Restraint
Designed for the LATCH
System
{WARNING
If a LATCH-type child restraint is
not attached to anchors, the child
restraint will not be able to protect
the child correctly. In a crash, the
child could be seriously injured or
killed. Install a LATCH-type child
restraint properly using the
anchors, or use the vehicle safety
belts to secure the restraint,
following the instructions that
came with the child restraint and
the instructions in this manual.
{WARNING
Do not attach more than one child
restraint to a single anchor.
Attaching more than one child(Continued)
WARNING (Continued)
restraint to a single anchor could
cause the anchor or attachment
to come loose or even break
during a crash. A child or others
could be injured. To reduce the
risk of serious or fatal injuries
during a crash, attach only one
child restraint per anchor.
{WARNING
Children can be seriously injured
or strangled if a shoulder belt is
wrapped around their neck and
the safety belt continues to
tighten. Buckle any unused safety
belts behind the child restraint so
children cannot reach them. Pull
the shoulder belt all the way out
of the retractor to set the lock,
if the vehicle has one, after the
child restraint has been installed. Notice:
Do not let the LATCH
attachments rub against the
vehicle’ s safety belts. This may
damage these parts. If necessary,
move buckled safety belts to
avoid rubbing the LATCH
attachments.
Do not fold the empty rear seat
with a safety belt buckled. This
could damage the safety belt or
the seat. Unbuckle and return the
safety belt to its stowed position,
before folding the seat.
1. Attach and tighten the lower attachments to the lower
anchors. If the child restraint
does not have lower
attachments or the desired
seating position does not have
lower anchors, secure the child
restraint with the top tether and
the safety belts. Refer to your
child restraint manufacturer
instructions and the instructions
in this manual.
Black plate (51,1)Chevrolet Impala Owner Manual - 2012
Seats and Restraints 3-51
Replacing LATCH System
Parts After a Crash
{WARNING
A crash can damage the LATCH
system in the vehicle. A damaged
LATCH system may not properly
secure the child restraint,
resulting in serious injury or even
death in a crash. To help make
sure the LATCH system is
working properly after a crash,
see your dealer to have the
system inspected and any
necessary replacements made as
soon as possible.
If the vehicle has the LATCH system
and it was being used during a
crash, new LATCH system parts
may be needed.
New parts and repairs may be
necessary even if the LATCH
system was not being used at the
time of the crash.
Securing Child Restraints
(Rear Seat Position)
When securing a child restraint in a
rear seating position, study the
instructions that came with the child
restraint to make sure it is
compatible with this vehicle.
If the child restraint has the LATCH
system, see Lower Anchors and
Tethers for Children (LATCH
System) on page 3‑45 for how and
where to install the child restraint
using LATCH. If a child restraint is
secured in the vehicle using a
safety belt and it uses a top tether,
see Lower Anchors and Tethers for
Children (LATCH System) on
page 3‑45 for 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.
If the child restraint does not have
the LATCH system, you will be
using the safety belt to secure the
child restraint in this position.
Be sure to follow the instructions
that came with the child restraint.
Secure the child in the child restraint
when and as the instructions say.
If more than one child restraint
needs to be installed in the rear
seat, be sure to read
Where to Put
the Restraint on page 3‑43.
1. Put the child restraint on the seat.
2. Pick up the latch plate, and run the lap and shoulder portions of
the vehicle safety belt through or
around the restraint. The child
restraint instructions will show
you how.
Black plate (52,1)Chevrolet Impala Owner Manual - 2012
3-52 Seats and Restraints
3. Push the latch plate into thebuckle until it clicks.
Position the release button on
the buckle so that the safety belt
could be quickly unbuckled if
necessary.4. Pull the shoulder belt all the wayout of the retractor to set the
lock. When the retractor lock is
set, the belt can be tightened but
not pulled out of the retractor.5. To tighten the belt, push downon 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.
Try to pull the belt out of the
retractor to make sure the
retractor is locked. If the
retractor is not locked, repeat
Steps 4 and 5.
Black plate (53,1)Chevrolet Impala Owner Manual - 2012
Seats and Restraints 3-53
6. If the child restraint has a toptether, follow the child restraint
manufacturer's instructions
regarding the use of the top
tether. See Lower Anchors and
Tethers for Children (LATCH
System) on page 3‑45 for more
information.
7. 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.
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.Securing Child Restraints
(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 Child Restraints
(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 3‑43.
In addition, the vehicle has a
passenger sensing system which is
designed to turn off the right front
passenger frontal airbag under
certain conditions. See Passenger
Sensing System on page 3‑28 and
Passenger Airbag Status Indicator
on page 5‑15 for more information,
including important safety
information.
Black plate (54,1)Chevrolet Impala Owner Manual - 2012
3-54 Seats and Restraints
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, 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 3‑28 for additional
information. If the child restraint has the LATCH
system, see
Lower Anchors and
Tethers for Children (LATCH
System) on page 3‑45 for 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 for 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.
Black plate (55,1)Chevrolet Impala Owner Manual - 2012
Seats and Restraints 3-55
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 itwill go before securing the
forward-facing child restraint.
When 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 stay lit
when the vehicle is started. See
Passenger Airbag Status
Indicator on page 5‑15.
2. Put the child restraint on the seat.
3. Pick up the latch plate, and run the lap and shoulder portions of
the vehicle's safety belt through
or around the restraint. The child
restraint instructions will show
you how.
4. Push the latch plate into the
buckle until it clicks.
Position the release button on
the buckle so that the safety belt
could be quickly unbuckled if
necessary.5. Pull the shoulder belt all the wayout of the retractor to set the
lock. When the retractor lock is
set, the belt can be tightened but
not pulled out of the retractor.
Black plate (56,1)Chevrolet Impala Owner Manual - 2012
3-56 Seats and Restraints
6. To tighten the belt, push downon 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. 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.
7. 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 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 the on indicator is lit, see
“If the
On Indicator is Lit for a Child
Restraint” underPassenger Sensing
System on page 3‑28 for more
information.
To remove the child restraint,
unbuckle the vehicle safety belt and
let it return to the stowed position.