CHEVROLET HHR 2011 1.G Owners Manual

Black plate (59,1)Chevrolet HHR Owner Manual - 2011
{WARNING:
Be sure that cargo is not near an airbag. In a
crash, an inflating airbag might force that object
toward a person. This could cause severe injury
or even death. Secure objects away from the area
in which an airbag would inflate. For more
information, seeWhere Are the Airbags?
on
page 2‑61
and Loading the Vehicleon
page 5‑22
.
Airbags are designed to supplement the protection
provided by safety belts. Even though today's airbags
are also designed to help reduce the risk of injury from
the force of an inflating bag, all airbags must inflate very
quickly to do their job. Here are the most important things to know about the
airbag system:
{WARNING:
You can be severely injured or killed in a crash if
you are not wearing your safety belt
—even if you
have airbags. Airbags are designed to work with
safety belts, but do not replace them. Also,
airbags are not designed to deploy in every crash.
In some crashes safety belts are your only
restraint. See When Should an Airbag Inflate?
on
page 2‑63
.
Wearing your safety belt during a crash helps
reduce your chance of hitting things inside the
vehicle or being ejected from it. Airbags are
“supplemental restraints” to the safety belts.
Everyone in your vehicle should wear a safety belt
properly —whether or not there is an airbag for
that person.
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Black plate (60,1)Chevrolet HHR Owner Manual - 2011
{WARNING:
Airbags inflate with great force, faster than the
blink of an eye. Anyone who is up against, or very
close to, any airbag when it inflates can be
seriously injured or killed. Do not sit unnecessarily
close to the airbag, as you would be if you were
sitting on the edge of your seat or leaning forward.
Safety belts help keep you in position before and
during a crash. Always wear your safety belt,
even with airbags. The driver should sit as far
back as possible while still maintaining control of
the vehicle.
Occupants should not lean on or sleep against the
door or side windows in seating positions with
roof-rail airbags.
{WARNING:
Children who are up against, or very close to, any
airbag when it inflates can be seriously injured or
killed. Airbags plus lap-shoulder belts offer(Continued)
WARNING: (Continued)
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. Always secure children properly in
your vehicle. To read how, seeOlder Children
on
page 2‑34
or Infants and Young Childrenon
page 2‑36
.
There is an airbag
readiness light on the
instrument panel cluster,
which shows the airbag
symbol.
The system checks the airbag electrical system for
malfunctions. The light tells you if there is an electrical
problem. See Airbag Readiness Light
on page 4‑26for
more information.
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Black plate (61,1)Chevrolet HHR Owner Manual - 2011
Where Are the Airbags?
The driver's frontal airbag is in the middle of the
steering wheel.
The right front passenger's airbag is in the instrument
panel on the passenger's side.
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Black plate (62,1)Chevrolet HHR Owner Manual - 2011
Driver Side shown, Passenger Side similar
If your vehicle has roof-rail airbags for the driver, right
front passenger, and second row outboard passengers,
they are in the ceiling above the side windows.
{WARNING:
If something is between an occupant and an
airbag, the airbag might not inflate properly or it
might force the object into that person causing
severe injury or even death. The path of an
inflating 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.
Never secure anything to the roof of a vehicle with
roof-rail airbags by routing a rope or tie down
through any door or window opening. If you do,
the path of an inflating roof-rail airbag will be
blocked.
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Black plate (63,1)Chevrolet HHR Owner Manual - 2011
When Should an Airbag Inflate?
Frontal airbags are designed to inflate in moderate to
severe frontal or near-frontal crashes to help reduce the
potential for severe injuries mainly to the driver's or right
front passenger's head and chest. However, they are
only designed to inflate if the impact exceeds a
predetermined deployment threshold. Deployment
thresholds are used to predict how severe a crash is
likely to be in time for the airbags to inflate 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.
Frontal airbags may inflate at different crash speeds.
For example:
.If the vehicle hits a stationary object, the airbags
could inflate at a different crash speed than if the
vehicle hits a moving object.
.If the vehicle hits an object that deforms, the
airbags could inflate at a different crash speed
than if the vehicle hits an object does not deform.
.If the vehicle hits a narrow object (like a pole), the
airbags could inflate 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
airbags could inflate at a different crash speed
than if the vehicle goes straight into the object.
Thresholds can also vary with specific vehicle design.
Frontal airbags are not intended to inflate during vehicle
rollovers, rear impacts, or in many side impacts.
In addition, your vehicle has dual-stage frontal airbags.
Dual-stage airbags adjust the restraint according to
crash severity. Your vehicle has an electronic frontal
sensor, which helps the sensing system distinguish
between a moderate frontal impact and a more severe
frontal impact. For moderate frontal impacts, dual-stage
airbags inflate at a level less than full deployment. For
more severe frontal impacts, full deployment occurs.
Your vehicle may or may not have roof-rail airbags. See
Airbag System
on page 2‑58. Roof-rail airbags are
intended to inflate in moderate to severe side crashes.
In addition, these roof-rail airbags are intended to inflate
during a rollover. Roof-rail airbags will inflate if the crash
severity is above the system's designed threshold level.
The threshold level can vary with specific vehicle
design.
Roof-rail airbags are not intended to inflate in frontal
impacts, near-frontal impacts, or rear impacts.
A roof-rail airbag is intended to deploy on the side of the
vehicle that is struck or if the sensing system predicts
that the vehicle is about to roll over.
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Black plate (64,1)Chevrolet HHR Owner Manual - 2011
In any particular crash, no one can say whether an
airbag should have inflated simply because of the
damage to a vehicle or because of what the repair costs
were. For frontal airbags, inflation is determined by what
the vehicle hits, the angle of the impact, and how
quickly the vehicle slows down. For roof-rail airbags,
deployment is determined by the location and severity
of the side impact. In a rollover event, roof-rail airbag
deployment is determined by the direction of the roll.
What Makes an Airbag Inflate?
In a deployment event, the sensing system sends an
electrical signal triggering a release of gas from the
inflator. Gas from the inflator fills the airbag causing the
bag to break out of the cover and deploy. The inflator,
the airbag, and related hardware are all part of the
airbag module.
Frontal airbag modules are located inside the steering
wheel and instrument panel. For vehicles with roof-rail
airbags, there are airbag modules in the ceiling of the
vehicle, near the side windows that have occupant
seating positions.
How Does an Airbag 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.
Airbags supplement the protection provided by safety
belts. Frontal airbags distribute the force of the impact
more evenly over the occupant's upper body, stopping
the occupant more gradually. Roof-rail airbags distribute
the force of the impact more evenly over the occupant's
upper body.
Rollover capable roof-rail airbags are designed to help
contain the head and chest of occupants in the
outboard seating positions in the first and second rows.
The rollover capable roof-rail airbags are designed to
help reduce the risk of full or partial ejection in rollover
events, although no system can prevent all such
ejections.
But airbags would not help in many types of collisions,
primarily because the occupant's motion is not toward
those airbags. SeeWhen Should an Airbag Inflate?
on
page 2‑63for more information.
Airbags should never be regarded as anything more
than a supplement to safety belts.
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Black plate (65,1)Chevrolet HHR Owner Manual - 2011
What Will You See After an Airbag
Inflates?
After the frontal airbags inflate, they quickly deflate, so
quickly that some people may not even realize an
airbag inflated. Roof-rail airbags may still be at least
partially inflated for some time after they deploy. Some
components of the airbag module may be hot for
several minutes. For location of the airbag modules, see
What Makes an Airbag Inflate? on page 2‑64.
The parts of the airbag that come into contact with you
may be warm, but not too hot to touch. There may be
some smoke and dust coming from the vents in the
deflated airbags. Airbag inflation does not prevent the
driver from seeing out of the windshield or being able to
steer the vehicle, nor does it prevent people from
leaving the vehicle.
{WARNING:
When an airbag inflates, there may be 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 cannot get out
of the vehicle after an airbag inflates, then get
fresh air by opening a window or a door. If you
experience breathing problems following an airbag
deployment, you should seek medical attention.
The vehicle has a feature that may automatically unlock
the doors, turn on the interior lamps and hazard warning
flashers, and shut off the fuel system after the airbags
inflate. You can lock the doors, turn off the interior
lamps and hazard warning flashers by using the
controls for those features.
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Black plate (66,1)Chevrolet HHR Owner Manual - 2011
{WARNING:
A crash severe enough to inflate the airbags may
have also damaged important functions in the
vehicle, such as the fuel system, brake and
steering systems, etc. Even if the vehicle appears
to be drivable after a moderate crash, there may
be concealed damage that could make it difficult
to safely operate the vehicle.
Use caution if you should attempt to restart the
engine after a crash has occurred.
In many crashes severe enough to inflate the airbag,
windshields are broken by vehicle deformation.
Additional windshield breakage may also occur from the
right front passenger airbag.
.Airbags are designed to inflate only once. After an
airbag inflates, you will need some new parts for
the airbag system. If you do not get them, the
airbag system will not be there to help protect you
in another crash. A new system will include airbag
modules and possibly other parts. The service
manual for the vehicle covers the need to replace
other parts.
.The vehicle has a crash sensing and diagnostic
module which records information after a crash.
See Vehicle Data Recording and Privacy
on
page 8‑15and Event Data Recorderson
page 8‑16.
.Let only qualified technicians work on the airbag
systems. Improper service can mean that an
airbag system will not work properly. See your
dealer for service.
Passenger Sensing System
If the vehicle has one of the passenger airbag status
indicators pictured in the following illustrations, then the
vehicle has a passenger sensing system for the right
front passenger position. The passenger airbag status
indicator, if equipped, is visible on the instrument panel
when the vehicle is started.
In addition, if the vehicle has a passenger sensing
system for the right front passenger position, the label
on the vehicle's sun visors refer to “ADVANCED
AIRBAGS”.
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Black plate (67,1)Chevrolet HHR Owner Manual - 2011
United StatesCanada
The words ON and OFF, or the symbol for on and off,
will be visible during the system check. If you are using
remote start, if equipped, to start the vehicle from a
distance, you may not see the system check. When the
system check is complete, either the word ON or the
word OFF, or the symbol for on or off, will be visible.
See Passenger Airbag Status Indicator on page 4‑27. The passenger sensing system will turn off the right
front passenger frontal airbag under certain conditions.
The driver airbag and roof‐rail airbags are not affected
by the passenger sensing system.
The passenger sensing system works with sensors that
are part of the right front passenger seat. The sensors
are designed to detect the presence of a
properly-seated occupant and determine if the right
front passenger frontal airbag should be enabled (may
inflate) or not.
According to accident statistics, children are safer when
properly secured in a rear seat in the correct child
restraint for their weight and size.
We recommend that children be secured in a rear seat,
including: an infant or a child riding in a rear-facing child
restraint; a child riding in a forward-facing child seat; an
older child riding in a booster seat; and children, who
are large enough, using safety belts.
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Black plate (68,1)Chevrolet HHR Owner Manual - 2011
A label on the 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.
{WARNING:
A child in a rear-facing child restraint can be
seriously injured or killed if the right 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 right front passenger airbag
inflates and the passenger seat is in a forward
position.
Even if the passenger sensing system has turned
off the right 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 the airbag 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 the right front seat,
(Continued)
WARNING: (Continued)
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.
If the vehicle does not have a rear seat that will
accommodate a rear‐facing child restraint, a rear‐facing
child restraint should not be installed in the vehicle,
even if the airbag is off.
The passenger sensing system is designed to turn off
the right front passenger frontal airbag if:
.The right front passenger seat is unoccupied.
.The system determines that an infant is present in
a child restraint.
.A right front passenger takes his/her weight off of
the seat for a period of time.
.Or, if there is a critical problem with the airbag
system or the passenger sensing system.
When the passenger sensing system has turned off the
right front passenger frontal airbag, the off indicator will
light and stay lit to remind you that the airbag is off. See
Passenger Airbag Status Indicator on page 4‑27.
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