2013 BUICK ENCORE seats

Black plate (24,1)Buick Encore Owner Manual - 2013 - crc - 1/8/13
3-24 Seats and Restraints
WARNING (Continued)
vehicle should wear a safety belt
properly, whether or not there is
an airbag for that person.
{WARNING
Because airbags inflate with great
force and 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 any
airbag, as you would be if sitting
on the edge of the seat or leaning
forward. Safety belts help keep
you in position before and during
a crash. Always wear a safety
belt, even with airbags. The driver
should sit as far back as possible
while still maintaining control of
the vehicle.(Continued)
WARNING (Continued)
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.
{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 the(Continued)
WARNING (Continued)
vehicle. To read how, see Older
Children on page 3-35 orInfants
and Young Children on
page 3-37.
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 5-12.

Black plate (25,1)Buick Encore Owner Manual - 2013 - crc - 1/8/13
Seats and Restraints 3-25
Where Are the Airbags?
The driver frontal airbag is in the
center of the steering wheel.
The front outboard passenger
frontal airbag is in the passenger
side instrument panel.
The driver knee airbag is below the
steering column. The front outboard
passenger knee airbag is below the
glove box.Driver Side Shown, PassengerSide Similar
The seat-mounted side impact
airbags for the driver and front
outboard passenger are in the side
of the seatbacks closest to the door.
The roof-rail airbags for the driver,
right front passenger, and second
row outboard passengers are in the
ceiling above the side windows.

Black plate (26,1)Buick Encore Owner Manual - 2013 - crc - 1/8/13
3-26 Seats and Restraints
Rear Seat Driver Side Shown,Passenger Side Similar
The second row seat-mounted side
impact airbags are in the sides of
the rear seatback closest to
the door.
{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 (Continued)
WARNING (Continued)
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
front outboard 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 the frontal airbags will or
should inflate is not based primarily
on how fast the vehicle is traveling.
It depends on what is hit, the
direction of the impact, and how
quickly the vehicle slows down.
Frontal airbags may inflate at
different crash speeds depending on
whether the vehicle hits an object
straight on or at an angle, and

Black plate (27,1)Buick Encore Owner Manual - 2013 - crc - 1/8/13
Seats and Restraints 3-27
whether the object is fixed or
moving, rigid or deformable, narrow
or wide.
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, the vehicle has
dual-stage frontal airbags.
Dual-stage airbags adjust the
restraint according to crash severity.
Knee airbags are designed to inflate
in moderate to severe frontal or
near frontal impacts that exceed a
predetermined deployment
threshold.
The 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
inflate at a level less than full
deployment. For more severe frontal
impacts, full deployment occurs.The vehicle has seat-mounted side
impact airbags for the driver and
front passenger. The vehicle has
seat-mounted side impact airbags
for the second row outboard
passengers. The vehicle has
roof-rail airbags. See
Airbag System
on page 3-23. Seat-mounted side
impact airbags and roof-rail airbags
are intended to inflate in moderate
to severe side crashes depending
on the location of the impact. In
addition, these roof-rail airbags are
intended to inflate during a rollover
or in a severe frontal impact.
Seat-mounted side impact airbags
and 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 rear impacts.
A seat-mounted side impact airbag
is intended to inflate on the side of
the vehicle that is struck. Both
roof-rail airbags will inflate when
either side of the vehicle is struck or if the sensing system predicts that
the vehicle is about to roll over on
its side, or in a severe frontal
impact.
In any particular crash, no one can
say whether an airbag should have
inflated simply because of the
vehicle damage or repair costs.
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. The inflator, the airbag,
and related hardware are all part of
the airbag module.
For airbag locations, see
Where Are
the Airbags? on page 3-25.

Black plate (28,1)Buick Encore Owner Manual - 2013 - crc - 1/8/13
3-28 Seats and Restraints
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 by
distributing the force of the impact
more evenly over the
occupant's 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. See
When
Should an Airbag Inflate? on
page 3-26.
Airbags should never be regarded
as anything more than a supplement
to safety belts.
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 inflate. Some components of
the airbag module may be hot for
several minutes. For location of the
airbags, see Where Are the
Airbags? on page 3-25.
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.

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Seats and Restraints 3-29
The vehicle has a feature that may
automatically unlock the doors, turn
the interior lamps on, turn the
hazard warning flashers on, and
shut off the fuel system after the
airbags inflate. You can lock the
doors, turn the interior lamps off,
and turn the hazard warning
flashers off 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 front outboard
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 the 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 13-19 andEvent Data
Recorders on page 13-19.
.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.
Passenger Sensing
System
The vehicle has a passenger
sensing system for the front
outboard passenger position. The
passenger airbag status indicator
will light on the instrument panel
when the vehicle is started.

Black plate (30,1)Buick Encore Owner Manual - 2013 - crc - 1/8/13
3-30 Seats and Restraints
United States
Canada and Mexico
The words ON and OFF, or the
symbol for on and off, will be visible
during the system check. If you use
remote start, if equipped, to start the
vehicle, you may not see the system
check. When the system check is
complete, either the word ON or
OFF, or the symbol for on or off, will
be visible. See Passenger Airbag
Status Indicator on page 5-12.
The passenger sensing system
turns off the front outboard
passenger frontal airbag and knee airbag under certain conditions. No
other airbag is affected by the
passenger sensing system.
The passenger sensing system
works with sensors that are part of
the front outboard passenger seat.
The sensors are designed to detect
the presence of a properly seated
occupant and determine if the front
outboard passenger frontal airbag
and knee airbag should be allowed
to inflate or not.
According to accident statistics,
children are safer when properly
secured in a rear seat in the correct
child restraint for their weight
and size.
We recommend that children be
secured in a rear seat, including: an
infant or a child riding in a
rear-facing child restraint; a child
riding in a forward-facing child seat;
an older child riding in a booster
seat; and children, who are large
enough, using safety belts.
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 inflates.
{WARNING
A child in a rear-facing child
restraint can be seriously injured
or killed if the passenger frontal
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
passenger frontal airbag inflates
and the passenger seat is in a
forward position.
Even if the passenger sensing
system has turned off the front
outboard passenger airbag(s), no
system is fail-safe. No one can
guarantee that an airbag will not
(Continued)

Black plate (31,1)Buick Encore Owner Manual - 2013 - crc - 1/8/13
Seats and Restraints 3-31
WARNING (Continued)
inflate 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 front outboard passenger
seat, always move the seat as far
back as it will go. It is better to
secure the child restraint in a
rear seat.
The passenger sensing system is
designed to turn off the front
outboard passenger frontal airbag
and knee airbag if:
.The front outboard passenger
seat is unoccupied.
.The system determines that an
infant is present in a rear-facing
infant seat.
.The system determines that a
small child is present in a child
restraint.
.The system determines that a
small child is present in a
booster seat.
.A front outboard passenger
takes his/her weight off of the
seat for a period of time.
.A front outboard passenger seat
is occupied by a smaller person,
such as a child who has
outgrown child restraints.
.There is a critical problem with
the airbag system or the
passenger sensing system.
When the passenger sensing
system has turned off the front
outboard passenger frontal airbag
and knee airbag, the off indicator
will light and stay lit as a reminder
that the airbags are off. See
Passenger Airbag Status Indicator
on page 5-12. The passenger sensing system is
designed to turn on the front
outboard passenger frontal airbag
and knee airbag anytime the system
senses that a person of adult size is
sitting properly in the front outboard
passenger seat. When the
passenger sensing system has
allowed the airbags to be enabled,
the on indicator will light and stay lit
as a reminder that the airbags are
active.
For some children, who have
outgrown child restraints and for
very small adults, the passenger
sensing system may or may not turn
off the front outboard passenger
frontal airbag and knee airbag,
depending upon the person's
seating posture and body build.
Everyone in the vehicle who has
outgrown child restraints should
wear a safety belt properly
—
whether or not there is an airbag for
that person.