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Seats and Restraints 3-19Warning (Continued) any way, you are at greater
risk of injury or death in a
crash. You may also receive
serious or fatal injuries from
the front airbag if you are up
against it when it inflates.
Always sit back against the
seatback and as far away as
practical from the steering
wheel or instrument panel.
Always use the safety belts. .
The driver and front
passenger safety belt buckles
are equipped with sensors
that detect if the safety belts
are fastened. The advanced
airbag system monitors the
severity of a collision and
safety belt usage, then
inflates the airbags as
needed. Failure to properly
wear the safety belts can
increase the risk or severity
of injury in an accident.
(Continued) Warning (Continued) .
The front passenger seat is
equipped with a Passenger
Sensing System (weight
sensor) that turns the front
passenger airbag off under
some conditions. This sensor
is only used in this seat.
Failure to be properly seated
and wearing the safety belt
can increase the risk or
severity of injury in an
accident. For more
information, see Passenger
Airbag Status Indicator on
page 5-10 . .
Keep hands on the outside of
the steering wheel. Placing
them inside the steering
wheel rim could increase the
risk that they are injured
when the front airbag inflates.{ WarningFront seat-mounted side impact
airbags and roof-rail rollover
airbags: .
The seat-mounted side
impact airbags and roof-rail
airbags ordinarily will not
inflate in the event of a frontal
impact, rear impact, or lower
severity side collision. Always
wear your safety belts to help
reduce the risk or severity of
injury in various kinds of
accidents. .
The safety belts, the
seat-mounted side impact
airbags, and roof-rail airbags
are most effective when you
are sitting with both feet on
the floor. The seat-mounted
side impact airbags and
roof-rail airbags inflate with
great force. Do not allow
anyone sitting in the seats to
(Continued)
Black plate (20,1)Chevrolet City Express Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada-
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3-20 Seats and Restraints Warning (Continued) extend their hand out of the
window or lean against
the door. .
Do not use seat covers on
the seatbacks. They may
interfere with seat-mounted
side impact airbag inflation.
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 3-17 .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
front outboard seating positions.
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 3-18 .
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 3-17 .
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
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3-22 Seats and Restraints
Passenger Sensing
System
{ WarningThe front passenger airbag is
designed to automatically turn off
under some conditions. Read this
section carefully to learn how it
operates. Proper use of the seat,
safety belt, and child restraints is
necessary for most effective
protection. Failure to follow all
instructions in this manual
concerning the use of seats,
safety belts, and child restraints
can increase the risk or severity
of injury in an accident. The vehicle has a passenger
sensing system for the front
outboard passenger position. The
passenger airbag status indicator is
under the climate controls.
After the ignition switch is placed in
the ON position, the passenger
airbag status indicator on the
instrument panel will light for about seven seconds. When the system
check is complete, the word OFF
and the symbol for off will be visible
if the front outboard passenger
frontal airbag is turned off and the
front outboard passenger seat is
occupied. See Passenger Airbag
Status Indicator on page 5-10 .
The passenger sensing system
turns off the front outboard
passenger frontal 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
should be allowed to inflate or not.
If the front outboard passenger seat
is unoccupied, the passenger airbag
status indicator will not remain lit,
and the front outboard passenger
frontal airbag will be turned off.
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Seats and Restraints 3-23
{ WarningTo ensure proper operation of the
passenger ’ s advanced airbag
system, observe the following
items: .
Do not place heavy loads
heavier than 1 kg (2.2 lb) on
the seatback, in the
underseat storage bin, head
restraint, or in the seatback
pocket. .
Do not store luggage behind
the seat that can press into
the seatback. .
If a forward-facing child
restraint is installed in the
passenger seat, do not
position the passenger seat
so the child restraint contacts
the instrument panel. If the
child restraint does contact
the instrument panel, the
system may determine the
seat is occupied and the
(Continued) Warning (Continued) passenger airbag may deploy
in a collision. Also, the
passenger airbag status
indicator may not light. For
more information, see
Securing Child Restraints on
page 3-42 for information
about installing and using
child restraints. .
Confirm the operating
condition with the passenger
airbag status indicator. .
If you notice that the
passenger airbag status
indicator light is not operating
as described in this section,
take your vehicle to your
dealer to check the
passenger sensing system.
According to accident statistics,
children are safer when properly
secured in a rear seat in a correct
child restraint for their weight
and size. Rear-facing child restraints should
not be transported in the vehicle,
even if the airbag is off.
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.
{ WarningA child in a rear-facing child
restraint can be seriously injured
or killed if the front outboard
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 front
outboard passenger frontal airbag
inflates and the passenger seat is
in a forward position.
(Continued)
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3-26 Seats and Restraints 2. Remove any additional material
from the seat, such as blankets,
cushions, seat covers, seat
heaters, or seat massagers.
3. Place the seatback in the fully
upright position.
4. Have the person sit upright in
the seat, centered on the seat
cushion, with legs comfortably
extended.
5. Restart the vehicle and have the
person remain in this position for
two to three minutes after the off
indicator is not lit.
{ Warning
If the front outboard passenger
airbag is turned off for an
adult-sized occupant, the airbag
will not be able to inflate and help
protect that person in a crash,
resulting in an increased risk of
serious injury or even death. An
adult-sized occupant should not
(Continued) Warning (Continued) ride in the front outboard
passenger seat, if the passenger
airbag off indicator is lit.
Additional Factors Affecting
System Operation Safety belts help keep the
passenger in position on the seat
during vehicle maneuvers and
braking, which helps the passenger
sensing system maintain the
passenger airbag status. See
“ Safety Belts ” and “ Child Restraints ”
in the Index for additional
information about the importance of
proper restraint use.
A thick layer of additional material,
such as a blanket or cushion,
or aftermarket equipment such as
seat covers, seat heaters, and seat
massagers can affect how well the
passenger sensing system
operates. We recommend that you
not use seat covers or other aftermarket equipment except when
approved by GM for your specific
vehicle. See Adding Equipment to
the Airbag-Equipped Vehicle on
page 3-29 for more information
about modifications that can affect
how the system operates.
{ WarningStowing of articles under the
passenger seat or between the
passenger seat cushion and
seatback may interfere with the
proper operation of the passenger
sensing system.
{ Warning .
Do not place any objects on
the steering wheel pad or on
the instrument panel. Also, do
not place any objects
between any occupant and
the steering wheel or
(Continued)
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Seats and Restraints 3-27Warning (Continued) instrument panel. Such
objects may become
dangerous projectiles and
cause injury if the front
airbags inflate. .
Do not place objects with
sharp edges on the seat.
Also, do not place heavy
objects on the seat that will
leave permanent impressions
in the seat. Such objects can
damage the seat or
passenger sensing system
sensors (weight sensors).
This can affect the operation
of the airbag system and
result in serious personal
injury. .
Do not use water or acidic
cleaners (hot steam cleaners)
on the seat. This can damage
the seat or passenger
sensing system sensors. This
(Continued) Warning (Continued) can also affect the operation
of the airbag system and
result in serious personal
injury. .
Immediately after inflation,
several front airbag system
components will be hot. Do
not touch them; you may
severely burn yourself. .
No unauthorized changes
should be made to any
components or wiring of the
supplemental airbag system.
This is to prevent accidental
inflation of the supplemental
airbag or damage to the
supplemental airbag system. .
Do not make unauthorized
changes to your vehicle ’ s
electrical system, suspension
system, or front end
(Continued) Warning (Continued) structure. This could affect
proper operation of the front
airbag system. .
Tampering with the front
airbag system may result in
serious personal injury.
Tampering includes changes
to the steering wheel and the
instrument panel assembly by
placing material over the
steering wheel pad and
above the instrument panel,
or by installing additional trim
material around the airbag
system. .
Removing or modifying the
front passenger seat may
affect the function of the
airbag and result in serious
personal injury. .
Modifying or tampering with
the front passenger seat may
result personal injury. For
(Continued)
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Seats and Restraints 3-29Warning (Continued)proper service procedures, and
make sure the person performing
work for you is qualified to do so.
Adding Equipment to the
Airbag-Equipped Vehicle Adding accessories that change the
vehicle's frame, bumper system,
height, front end, or side sheet
metal, may keep the airbag system
from working properly. The
operation of the airbag system can
also be affected by changing or
moving any parts of the front seats,
safety belts, the airbag sensing and
diagnostic module, steering wheel,
instrument panel, any of the airbag
modules, ceiling or pillar garnish
trim, front sensors, side impact
sensors, or airbag wiring. Your dealer and the service manual
have information about the location
of the airbag sensors, sensing and
diagnostic module, and airbag
wiring.
In addition, the vehicle has a
passenger sensing system for the
front outboard passenger position,
which includes sensors that are part
of the passenger seat. The
passenger sensing system may not
operate properly if the original seat
trim is replaced with non-GM
covers, upholstery, or trim; or with
GM covers, upholstery, or trim
designed for a different vehicle. Any
object, such as an aftermarket seat
heater or a comfort-enhancing pad
or device, installed under or on top
of the seat fabric, could also
interfere with the operation of the
passenger sensing system. This
could either prevent proper
deployment of the passenger
airbag(s) or prevent the passenger
sensing system from properly turning off the passenger airbag(s).
See Passenger Sensing System on
page 3-22 .
If the vehicle has rollover roof-rail
airbags, see Different Size Tires
and Wheels on page 10-43 for
additional important information.
If you have to modify your vehicle
because you have a disability and
you have questions about whether
the modifications will affect the
vehicle's airbag system, or if you
have questions about whether the
airbag system will be affected if the
vehicle is modified for any other
reason, call Customer Assistance.
See Customer Assistance Offices
on page 13-3 .
Airbag System Check The airbag system does not need
regularly scheduled maintenance or
replacement. Make sure the airbag
readiness light is working. See
Airbag Readiness Light on
page 5-9 .
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Instruments and Controls 5-11After the ignition switch is placed in
the ON position, the passenger
airbag status indicator on the
instrument panel will light for about
seven seconds and then go out or
stay lit depending on the front
outboard seat occupied status. The
passenger airbag status indicator
operates as follows: .
Passenger seat occupied by a
small adult, child, or child
restraint: The passenger airbag
status indicator lights to indicate
that the front passenger frontal
airbag is off and will not inflate in
a collision. .
Occupied passenger seat and
the passenger meets the
conditions outlined in this
manual: The passenger airbag
status indicator is not lit to
indicate that the front passenger
frontal airbag is operational.
See Passenger Sensing System on
page 3-22 for more information. Charging System Light
This light will come on briefly when
the ignition is turned on, and the
engine is not running, as a check to
show it is working.
It should go out when the engine is
started. If it stays on, or comes on
while driving, there may be a
problem with the electrical charging
system. Have it checked by your
dealer. Driving while this light is on
could drain the battery. If a short
distance must be driven with the
light on, turn off all accessories,
such as the radio and air
conditioner, to help reduce the drain
on the battery. Malfunction
Indicator Lamp A computer system called OBD II
(On-Board Diagnostics-Second
Generation) monitors the operation
of the vehicle to ensure emissions
are at acceptable levels, helping to
maintain a clean environment. The
malfunction indicator lamp comes
on when the vehicle is placed in
ON, as a check to show it is
working. If it does not, have the
vehicle serviced by your dealer. See
Ignition Positions on page 9-14 for
more information.
If the malfunction indicator lamp
comes on while the engine is
running, this indicates that the