seats BUICK CENTURY 2002 Owner's Manual

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Section 1 Seats and Restraint Systems
Here you'll find information about the seats in your vehicle and how to use your safety belts properly. You can also
learn about some things you should not do with air bags and safety belts.
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-2 Seats and Seat Controls
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-6 Safety Belts: They're for Everyone
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-10 Here Are Questions Many People Ask About
Safety Belts
-- and the Answers
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-11 How to Wear Safety Belts Properly
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-12 Driver Position
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-19 Safety Belt Use During Pregnancy
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-20 Right Front Passenger Position
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-20 Air Bag Systems
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-28 Center Passenger Position1
-30 Rear Seat Passengers
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-33 Rear Safety Belt Comfort Guides for
Children and Small Adults
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-35 Children
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-39 Restraint Systems for Children
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-55 Older Children
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-58 Safety Belt Extender
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-58 Checking Your Restraint Systems
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-58 Replacing Restraint System Parts
After a Crash

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Seats and Seat Controls
This section tells you how to adjust the seats and
explains the reclining seatbacks and head restraints.
Two-Way Manual Front Seats
CAUTION:
You can lose control of the vehicle if you try to
adjust a manual driver's seat while the vehicle is
moving. The sudden movement could startle and
confuse you, or make you push a pedal when you
don't want to. Adjust the driver's seat only when
the vehicle is not moving.
Lift the bar located under the front of the driver's and
the passenger's seat. This will unlock the seat. Slide the
seat to where you want it and release the bar. Try to
move the seat with your body to be sure the seat is
locked into place.

1-3 Six-Way Power Seats (If Equipped)
If your vehicle is equipped
with this feature, the
driver's and passenger's
controls are located on
the outboard sides of the
seat cushions.

To move the seat forward or rearward, push the
control forward or rearward.

To raise or lower the entire seat, push the control
up or down.

To raise or lower the front of your seat, push the
front of the control up or down.

To raise or lower the rear of your seat, push the rear
of the control up or down.
Reclining Front Seatbacks
Lift the lever located on the outboard side of the seat to
release the seatback, then move the seatback to where
you want it. Release the lever to lock the seatback into
place. Pull up on the lever without pushing on the
seatback and the seatback will move forward.

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Safety Belts: They're for Everyone
This part of the manual tells you how to use safety belts
properly. It also tells you some things you should not do
with safety belts.
And it explains the air bag system.
CAUTION:
Don't let anyone ride where he or she can't wear
a safety belt properly. If you are in a crash and
you're not wearing a safety belt, your injuries
can be much worse. You can hit things inside the
vehicle or be ejected from it. You can be seriously
injured or killed. In the same crash, you might
not be if you are buckled up. Always fasten your
safety belt, and check that your passengers' belts
are fastened properly too.
CAUTION:
It is extremely dangerous to ride in a cargo
area, inside or outside of a vehicle. In a collision,
people riding in these areas are more likely to be
seriously injured or killed. Do not allow people
to ride in any area of your vehicle that is not
equipped with seats and safety belts. Be sure
everyone in your vehicle is in a seat and using
a safety belt properly.
Your vehicle has a light
that comes on as a reminder
to buckle up. See ªSafety
Belt Reminder Lightº in
the Index.

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Driver Position
This part describes the driver's restraint system.
Lap-Shoulder Belt
The driver has a lap-shoulder belt. Here's how to wear
it properly.
1. Close and lock the door.
2. Adjust the seat so you can sit up straight.
To see how, see ªSeatsº in the Index.
3. Pick up the latch plate and pull the belt across you.
Don't let it get twisted.
The 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.

1-28 Servicing Your Air Bag-Equipped Vehicle
Air bags affect how your vehicle should be serviced.
There are parts of the air bag systems in several places
around your vehicle. Your dealer and the service manual
have information about servicing your vehicle and the
air bag systems. To purchase a service manual, see
ªService and Owner Publicationsº in the Index.
CAUTION:
For up to 10 seconds after the ignition key is
turned off and the battery is disconnected, an air
bag can still inflate during improper service. You
can be injured if you are close to an air bag when
it inflates. Avoid yellow connectors. They are
probably part of the air bag systems. Be sure to
follow proper service procedures, and make sure
the person performing work for you is qualified
to do so.
The air bag systems do not need regular maintenance.
Center Passenger Position
Lap Belt
If your vehicle has front and rear bench seats, someone
can sit in the center positions.

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Rear Safety Belt Comfort Guides for
Children and Small Adults
Rear shoulder belt comfort guides will provide
added safety belt comfort for older children who
have outgrown booster seats and for small adults.
When installed on a shoulder belt, the comfort guide
better positions the belt away from the neck and head.
There is one guide for each outside passenger position in
the rear seat. To provide added safety belt comfort for
children who have outgrown child restraints and for
smaller adults, the comfort guides may be installed on
the shoulder belts. Here's how to install a comfort guide
and use the safety belt:
1. Pull the elastic cord out from the edge of the
seatback and the interior body to remove the guide
from its storage clip.

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A forward-facing child seat (C-E) provides restraint for
the child's body with the harness and also sometimes
with surfaces such as T
-shaped or shelf-like shields.
A booster seat (F-G) is a child restraint designed to
improve the fit of the vehicle's safety belt system. Some
booster seats have a shoulder belt positioner, and some
high
-back booster seats have a five-point harness. A
booster seat can also help a child to see out the window.

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To remove the child restraint, just unbuckle the vehicle's
safety belt. It will be ready to work for an adult or larger
child passenger.
Securing a Child Restraint in the Right
Front Seat Position
Your vehicle has a right front passenger air bag. Never
put a rear
-facing child restraint in this seat. Here's why:
CAUTION:
A child in a rear-facing child restraint can be
seriously injured or killed if the right front
passenger's air bag inflates. This is because the
back of the rear
-facing child restraint would be
very close to the inflating air bag. Always secure
a rear
-facing child restraint in the rear seat.
Although a rear seat is a safer place, you can secure a
forward
-facing child restraint in the right front seat.
You'll be using the lap
-shoulder belt. See the earlier
part about the top strap if the child restraint has one.
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.
1. Because your vehicle has a right front passenger air
bag, always move the seat as far back as it will go
before securing a forward
-facing child restraint.
See ªSeatsº in the Index.
2. Put the restraint on the seat.

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Older Children
Older children who have outgrown booster seats should
wear the vehicle's safety belts.
If you have the choice, a child should sit next to a
window so the child can wear a lap
-shoulder belt and
get the additional restraint a shoulder belt can provide.
Q:What is the proper way to wear safety belts?
A:If possible, an older child should wear a
lap
-shoulder belt and get the additional restraint a
shoulder belt can provide. The shoulder belt should
not cross the face or neck. The lap belt should fit
snugly below the hips, just touching the top of the
thighs. It should never be worn over the abdomen,
which could cause severe or even fatal internal
injuries in a crash.
Accident statistics show that children are safer if they
are restrained in the rear seat.
In a crash, children who are not buckled up can strike
other people who are buckled up, or can be thrown
out of the vehicle. Older children need to use safety
belts properly.