BUICK RAINIER 2004 Workshop Manual

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.
Air Bag Systems
This part explains the frontal and side impact air bag
systems.
Your vehicle has air bags – a frontal air bag for the driver
and another frontal air bag for the right front passenger.
Your vehicle may also have side impact air bags.
Side impact air bags are available for the driver and right
front passenger.
If your vehicle has a side impact air bag for the driver
and/or the right front passenger, the words AIR BAG
will appear on the air bag covering on the side of
the seatback closest to the door.
1-45

Frontal air bags are designed to help reduce the risk
of injury from the force of an inating frontal air bag. But
these air bags must inate very quickly to do their job
and comply with federal regulations.Here are the most important things to know about the
air bag systems:
{CAUTION:
You can be severely injured or killed in a crash
if you are not wearing your safety belt — even
if you have air bags. Wearing your safety belt
during a crash helps reduce your chance of
hitting things inside the vehicle or being
ejected from it. Air bags are designed to work
with safety belts but do not replace them.
Frontal air bags 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
inrollover, rear or low-speed frontal crashes,
or in many side crashes. And, for some
unrestrained occupants, frontal air bags may
provide less protection in frontal crashes than
more forceful air bags have provided in
the past.
CAUTION: (Continued)
1-46

CAUTION: (Continued)
The side impact air bags for the driver and
right front passenger are designed to inate
only in moderate to severe crashes where
something hits the side of your vehicle.
They are 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
air bag for that person.
{CAUTION:
Both frontal and side impact air bags inate
with great force, faster than the blink of an
eye. If you’re too close to an inating air bag,
as you would be if you were leaning forward,
it could seriously injure you. Safety belts
help keep you in position for air bag ination
before and during a crash. Always wear
your safety belt, even with frontal air bags.
The driver should sit as far back as possible
while still maintaining control of the vehicle.
Front occupants should not lean on or sleep
against the door.
1-47

{CAUTION:
Anyone who is up against, or very close to,
any air bag when it inates can be seriously
injured or killed. Air bags 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 air bag
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 air bag
readiness light on the
instrument panel cluster,
which shows the air
bag symbol.
The system checks the air bag electrical system for
malfunctions. The light tells you if there is an electrical
problem. SeeAir Bag Readiness Light on page 3-30
for more information.
1-48

Where Are the Air Bags?
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.
1-49

If your vehicle has a driver’s side impact air bag it is
located in the side of the driver’s seatback closest to
the door.If your vehicle has a right front passenger’s side impact
air bag it is located in the side of the passenger’s
seatback closest to the door.
1-50

{CAUTION:
If something is between an occupant and an
air bag, 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 air bag must be kept clear. Don’t put
anything between an occupant and an air bag,
and don’t attach or put anything on the
steering wheel hub or on or near any other air
bag covering. Don’t let seat covers block the
ination path of a side impact air bag.
When Should an Air Bag Inate?
The driver’s and right front passenger’s frontal air bags
are designed to inate in moderate to severe frontal
or near-frontal crashes. But they are designed to inate
only if the impact speed is above the system’s
designed “threshold level.”
In addition, your vehicle has “dual stage” frontal air bags,
which adjust the amount of restraint according to
crash severity. For moderate frontal impacts, these
air bags inate at a level less than full deployment.For more severe frontal impacts, full deployment occurs.
If the front of your vehicle goes straight into a wall
that doesn’t move or deform, the threshold level for
the reduced deployment is about 12 to 16 mph
(19 to 26 km/h), and the threshold level for a full
deployment is about 16 to 25 mph (26 to 40 km/h).
The threshold level can vary, however, with specic
vehicle design, so that it can be somewhat above or
below this range.
If your vehicle strikes something that will move or deform,
such as a parked car, the threshold level will be higher.
The driver’s and right front passenger’s frontal air bags
are not designed to inate in rollovers, rear impacts,
or in many side impacts because ination would not help
the occupant.
Your vehicle may or may not have a side impact air bag.
See Air Bag Systems in the Index. Side impact air bags
are designed to inate in moderate to severe side
crashes. 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.
Side impact air bags are not designed to inate in frontal
or near-frontal impacts, rollovers or rear impacts,
because ination would not help the occupant. A side
impact air bag will only deploy on the side of the vehicle
that is struck.
1-51

In any particular crash, no one can say whether an air
bag should have inated simply because of the damage
to a vehicle or because of what the repair costs were.
For frontal air bags, ination is determined by the angle
of the impact and how quickly the vehicle slows down
in frontal and near-frontal impacts. For side impact
air bags, ination is determined by the location
and severity of the impact.
The air bag system is designed to work properly under
a wide range of conditions, including off-road usage.
Observe safe driving speeds, especially on rough
terrain. As always, wear your safety belt. SeeOperating
Your All-Wheel-Drive Vehicle Off Paved Roads on
page 4-16for tips on off-road driving.
What Makes an Air Bag Inate?
In an impact of sufficient severity, the air bag sensing
system detects that the vehicle is in a crash. For both
frontal and side impact air bags, the sensing system
triggers a release of gas from the inator, which inates
the air bag. The inator, the air bag and related hardware
are all part of the air bag modules. Frontal air bag
modules are located inside the steering wheel and
instrument panel. For vehicles with side impact air bags,
the air bag modules are located in the seatback closest
to the driver’s and/or right front passenger’s door.
How Does an Air Bag 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. The air bag supplements the protection
provided by safety belts. Air bags distribute the force of
the impact more evenly over the occupant’s upper body,
stopping the occupant more gradually. But the frontal air
bags would not help you in many types of collisions,
including rollovers, rear impacts, and many side impacts,
primarily because an occupant’s motion is not toward
the air bag. Side impact air bags would not help you in
many types of collisions, including frontal or near frontal
collisions, rollovers, and rear impacts, primarily because
an occupant’s motion is not toward those air bags.
Air bags should never be regarded as anything more
than a supplement to safety belts, and then only in
moderate to severe frontal or near-frontal collisions for
the driver’s and right front passenger’s frontal air bags,
and only in moderate to severe side collisions for
vehicles with a driver’s and right front passenger’s side
impact air bag.
1-52

What Will You See After an Air Bag
Inates?
After the air bag inates, it quickly deates, so quickly
that some people may not even realize the air bag
inated. Some components of the air bag module will
be hot for a short time. These components include
the steering wheel hub for the driver’s frontal air bag
and the instrument panel for the right front passenger’s
frontal air bag. For vehicles with side impact air
bags, the side of the seatback closest to the driver’s
and/or right front passenger’s door will be hot.
The parts of the bag that come into contact with you
may be warm, but not too hot to touch. There will
be some smoke and dust coming from the vents in the
deated air bags. Air bag ination doesn’t prevent
the driver from seeing or being able to steer the vehicle,
nor does it stop people from leaving the vehicle.
{CAUTION:
When an air bag inates, there is dust in the
air. This dust could cause breathing problems
for people with a history of asthma or other
breathing trouble. To avoid this, everyone in
the vehicle should get out as soon as it is safe
to do so. If you have breathing problems but
can’t get out of the vehicle after an air bag
inates, then get fresh air by opening a
window or a door. If you experience breathing
problems following an air bag deployment,
you should seek medical attention.
Your vehicle has a feature that will automatically
unlock the doors and turn the interior lamps on when
the air bags inate (if battery power is available).
You can lock the doors again and turn the interior lamps
off by using the door lock and interior lamp controls.
1-53

In many crashes severe enough to inate an air bag,
windshields are broken by vehicle deformation.
Additional windshield breakage may also occur from
the right front passenger air bag.
Air bags are designed to inate only once. After an
air bag inates, you’ll need some new parts for your
air bag system. If you don’t get them, the air bag
system won’t be there to help protect you in another
crash. A new system will include air bag modules
and possibly other parts. The service manual for your
vehicle covers the need to replace other parts.
Your vehicle is equipped with electronic frontal
sensors, which help the sensing system distinguish
between a moderate frontal impact and a more
severe frontal impact. Your vehicle is also equipped
with a crash sensing and diagnostic module, which
records information about the frontal air bag system.
The module records information about the readiness
of the system, when the system commands air bag
ination and driver’s safety belt usage at deployment.
The module also records speed, engine rpm, brake
and throttle data.
Let only qualied technicians work on your air bag
systems. Improper service can mean that an air bag
system won’t work properly. See your dealer for
service.
Notice:If you damage the covering for the driver’s
or the right front passenger’s air bag, or the air
bag covering on the driver’s and right front
passenger’s seatback, the air bag may not work
properly. You may have to replace the air bag
module in the steering wheel, both the air bag
module and the instrument panel for the right front
passenger’s air bag, or both the air bag module
and seatback for the driver’s and right front
passenger’s side impact air bag. Do not open or
break the air bag coverings.
1-54