airbag BUICK RANDEZVOUS 2006 Owner's Manual

Seats and Restraint Systems........................... 1-1
Front Seats
............................................... 1-3
Rear Seats
............................................... 1-8
Safety Belts
.............................................1-22
Child Restraints
.......................................1-45
Airbag System
.........................................1-72
Restraint System Check
............................1-87
Features and Controls..................................... 2-1
Keys
........................................................ 2-3
Doors and Locks
....................................... 2-8
Windows
.................................................2-13
Theft-Deterrent Systems
............................2-15
Starting and Operating Your Vehicle
...........2-19
Mirrors
....................................................2-31
OnStar
®System
......................................2-32
Universal Home Remote System
................2-34
Storage Areas
.........................................2-38
Sunroof
..................................................2-46
Vehicle Personalization
.............................2-47
Instrument Panel............................................. 3-1
Instrument Panel Overview
.......................... 3-4
Climate Controls
......................................3-28
Warning Lights, Gages, and Indicators
........3-37
Message Center
.......................................3-51Driver Information Center (DIC)
..................3-60
Audio System(s)
.......................................3-74
Driving Your Vehicle....................................... 4-1
Your Driving, the Road, and Your Vehicle
..... 4-2
Towing
...................................................4-36
Service and Appearance Care.......................... 5-1
Service
..................................................... 5-3
Fuel
......................................................... 5-4
Checking Things Under the Hood
................. 5-9
All-Wheel Drive
........................................5-43
Bulb Replacement
....................................5-44
Windshield Replacement
...........................5-49
Windshield Wiper Blade Replacement
.........5-49
Tires
......................................................5-51
Appearance Care
.....................................5-91
Vehicle Identication
.................................5-99
Electrical System
....................................5-100
Capacities and Specications
...................5-106
Maintenance Schedule..................................... 6-1
Maintenance Schedule
................................ 6-2
Customer Assistance and Information.............. 7-1
Customer Assistance and Information
........... 7-2
Reporting Safety Defects
...........................7-13
Index................................................................ 1
2006 Buick Rendezvous Owner ManualM

Airbag System...............................................1-72
Where Are the Airbags?................................1-75
When Should an Airbag Inate?.....................1-77
What Makes an Airbag Inate?.......................1-79
How Does an Airbag Restrain?.......................1-79
What Will You See After an
Airbag Inates?.........................................1-80
Passenger Sensing System............................1-81Servicing Your Airbag-Equipped Vehicle...........1-85
Adding Equipment to Your Airbag-Equipped
Vehicle....................................................1-86
Restraint System Check..................................1-87
Checking the Restraint Systems......................1-87
Replacing Restraint System Parts
After a Crash............................................1-88
Section 1 Seats and Restraint Systems
1-2

or the safety belts!
With safety belts, you slow down as the vehicle does.
You get more time to stop. You stop over more
distance, and your strongest bones take the forces.
That is why safety belts make such good sense.
Questions and Answers About
Safety Belts
Q:Will I be trapped in the vehicle after an accident
if I am wearing a safety belt?
A:Youcouldbe — whether you are wearing a safety
belt or not. But you can unbuckle a safety belt,
even if you are upside down. And your chance of
being conscious during and after an accident,
so youcanunbuckle and get out, ismuchgreater
if you are belted.
Q:If my vehicle has airbags, why should I have to
wear safety belts?
A:Airbags are in many vehicles today and will be in
most of them in the future. But they are supplemental
systems only; so they workwithsafety belts — not
instead of them. Every airbag system ever offered for
sale has required the use of safety belts. Even if you
are in a vehicle that has airbags, you still have to
buckle up to get the most protection. That is true not
only in frontal collisions, but especially in side and
other collisions.
1-26

{CAUTION:
Children who are up against, or very close to,
any airbag when it inates can be seriously
injured or killed. Airbags plus lap-shoulder
belts offer protection for adults and older
children, 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.
1-49

When choosing a child restraint, be sure the child
restraint is designed to be used in a vehicle. If it is,
it will have a label saying that it meets federal motor
vehicle safety standards.
Then follow the instructions for the restraint. You may
nd these instructions on the restraint itself or in a
booklet, or both. These restraints use the belt system or
the LATCH (Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children)
system in your vehicle, but the child also has to be
secured within the restraint to help reduce the chance
of personal injury. When securing an add-on child
restraint, refer to the instructions that come with the
restraint which may be on the restraint itself or in
a booklet, or both, and to this manual. The child restraint
instructions are important, so if they are not available,
obtain a replacement copy from the manufacturer.
Keep in mind that an unsecured child restraint can move
around in a collision or sudden stop and injure people
in the vehicle. Be sure to properly secure any child
restraint in your vehicle – even when no child is in it.Where to Put the Restraint
Accident statistics show that children are safer if they
are restrained in the rear rather than the front seat.
General Motors recommends that child restraints
be secured in a rear seat, including an infant riding in a
rear-facing infant seat, a child riding in a forward-facing
child seat and an older child riding in a booster seat.
Your vehicle has a rear seat that will accommodate
a rear-facing child restraint. A label on your sun visor
says, “Never put a rear-facing child seat in the
front.” This is because the risk to the rear-facing child
is so great, if the airbag deploys.
{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.
CAUTION: (Continued)
1-54

CAUTION: (Continued)
Even though the passenger sensing system is
designed to turn off the passenger’s frontal
airbag if the system detects a rear-facing child
restraint, no system is fail-safe, and no one
can guarantee that an airbag will not deploy
under some unusual circumstance, even
though it is turned off. General Motors
recommends that rear-facing child restraints
be secured in the rear seat, even if the airbag
is off.
If you need to secure a forward-facing child
restraint in the right 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.
Wherever you install a child restraint, be sure to secure
the child restraint properly.
Keep in mind that an unsecured child restraint can
move around in a collision or sudden stop and injure
people in the vehicle. Be sure to properly secure
any child restraint in your vehicle — even when no
child is in it.
Lower Anchors and Tethers for
Children (LATCH)
Your vehicle has the LATCH system. The LATCH
system holds a child restraint during driving or in a
crash. This system is designed to make installation
of a child restraint easier. The LATCH system uses
anchors in the vehicle and attachments on the
child restraint that are made for use with the
LATCH system
Make sure that a LATCH-compatible child restraint is
properly installed using the anchors, or use the vehicle’s
safety belts to secure the restraint, following the
instructions that came with that restraint, and also the
instructions in this manual. When installing a child
restraint with a top tether, you must also use either the
lower anchors or the safety belts to properly secure
the child restraint. A child restraint must never be
attached using only the top tether and anchor.
1-55

To remove the child restraint, if the top tether is attached
to the top tether anchor, disconnect it. Unbuckle the
vehicle’s safety belt. When you remove the child
restraint, be sure to reconnect the lap and shoulder
parts of the belt so they 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 airbag. A rear
seat is a safer place to secure a forward-facing child
restraint. SeeWhere to Put the Restraint on page 1-54.
In addition, your vehicle has the passenger sensing
system. The passenger sensing system is designed to
turn off the right front passenger’s frontal airbag
when an infant in a rear-facing infant seat or a small
child in a forward-facing child restraint or booster seat is
detected. SeePassenger Sensing System on page 1-81
andPassenger Airbag Status Indicator on page 3-42
for more information on this including important
safety information.
A label on your sun visor says, “Never put a rear-facing
child seat in the front.” This is because the risk to the
rear-facing child is so great, if the airbag deploys.
{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.
Even though the passenger sensing system is
designed to turn off the passenger’s frontal
airbag if the system detects a rear-facing child
restraint, no system is fail-safe, and no one
can guarantee that an airbag will not deploy
under some unusual circumstance, even
though it is turned off. We recommend that
rear-facing child restraints be secured in the
rear seat, even if the airbag is off.
If you need to secure a forward-facing child restraint
in the right front seat position, move the seat as far back
as it will go before securing the forward-facing child
restraint. SeeManual Seats on page 1-3orSix-Way
Power Seats on page 1-4.
If your child restraint is equipped with the LATCH
system, seeLower Anchors and Tethers for
Children (LATCH) on page 1-55.
1-69

There is no top tether anchor at the right front seating
position. Do not secure a child seat in this position
if a national or local law requires that the top tether be
anchored or if the instructions that come with the
child restraint say that the top tether must be anchored.
SeeLower Anchors and Tethers for Children (LATCH)
on page 1-55if the child restraint has a top tether.
You will be using the lap-shoulder belt to secure the
child restraint in this position. 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. Your vehicle has a right front passenger’s frontal
airbag. SeePassenger Sensing System on
page 1-81. General Motors recommends that
rear-facing child restraints be secured in a rear seat,
even if the airbag is off. If your child restraint is
forward-facing, move the seat as far back as it
will go before securing the child restraint in this seat.
SeeManual Seats on page 1-3orSix-Way Power
Seats on page 1-4.
When the passenger sensing system has turned off
the right front passenger’s frontal airbag, the off
indicator in the passenger airbag status indicator
should light and stay lit when you turn the ignition
to ON or START. SeePassenger Airbag Status
Indicator on page 3-42.2. 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.
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.
1-70

7. Push and pull the child restraint in different
directions to be sure it is secure.
8. If your vehicle has the passenger sensing system
and the airbag is off, the off indicator will be lit and
stay lit in the inside rearview mirror when the
key is turned to ON or START.
If a child restraint has been installed and the on
indicator is lit, turn the vehicle off. Remove the child
restraint from the vehicle and reinstall the child restraint.
If after reinstalling the child restraint and restarting
the vehicle, the on indicator is still lit, check to make
sure that the vehicle’s seatback is not pressing the child
restraint into the seat cushion. If this happens, slightly
recline the vehicle’s seatback and adjust the seat
cushion if possible. Also make sure the child restraint is
not trapped under the vehicle head restraint. If this
happens, adjust the head restraint.
If the on indicator is still lit, secure the child in the
child restraint in a rear seat position in the vehicle and
check with your dealer.
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 a frontal airbag for the driver and a
frontal airbag for the right front passenger. Your vehicle
may also have side impact airbags. Side impact
airbags are available for the driver and right front
passenger.
If your vehicle has a side impact airbag for the driver
and/or the right front passenger, the word AIRBAG
will appear on the airbag covering on the side of the
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.
Here are the most important things to know about the
airbag system:
{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
CAUTION: (Continued)
1-72

CAUTION: (Continued)
hitting things inside the vehicle or being ejected
from it. Airbags are “supplemental restraints” to
the safety belts. 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 in moderate
to severe frontal and near frontal crashes.
They are not designed to inate in rollover, rear
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.
Side impact airbags are designed to inate 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
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. Front occupants should not lean on or
sleep against the door.
1-73