
Black plate (8,1)Buick Regal Owner Manual - 2013 - crc - 11/5/12
3-8 Seats and Restraints
Raising the Seatback
{WARNING
If either seatback is not locked, it
could move forward in a sudden
stop or crash. That could cause
injury to the person sitting there.
Always push and pull on the
seatbacks to be sure they are
locked.
{WARNING
A safety belt that is improperly
routed, not properly attached,
or twisted will not provide the
protection needed in a crash. The
person wearing the belt could be
seriously injured. After raising the
rear seatback, always check to be
sure that the safety belts are
properly routed and attached, and
are not twisted.To raise a seatback:
1. Lift the seatback up and push it
rearward to lock it in place.
Make sure the safety belt is not
twisted or caught in the
seatback.
A tab near the seatback lever
retracts when the seatback is
locked in place.
2. Push and pull the top of the seatback to be sure it is locked
into position.
3. Repeat the steps to raise the other seatback, if necessary.
When the seat is not in use, it
should be kept in the upright, locked
position.
Safety Belts
This section of the manual
describes how to use safety belts
properly. It also describes some
things not to do with safety belts.
{WARNING
Do not let anyone ride where a
safety belt cannot be worn
properly. In a crash, if you or your
passenger(s) are not wearing
safety belts, injuries can be much
worse than if you are wearing
safety belts. You can be seriously
injured or killed by hitting things
inside the vehicle harder or by
being ejected from the vehicle. In
addition, anyone who is not
buckled up can strike other
passengers in the vehicle. (Continued)

Black plate (10,1)Buick Regal Owner Manual - 2013 - crc - 11/5/12
3-10 Seats and Restraints
Also, in nearly all states and in
all Canadian provinces, the law
requires wearing safety belts.
How to Wear Safety Belts
Properly
This section is only for people of
adult size.
There are special things to know
about safety belts and children. And
there are different rules for smaller
children and infants. If a child will be
riding in the vehicle, seeOlder
Children on page 3‑29 orInfants
and Young Children on page 3‑31.
Follow those rules for everyone's
protection.
It is very important for all occupants
to buckle up. Statistics show that
unbelted people are hurt more often
in crashes than those who are
wearing safety belts.
There are important things to know
about wearing a safety belt properly.
.Sit up straight and always keep
your feet on the floor in front
of you.
.Always use the correct buckle
for your seating position.
.Wear the lap part of the belt low
and snug on the hips, just
touching the thighs. In a crash,
this applies force to the strong
pelvic bones and you would be
less likely to slide under the lap
belt. If you slid under it, the belt
would apply force on your
abdomen. This could cause
serious or even fatal injuries.
.Wear the shoulder belt over the
shoulder and across the chest.
These parts of the body are best
able to take belt restraining
forces. The shoulder belt locks if
there is a sudden stop or crash.
{WARNING
You can be seriously injured,
or even killed, by not wearing
your safety belt properly.
.Never allow the lap or
shoulder belt to become
loose or twisted.
.Never wear the shoulder belt
under both arms or behind
your back.
.Never route the lap or
shoulder belt over an
armrest.

Black plate (11,1)Buick Regal Owner Manual - 2013 - crc - 11/5/12
Seats and Restraints 3-11
Lap-Shoulder Belt
All seating positions in the vehicle
have a lap-shoulder belt.
The following instructions explain
how to wear a lap-shoulder belt
properly.
1. Adjust the seat, if the seat isadjustable, 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.
3. Push the latch plate into the
buckle 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 3‑15.
Position the release button on
the buckle so that the safety belt
could be quickly unbuckled if
necessary.
If equipped with a shoulder belt
height adjuster, move it to the
height that is right for you. See
“Shoulder Belt Height Adjuster”

Black plate (13,1)Buick Regal Owner Manual - 2013 - crc - 11/5/12
Seats and Restraints 3-13
Press down on the release button
and move the height adjuster to the
desired position. After the adjuster
is set to the desired position, try to
move it down without pushing the
release button to make sure it has
locked into position.
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 amoderate to severe frontal, near
frontal, or rear crash if the threshold
conditions for pretensioner
activation are met.
And, if the 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. Other
parts of the vehicle's safety belt
system may need to be replaced as
well. See
Replacing Safety Belt
System Parts after a Crash on
page 3‑16.
Rear Safety Belt Comfort
Guides
This vehicle may have rear safety
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 shoulder belt away
from the neck and head.
There is one guide for each outside
passenger position in the rear seat.
To install a comfort guide to the
safety belt:1. Remove the guide from its
storage pocket on the side of
the seat.

Black plate (20,1)Buick Regal Owner Manual - 2013 - crc - 11/5/12
3-20 Seats and Restraints
{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
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, andwhether 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.
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 and roof-rail airbags.
See
Airbag System on page 3‑17.

Black plate (22,1)Buick Regal Owner Manual - 2013 - crc - 11/5/12
3-22 Seats and Restraints
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, seeWhere Are the
Airbags? on page 3‑19.
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
(Continued)
WARNING (Continued)
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.
The vehicle has a feature that may
automatically unlock the doors, turn
on the interior lamps, turn on the
hazard warning flashers, and shut
off the fuel system after the airbags
inflate. You can lock the doors, turn
off the interior lamps, and turn off
the 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 front outboard
passenger airbag.
.Airbags are designed to inflate
only once. After an airbag
inflates, you will need some new

Black plate (40,1)Buick Regal Owner Manual - 2013 - crc - 11/5/12
3-40 Seats and Restraints
{WARNING
Do not attach more than one child
restraint to a single anchor.
Attaching more than one child
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(Continued)
WARNING (Continued)
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.
If you need to secure more than one
child restraint in the rear seat, see
Where to Put the Restraint on
page 3‑35.
You cannot secure three child
restraints using the LATCH anchors
in the rear seat at the same time, but you can install two of them.
If you want to do this, install one
LATCH child restraint in the right
rear seating position, and install the
other one either in the left rear
seating position or in the center
seating position. If you need to
install child restraints in both the
center and left rear seating
positions, the one in the center
seating position will need to be
secured using the vehicle safety
belts instead of the LATCH anchors.
Refer to the following illustration to
learn which anchors to use.

Black plate (44,1)Buick Regal Owner Manual - 2013 - crc - 11/5/12
3-44 Seats and Restraints
1. Insert the head restraint postsinto the holes in the top of the
seatback. The notches on the
posts must face the driver side
of the vehicle.
2. Push the head restraint down.
If necessary, press the height
adjustment release button to
further lower the head restraint.
See Head Restraints on
page 3‑2.
3. Try to move the head restraint to make sure that it is locked in
place.
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
(Continued)
WARNING (Continued)
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)
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 3‑37 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 3‑37 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.
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.