BUICK CENTURY 2005 Workshop Manual

{CAUTION:
A child in a child restraint in the center front
seat can be badly injured or killed by the right
front passenger’s airbag if it inates. Never
secure a child restraint in the center front seat.
It is always better to secure a child restraint in
the rear seat.
If you secure a forward-facing child restraint in
the right front passenger 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.
1. Make the belt as long as possible by tilting the latch
plate and pulling it along the belt.
2. Put the child restraint on the seat.
3. Run the vehicle’s safety belt through or around the
restraint. The child restraint instructions will show
you how.
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4. Buckle the belt. Make sure the release button is
positioned so you would be able to unbuckle the
safety belt quickly if you ever had to.
5. To tighten the belt, pull its free end while you push
down on the child restraint. If you are using a
forward-facing child restraint, you may nd it helpful
to use your knee to push the child restraint as
you tighten the belt.
6. Push and pull the child restraint in different
directions to be sure it is secure.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
If your child restraint is equipped with the LATCH
system, seeLower Anchorages and Top Tethers for
Children (LATCH System) on page 1-40.
There is no top strap anchor in the right front
passenger’s position. Do not secure a child seat in this
position if a national or local law requires that the
top strap be anchored, or if the instructions that come
with the child restraint say that the top strap must
be anchored. SeeTop Strap on page 1-37if the child
restraint has one.
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Your vehicle has a right front passenger airbag.
Neverput a rear-facing child restraint in this seat.
Here is why:
{CAUTION:
A child in a rear-facing child restraint can be
seriously injured or killed if the right front
passenger’s airbag inates. This is because
the back of the rear-facing child restraint
would be very close to the inating airbag.
Always secure a rear-facing child restraint in
a rear seat.A rear seat is a safer place to secure a forward-facing
child restraint. If you need to secure a forward-facing
child restraint in the right front seat, you will be using the
lap-shoulder belt to secure the child restraint. 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
airbag, always move the seat as far back as it will
go before securing a forward-facing child restraint.
SeeManual Seats on page 1-2.
2. Put the child restraint on the seat.
3. Pick up the latch plate, and run the lap and shoulder
portions of the vehicle’s safety belt through or
around the restraint. The child restraint instructions
will show you how.
Tilt the latch plate to adjust the belt if needed.
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4. Buckle the belt. Make sure the release button is
positioned so you would be able to unbuckle the
safety belt quickly if you ever had to.5. Pull the rest of the shoulder belt all the way out of
the retractor to set the lock.
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6. To tighten the belt, push down on the child restraint,
pull the shoulder portion of the belt to tighten the
lap portion of the belt and feed the shoulder belt
back into the retractor. You may nd it helpful to use
your knee to push down on the child restraint as
you tighten the belt.
7. Push and pull the child restraint in different
directions to be sure it is secure.
To remove the child restraint, just unbuckle the vehicle’s
safety belt and let it go back all the way. The safety
belt will move freely again and be ready to work for
an adult or larger child passenger.
Airbag System
Your vehicle has airbags – a frontal airbag for the driver
and another frontal airbag for the right front passenger.
Your vehicle may also have a side impact airbag for
the driver.
If your vehicle has a
side impact airbag for
the driver it will say
AIR BAG on the airbag
covering on the side of the
driver’s seatback closest
to the door.
Frontal airbags are designed to help reduce the risk of
injury from the force of an inating frontal airbag.
But these airbags must inate very quickly to do their
job and comply with federal regulations.
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Here are the most important things to know about the
airbag systems:
{CAUTION:
You can be severely injured or killed in a crash
if you are not wearing your safety belt, even if
you have airbags. Wearing your safety belt
during a crash helps reduce your chance of
hitting things inside the vehicle or being
ejected from it. Airbags are designed to work
with safety belts but do not replace them.
Frontal airbags for the driver and right front
passenger are designed to deploy only in
moderate to severe frontal and near frontal
crashes. They are not designed to inate in
rollover, rear or low-speed frontal crashes, or in
many side crashes. And, for some unrestrained
occupants, frontal airbags may provide less
protection in frontal crashes than more forceful
airbags have provided in the past.
The side impact airbag for the driver is designed
to inate only in moderate to severe crashes
CAUTION: (Continued)
CAUTION: (Continued)
where something hits the driver’s side of your
vehicle. It is not designed to inate in frontal,
in rollover or in rear crashes.
Everyone in your vehicle should wear a safety
belt properly, whether or not there is an airbag
for that person.
{CAUTION:
Both frontal and side impact airbags inate
with great force, faster than the blink of an
eye. If you are too close to an inating airbag,
as you would be if you were leaning forward,
it could seriously injure you. Safety belts help
keep you in position for airbag ination before
and during a crash. Always wear your safety
belt, even with frontal airbags. The driver
should sit as far back as possible while still
maintaining control of the vehicle, and should
not lean on the door.
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{CAUTION:
Anyone who is up against, or very close to,
any airbag when it inates can be seriously
injured or killed. Airbags plus lap-shoulder
belts offer the best protection for adults, but
not for young children and infants. Neither the
vehicle’s safety belt system nor its airbag
system is designed for them. Young children
and infants need the protection that a child
restraint system can provide. Always secure
children properly in your vehicle. To read how,
see the part of this manual called “Older
Children” or “Infants and Young Children.”There is an airbag
readiness light on the
instrument panel, which
shows the airbag symbol.
The system checks the airbag electrical system for
malfunctions. The light tells you if there is an electrical
problem. SeeAirbag Readiness Light on page 3-31
for more information.
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Where Are the Airbags?
The driver’s frontal air bag is in the middle of the
steering wheel.The right front passenger’s frontal air bag is in the
instrument panel on the passenger’s side.
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If your vehicle has one, the driver’s side impact air bag is
in the side of the driver’s seatback closest to the door.
{CAUTION:
If something is between an occupant and an
airbag, the bag might not inate properly or it
might force the object into that person causing
severe injury or even death. The path of an
inating 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 let seat covers block
the ination path of a side impact airbag.
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When Should an Airbag Inate?
The driver’s and right front passenger’s frontal airbags
are designed to inate in moderate to severe frontal
or near-frontal crashes. But they are designed to inate
only if the impact exceeds a predetermined deployment
threshold. Deployment thresholds take into account
a variety of desired deployment and non-deployment
events and are used to predict how severe a crash
is likely to be in time for the airbags to inate and help
restrain the occupants. Whether your frontal airbags
will or should deploy is not based on how fast your
vehicle is traveling. It depends largely on what you hit,
the direction of the impact and how quickly your
vehicle slows down.
If the front of your vehicle goes straight into a wall
that does not move or deform, the threshold level is
about 12 to 18 mph (19 to 29 km/h). The threshold level
can vary, however, with specic vehicle design, so
that it can be somewhat above or below this range.Airbags may inate at different crash speeds.
For example:If the vehicle hits a stationary object, the airbag
could inate at a different crash speed than if
the object were moving.
If the object deforms, the airbag could inate
at a different crash speed than if the object
does not deform.
If the vehicle hits a narrow object (like a pole) the
airbag could inate at a different crash speed
than if the vehicle hits a wide object (like a wall).
If the vehicle goes into an object at an angle the
airbag could inate at a different crash speed
than if the vehicle goes straight into the object.
The frontal airbags (driver and right front passenger)
are not intended to inate during vehicle rollovers, rear
impacts, or in many side impacts because ination
would not likely help the occupants.
Your vehicle may or may not have a driver’s side impact
air bag. SeeAirbag System on page 1-49. A driver’s
side impact air bag is designed to inate in moderate
to severe side crashes involving the driver’s door.
A side impact air bag will inate if the crash severity
is above the system’s designed “threshold level.”
The threshold level can vary with specic vehicle design.
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