2017 CHEVROLET MALIBU Owners Manual

Chevrolet Malibu Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada/Mexico-10122664) - 2017 - crc - 5/23/16
88 Seats and Restraints
Booster Seats
Abelt-positioningboosterseatisused for children who haveoutgrown their forward-facing childrestraint. Boosters are designed toimprove the fit of the vehicle's safetybelt system until the child is largeenough for the vehicle safety beltsto fit properly without a booster seat.See the safety belt fit test inOlderChildren083.
Securing an Add-On Child
Restraint in the Vehicle
{Warning
Achildcanbeseriouslyinjuredor
killed in a crash if the child
restraint is not properly secured in
the vehicle. Secure the child
restraint properly in the vehicle
using the vehicle’ssafetybeltor
LATCH system, following the
instructions that came with that
child restraint and the instructions
in this manual.
To h e l p r e d u c e t h e c h a n c e o f i n j u r y,the child restraint must be securedin the vehicle. Child restraintsystems must be secured in vehicleseats by lap belts or the lap beltportion of a lap-shoulder belt, or bythe LATCH system. SeeLowerAnchors and Tethers for Children(LATCH System)090for moreinformation. Children can beendangered in a crash if the childrestraint is not properly secured inthe vehicle.
When securing an add-on childrestraint, refer to the instructionsthat come with the restraint whichmay be on the restraint itself or in abooklet, or both, and to this manual.The child restraint instructions areimportant, so if they are notavailable, obtain a replacementcopy from the manufacturer.
Keep in mind that an unsecuredchild restraint can move around in acollision or sudden stop and injurepeople in the vehicle. Be sure toproperly secure any child restraint inthe vehicle—even when no child isin it.
In some areas of the United Statesand Canada, Certified ChildPassenger Safety Technicians(CPSTs) are available to inspectand demonstrate how to correctlyuse and install child restraints. Inthe U.S., refer to the NationalHighway Traffic SafetyAdministration (NHTSA) website tolocate the nearest child safety seatinspection station. For CPSTavailability in Canada, check withTransport Canada or the ProvincialMinistry of Transportation office.

Chevrolet Malibu Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada/Mexico-10122664) - 2017 - crc - 5/23/16
Seats and Restraints 89
Securing the Child Within the
Child Restraint
{Warning
Achildcanbeseriouslyinjuredor
killed in a crash if the child is not
properly secured in the child
restraint. Secure the child
properly following the instructions
that came with that child restraint.
Where to Put the
Restraint
According to accident statistics,children and infants are safer whenproperly restrained in an appropriatechild restraint secured in a rearseating position.
Whenever possible, children aged12 and under should be secured inarearseatingposition.
Never put a rear-facing childrestraint in the front. This is becausethe risk to the rear-facing child is sogreat if the airbag deploys.
{Warning
Achildinarear-facingchild
restraint can be seriously injured
or killed if the 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
front passenger airbag inflates
and the passenger seat is in a
forward position.
Even if the passenger sensing
system has turned off the 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
(Continued)
Warning (Continued)
the 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
077for additional information.
When securing a child restraint in arear seating position, study theinstructions that came with the childrestraint to make sure it iscompatible with this vehicle.
Child restraints and booster seatsvary considerably in size, and somemay fit in certain seating positionsbetter than others.
Depending on where you place thechild restraint and the size of thechild restraint, you may not be ableto access adjacent safety belts orLATCH anchors for additionalpassengers or child restraints.Adjacent seating positions shouldnot be used if the child restraintprevents access to or interferes withthe routing of the safety belt.

Chevrolet Malibu Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada/Mexico-10122664) - 2017 - crc - 5/23/16
90 Seats and Restraints
Wherever a child restraint isinstalled, be sure to follow theinstructions that came with the childrestraint system and secure thechild restraint system properly.
Keep in mind that an unsecuredchild restraint can move around in acollision or sudden stop and injurepeople in the vehicle. Be sure toproperly secure any child restraint inthe vehicle—even when no child isin it.
Lower Anchors and
Tethers for Children
(LATCH System)
The LATCH system secures a childrestraint during driving or in a crash.LATCH attachments on the childrestraint are used to attach the childrestraint to the anchors in thevehicle. The LATCH system isdesigned to make installation of achild restraint easier.
In order to use the LATCH system inyour vehicle, you need a childrestraint that has LATCHattachments. LATCH-compatible
rear-facing and forward-facing childseats can be properly installedusing either the LATCH anchors orthe vehicle’ssafetybelts.Donotuse both the safety belts and theLATCH anchorage system to securearear-facingorforward-facingchild seat.
Booster seats use the vehicle’ssafety belts to secure the child inthe booster seat. If the manufacturerrecommends that the booster seatbe secured with the LATCH system,this can be done as long as thebooster seat can be positionedproperly and there is no interferencewith the proper positioning of thelap-shoulder belt on the child.
Make sure to follow the instructionsthat came with the child restraint,and also the instructions in thismanual.
When installing a child restraint withatoptether,youmustalsouseeither the lower anchors or thesafety belts to properly secure thechild restraint. A child restraint mustnever be attached using only the toptether.
The LATCH anchorage system canbe used until the combined weightof the child plus the child restraint is29.5 kg (65 lbs). Use the safety beltalone instead of the LATCHanchorage system once thecombined weight is more than29.5 kg (65 lbs).
SeeSecuring Child Restraints (Withthe Safety Belt in the Front Seat)098orSecuring Child Restraints(With the Safety Belt in the RearSeat)096.
Child restraints built after March2014 will be labeled with thespecific child weight up to which theLATCH system can be used toinstall the restraint.
The following explains how to attachachildrestraintwiththeseattachments in the vehicle.
Not all vehicle seating positions orchild restraints have lower anchorsand attachments or top tetheranchors and attachments. In thiscase, the safety belt must be used(with top tether where available) to

Chevrolet Malibu Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada/Mexico-10122664) - 2017 - crc - 5/23/16
Seats and Restraints 91
secure the child restraint. SeeSecuring Child Restraints (With theSafety Belt in the Front Seat)098orSecuring Child Restraints (Withthe Safety Belt in the RearSeat)096.
Lower Anchors
Lower anchors (1) are metal barsbuilt into the vehicle. There are twolower anchors for each LATCHseating position that willaccommodate a child restraint withlower attachments (2).
Top Tether Anchor
Atoptether(3,4)anchorsthetopofthe child restraint to the vehicle.Atoptetheranchorisbuiltintothevehicle. The top tetherattachment (2) on the child restraintconnects to the top tether anchor inthe vehicle in order to reduce theforward movement and rotation ofthe child restraint during driving or inacrash.
The child restraint may have asingle tether (3) or a dual tether (4).Either will have a singleattachment (2) to secure the toptether to the anchor.
Some child restraints that have atop tether are designed for use withor without the top tether beingattached. Others require the toptether always to be attached. InCanada, the law requires thatforward-facing child restraints haveatoptether,andthatthetetherbeattached. Be sure to read and followthe instructions for the childrestraint.
Lower Anchor and Top Tether
Anchor Locations
Rear Seat
I:Seating positions with toptether anchors.

Chevrolet Malibu Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada/Mexico-10122664) - 2017 - crc - 5/23/16
92 Seats and Restraints
H:Seating positions with twolower anchors.
To a s s i s t i n l o c a t i n g t h e l o w e ranchors, each seating position withlower anchors has two labels, nearthe crease between the seatbackand the seat cushion.
To a s s i s t i n l o c a t i n g t h e t o p t e t h e ranchors, the top tether anchorsymbol is on the cover.
The outboard lower anchors arebehind the vertical openings in theseat trim.
The top tether anchors are underthe covers, behind the rear seat, onthe filler panel. Be sure to use ananchor on the same side of thevehicle as the seating positionwhere the child restraint will beplaced.
Do not secure a child restraint in aposition without a top tether anchorif a national or local law requiresthat the top tether be attached, or ifthe instructions that come with thechild restraint say that the top tethermust be attached.
According to accident statistics,children and infants are safer whenproperly restrained in a childrestraint system or infant restraintsystem secured in a rear seatingposition. SeeWhere to Put theRestraint089for additionalinformation.

Chevrolet Malibu Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada/Mexico-10122664) - 2017 - crc - 5/23/16
Seats and Restraints 93
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's
safety belts to secure the
restraint, following the instructions
that came with the child restraint
and the instructions in this
manual.
{Warning
To r e d u c e t h e r i s k o f s e r i o u s o r
fatal injuries during a crash, do
not attach more than one child
restraint to a single anchor.
(Continued)
Warning (Continued)
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.
{Warning
Children can be seriously injured
or strangled if a shoulder belt is
wrapped around their neck. The
shoulder belt can tighten but
cannot be loosened if it is locked.
The shoulder belt locks when it is
pulled all the way out of the
retractor. It unlocks when the
shoulder belt is allowed to go all
the way back into the retractor,
but it cannot do this if it is
wrapped around a child’sneck.
If the shoulder belt is locked and
(Continued)
Warning (Continued)
tightened around a child’sneck,
the only way to loosen the belt is
to cut it.
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,
and tighten the belt behind the
child restraint after the child
restraint has been installed.
Caution
Do not let the LATCH
attachments rub against the
vehicle’ssafetybelts.Thismay
damage these parts. If necessary,
move buckled safety belts to
avoid rubbing the LATCH
attachments.
(Continued)

Chevrolet Malibu Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada/Mexico-10122664) - 2017 - crc - 5/23/16
94 Seats and Restraints
Caution (Continued)
Do not fold the rear seatback
when the seat is occupied. 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 onechild restraint in the rear seat, seeWhere to Put the Restraint089.
This system is designed to makeinstallation of child restraints easier.When using lower anchors, do notuse the vehicle's safety belts.Instead use the vehicle's anchorsand child restraint attachments tosecure the restraints. Somerestraints also use another vehicleanchor to secure a top tether.
1. Attach and tighten the lowerattachments to the loweranchors. If the child restraintdoes not have lowerattachments or the desired
seating position does not havelower anchors, secure the childrestraint with the top tether andthe safety belts. Refer to thechild restraint manufacturerinstructions and theinstructions in this manual.
1.1. Find the lower anchorsfor the desired seatingposition.
1.2. Put the child restraint onthe seat.
1.3. Attach and tighten thelower attachments on thechild restraint to the loweranchors.
2. If the child restraintmanufacturer recommends thatthe top tether be attached,attach and tighten the toptether to the top tether anchor,if equipped. Refer to the childrestraint instructions and thefollowing steps:
2.1. Find the top tetheranchor.
Open the cover to exposethe anchor.
2.2. Route, attach, and tightenthe top tether accordingto the child restraintinstructions and thefollowing instructions:
If the position you areusing does not have aheadrest or head restraintand you are using asingle tether, route thetether over the seatback.

Chevrolet Malibu Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada/Mexico-10122664) - 2017 - crc - 5/23/16
Seats and Restraints 95
If the position you areusing does not have aheadrest or head restraintand you are using a dualtether, route the tetherover the seatback.
If the position you areusing has an adjustableheadrest or head restraintand you are using asingle tether, route the
tether under the headrestor head restraint and inbetween the headrest orhead restraint posts.
If the position you areusing has an adjustableheadrest or head restraintand you are using a dualtether route the tetheraround the headrest orhead restraint.
3. Before placing a child in thechild restraint, make sure it issecurely held in place. Tocheck, grasp the child restraintat the LATCH path and attemptto move it side to side andback and forth. There should
be no more than 2.5 cm (1 in)of movement for properinstallation.
Replacing LATCH System
Parts After a Crash
{Warning
AcrashcandamagetheLATCH
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 systemand it was being used during acrash, new LATCH system partsmay be needed.