2017 CHEVROLET SONIC Owners Manual

Chevrolet Sonic Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada-10122660) -2017 - crc - 5/13/16
80 Seats and Restraints
{Warning
Children who are up against,
or very close to, any airbag when
it inflates can be seriously injured
or killed. Never put a rear-facing
child restraint in the front
outboard seat. Secure a
rear-facing child restraint in a rear
seat. It is also better to secure a
forward-facing child restraint in a
rear seat. If you must secure a
forward-facing child restraint in
the front outboard seat, always
move the front passenger seat as
far back as it will go.
Child restraints are devices used torestrain, seat, or position children inthe vehicle and are sometimescalled child seats or car seats.
There are three basic types ofchild restraints:
.Forward-facing child restraints
.Rearward-facing child restraints
.Belt-positioning booster seats
The proper child restraint for yourchild depends on their size, weight,and age, and also on whether thechild restraint is compatible with thevehicle in which it will be used.
For each type of child restraint,there are many different modelsavailable. When purchasing a childrestraint, be sure it is designed to beused in a motor vehicle. If it is, therestraint will have a label saying thatit meets federal motor vehicle safetystandards. The restraintmanufacturer's instructions thatcome with the restraint state theweight and height limitations for aparticular child restraint. In addition,there are many kinds of restraintsavailable for children with specialneeds.
{Warning
To r e d u c e t h e r i s k o f n e c k a n d
head injury in a crash, infants and
toddlers should be secured in a
rear-facing child restraint until age
two, or until they reach the
maximum height and weight limits
of their child restraint.

Chevrolet Sonic Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada-10122660) -2017 - crc - 5/13/16
Seats and Restraints 81
{Warning
Ayoungchild'shipbonesarestill
so small that the vehicle's regular
safety belt may not remain low on
the hip bones, as it should.
Instead, it may settle up around
the child's abdomen. In a crash,
the belt would apply force on a
body area that is unprotected by
any bony structure. This alone
could cause serious or fatal
injuries. To reduce the risk of
serious or fatal injuries during a
crash, young children should
always be secured in appropriate
child restraints.
Child Restraint Systems
Rear-Facing Infant Seat
Arear-facingchildrestraintprovidesrestraint with the seating surfaceagainst the back of the infant.
The harness system holds the infantin place and, in a crash, acts tokeep the infant positioned in therestraint.
Forward-Facing Child Seat
Aforward-facingchildrestraintprovides restraint for the child'sbody with the harness.

Chevrolet Sonic Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada-10122660) -2017 - crc - 5/13/16
82 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 inOlderChildren077.
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)084for 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.

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Seats and Restraints 83
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
071for 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 Sonic Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada-10122660) -2017 - crc - 5/13/16
84 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)093orSecuring Child Restraints(With the Safety Belt in the RearSeat)091.
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 Sonic Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada-10122660) -2017 - crc - 5/13/16
Seats and Restraints 85
secure the child restraint. SeeSecuring Child Restraints (With theSafety Belt in the Front Seat)093orSecuring Child Restraints (Withthe Safety Belt in the RearSeat)091.
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 your childrestraint.
Lower Anchor and Top Tether
Anchor Locations
I:Seating positions withtop tether anchors.

Chevrolet Sonic Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada-10122660) -2017 - crc - 5/13/16
86 Seats and Restraints
H:Seating positions with two loweranchors.
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 for sedanmodels or near the anchors onhatchback models.
Sedan
For sedan models, the top tetheranchors are under the coversbehind the rear seat on the fillerpanel. Pull open the cover to accessthe top tether anchors. Be sure touse an anchor on the same side ofthe vehicle as the seating positionwhere the child restraint will beplaced.
Hatchback
For hatchback models, the toptether anchors are on the back ofthe rear seatbacks. Remove thecargo cover before installing the toptether. The cargo cover shouldremain off while the top tether is inuse. Be sure to use an anchor onthe same side of the vehicle as theseating position where the childrestraint will be placed.
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 if

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Seats and Restraints 87
the 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 theRestraint083for additionalinformation.
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
(Continued)
Warning (Continued)
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.
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
(Continued)
Warning (Continued)
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
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.