ECU CHEVROLET IMPALA 2008 9.G Owners Manual

Front Seats......................................................1-2
Manual Seats................................................1-2
Power Seats..................................................1-3
Manual Lumbar..............................................1-3
Heated Seats.................................................1-4
Reclining Seatbacks........................................1-4
Head Restraints.............................................1-7
Center Seat...................................................1-8
Rear Seats.......................................................1-8
Split Folding Rear Seat...................................1-8
Safety Belts...................................................1-10
Safety Belts: They Are for Everyone................1-10
How to Wear Safety Belts Properly.................1-15
Lap-Shoulder Belt.........................................1-24
Safety Belt Use During Pregnancy..................1-29
Lap Belt......................................................1-29
Safety Belt Extender.....................................1-30
Child Restraints.............................................1-31
Older Children..............................................1-31
Infants and Young Children............................1-34
Child Restraint Systems.................................1-37
Where to Put the Restraint.............................1-40Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children
(LATCH)..................................................1-41
Securing a Child Restraint in a
Rear Seat Position....................................1-47
Securing a Child Restraint in the
Center Front Seat Position..........................1-50
Securing a Child Restraint in the
Right Front Seat Position............................1-50
Airbag System...............................................1-54
Where Are the Airbags?................................1-57
When Should an Airbag Inate?.....................1-59
What Makes an Airbag Inate?.......................1-60
How Does an Airbag Restrain?.......................1-60
What Will You See After an Airbag Inates?.....1-60
Passenger Sensing System
............................1-62
Servicing Your Airbag-Equipped Vehicle...........1-66
Adding Equipment to Your Airbag-Equipped
Vehicle....................................................1-67
Restraint System Check..................................1-68
Checking the Restraint Systems......................1-68
Replacing Restraint System Parts
After a Crash............................................1-69
Section 1 Seats and Restraint Systems
1-1

2. Lower the seatback(s)
by pulling forward on
the tab located on
the outboard side of the
seatback(s).
Make sure the front seats are not reclined. If they
are, the rear seatbacks will not fold down all the way.
To return the seats to the normal position:
{CAUTION:
If the seatback is not locked, it could move
forward in a sudden stop or crash. That could
cause injury to the person sitting there. Always
push and pull on the seatback to be sure it is
locked.
1. Raise the seatback up and make sure it latches.
{CAUTION:
A safety belt that is improperly routed, not
properly attached, or twisted will not provide
the protection needed in a crash. The person
wearing the belt could be seriously injured.
After raising the rear seatback, always check
to be sure that the safety belts are properly
routed and attached, and are not twisted.
2. Ensure that the safety belts are properly stowed
over the seatback in all three positions.
3. Flip the bottom seat cushion back into place. Push
rmly on the seat cushion to make sure it is secure.
When the seat is not in use, the seatback should
be placed in upright, locked position, and the seat
cushion should be in the down position.
Under Seat Storage
Your vehicle has under seat storage.
To get to the storage area, lift up on the tab located in
the center of the bottom seat cushion where the
seat cushion meets the seatback. SeeRear Storage
Area on page 2-48for more information.
1-9

Lap-Shoulder Belt
All seating positions in your vehicle have a lap-shoulder
except for the center front passenger position, if your
vehicle has one, which has a lap belt. SeeLap Belt on
page 1-29for more information.
Here is how to wear a lap-shoulder belt properly.
1. Adjust the seat, if the seat is adjustable, so you can
sit up straight. To see how, see “Seats” in the Index.
2. Pick up the latch plate and pull the belt across you.
Do not let it get twisted.
The lap-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.
If you ever pull the shoulder portion of a passenger
belt out all the way, you may engage the child
restraint locking feature. If this happens, just let the
belt go back all the way and start again.
Engaging the child restraint locking feature may
affect the passenger sensing system. See
Passenger Sensing System on page 1-62.3. Push the latch plate into the buckle until it clicks.
If you nd that the latch plate will not go fully into
the buckle, see if you are using the correct buckle.
Pull up on the latch plate to make sure it is
secure. If the belt is not long enough, seeSafety
Belt Extender on page 1-30.
Make sure the release button on the buckle is
positioned so you would be able to unbuckle the
safety belt quickly if necessary.
1-24

To make the belt shorter, pull its free end as shown
until the belt is snug.
If the belt is not long enough, seeSafety Belt Extender
on page 1-30.
Make sure the release button on the buckle is positioned
so you would be able to unbuckle the safety belt
quickly if necessary.
Safety Belt Extender
If the vehicle’s safety belt will fasten around you,
you should use it.
But if a safety belt is not long enough, your
dealer/retailer will order you an extender. When you go
in to order it, take the heaviest coat you will wear,
so the extender will be long enough for you. To help
avoid personal injury, do not let someone else use
it, and use it only for the seat it is made to t.
The extender has been designed for adults.
Never use it for securing child seats. To wear it, attach
it to the regular safety belt. For more information,
see the instruction sheet that comes with the extender.
1-30

Infants and Young Children
Everyone in a vehicle needs protection! This includes
infants and all other children. Neither the distance
traveled nor the age and size of the traveler changes
the need, for everyone, to use safety restraints. In fact,
the law in every state in the United States and in
every Canadian province says children up to some age
must be restrained while in a vehicle.
{CAUTION:
Children can be seriously injured or strangled
if a shoulder belt is wrapped around their
neck and the safety belt continues to tighten.
Never leave children unattended in a vehicle
and never allow children to play with the
safety belts.Every time infants and young children ride in vehicles,
they should have the protection provided by appropriate
restraints. Children who are not restrained properly
can strike other people, or can be thrown out of
the vehicle. In addition, young children should not use
the vehicle’s adult safety belts alone; they need to use a
child restraint.
{CAUTION:
People should never hold a baby in their arms
while riding in a vehicle. A baby does not
weigh much — until a crash. During a crash a
baby will become so heavy it is not possible to
hold it. For example, in a crash at only 25 mph
(40 km/h), a 12 lb (5.5 kg) baby will suddenly
become a 240 lb (110 kg) force on a person’s
arms. A baby should be secured in an
appropriate restraint.
1-34

Q:What are the different types of add-on child
restraints?
A:Add-on child restraints, which are purchased by the
vehicle’s owner, are available in four basic types.
Selection of a particular restraint should take
into consideration not only the child’s weight, height,
and age but also whether or not the restraint will
be compatible with the motor vehicle in which it will
be used.
For most basic types of child restraints, there are
many different models available. When purchasing a
child restraint, be sure it is designed to be used
in a motor vehicle. If it is, the restraint will have a
label saying that it meets federal motor vehicle
safety standards.
The restraint manufacturer’s instructions that come
with the restraint state the weight and height
limitations for a particular child restraint. In addition,
there are many kinds of restraints available for
children with special needs.
{CAUTION:
Newborn infants need complete support,
including support for the head and neck.
This is necessary because a newborn infant’s
neck is weak and its head weighs so much
compared with the rest of its body. In a crash,
an infant in a rear-facing seat settles into
the restraint, so the crash forces can be
distributed across the strongest part of an
infant’s body, the back and shoulders.
Infants should always be secured in
appropriate infant restraints.
1-36

{CAUTION:
The body structure of a young child is quite
unlike that of an adult or older child, for whom
the safety belts are designed. A young child’s
hip bones are still so small that the vehicle’s
regular safety belt may not remain low on the
hip bones, as it should. Instead, it may settle
up around the child’s abdomen. In a crash,
the belt would apply force on a body area
that is unprotected by any bony structure.
This alone could cause serious or fatal
injuries. Young children should always be
secured in appropriate child restraints.
Child Restraint Systems
A rear-facing infant
seat (A) provides restraint
with the seating surface
against the back of
the infant.
The harness system holds the infant in place and, in a
crash, acts to keep the infant positioned in the restraint.
A forward-facing child
seat (B) provides restraint
for the child’s body
with the harness.
1-37

A booster seat (C-D) is a child restraint designed to
improve the t of the vehicle’s safety belt system.
A booster seat can also help a child to see out the
window.
Securing an Add-On Child Restraint in
the Vehicle
{CAUTION:
A child can be seriously injured or killed in a
crash if the child restraint is not properly
secured in the vehicle. Make sure the child
restraint is properly installed in the vehicle
using the vehicle’s safety belt or LATCH
system, following the instructions that came
with that restraint, and also the instructions in
this manual.
1-38

To help reduce the chance of injury, the child restraint
must be secured in the vehicle. Child restraint systems
must be secured in vehicle seats by lap belts or the
lap belt portion of a lap-shoulder belt, or by the LATCH
system. SeeLower Anchors and Tethers for Children
(LATCH) on page 1-41for more information. A child can
be endangered in a crash if the child restraint is not
properly secured in the vehicle.
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.Securing the Child Within the Child
Restraint
{CAUTION:
A child can be seriously injured or killed in a
crash if the child is not properly secured in
the child restraint. Because there are different
systems, it is important to refer to the
instructions that come with the restraint.
Make sure the child is properly secured,
following the instructions that came with that
restraint.
1-39

Where to Put the Restraint
Accident statistics show that children are safer if they
are restrained in the rear rather than the front seat.
We recommend that children and child restraints
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.
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 right front 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 a rear
seat, even if the airbag is off.
If you 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.
SeePassenger Sensing System on page 1-62
for additional information.
1-40