airbag GMC SAVANA 2008 Owner's Manual

Seats and Restraint Systems........................... 1-1
Front Seats
............................................... 1-2
Rear Seats
............................................... 1-6
Safety Belts
.............................................1-10
Child Restraints
.......................................1-29
Airbag System
.........................................1-57
Restraint System Check
............................1-75
Features and Controls..................................... 2-1
Keys
........................................................ 2-2
Doors and Locks
....................................... 2-6
Windows
.................................................2-13
Theft-Deterrent Systems
............................2-16
Starting and Operating Your Vehicle
...........2-18
Mirrors
....................................................2-32
Storage Areas
.........................................2-34
Instrument Panel............................................. 3-1
Instrument Panel Overview
.......................... 3-4
Climate Controls
......................................3-19
Warning Lights, Gages, and Indicators
........3-24
Driver Information Center (DIC)
..................3-42
Audio System(s)
.......................................3-63
Driving Your Vehicle....................................... 4-1
Your Driving, the Road, and Your Vehicle
..... 4-2
Towing
...................................................4-25Service and Appearance Care.......................... 5-1
Service
..................................................... 5-3
Fuel
......................................................... 5-5
Checking Things Under the Hood
...............5-12
All-Wheel Drive
........................................5-44
Rear Axle
...............................................5-45
Front Axle
...............................................5-45
Noise Control System
...............................5-46
Bulb Replacement
....................................5-48
Windshield Wiper Blade Replacement
.........5-52
Tires
......................................................5-53
Appearance Care
.....................................5-95
Vehicle Identification
...............................5-103
Electrical System
....................................5-103
Capacities and Specifications
...................5-110
Maintenance Schedule..................................... 6-1
Maintenance Schedule
................................ 6-2
Customer Assistance Information.................... 7-1
Customer Assistance and Information
........... 7-2
Reporting Safety Defects
...........................7-14
Vehicle Data Recording and Privacy
...........7-16
Index.................................................................1
2008 GMC Savana Owner ManualM

Front Seats......................................................1-2
Manual Seats................................................1-2
Power Seat...................................................1-3
Reclining Seatbacks........................................1-4
Rear Seats.......................................................1-6
Rear Seat Operation.......................................1-6
Safety Belts...................................................1-10
Safety Belts: They Are for Everyone................1-10
How to Wear Safety Belts Properly.................1-15
Lap-Shoulder Belt.........................................1-22
Safety Belt Use During Pregnancy..................1-28
Safety Belt Extender.....................................1-28
Child Restraints.............................................1-29
Older Children..............................................1-29
Infants and Young Children............................1-32
Child Restraint Systems.................................1-35
Where to Put the Restraint.............................1-38
Lower Anchors and Tethers
for Children (LATCH).................................1-39
Securing a Child Restraint in a
Rear Seat Position....................................1-46Securing a Child Restraint in the
Right Front Seat Position
(With Passenger Sensing System)...............1-48
Securing a Child Restraint in the Right Front
Seat Position (With Airbag Off Switch)..........1-52
Airbag System...............................................1-57
Where Are the Airbags?................................1-60
When Should an Airbag Inflate?.....................1-62
What Makes an Airbag Inflate?.......................1-64
How Does an Airbag Restrain?.......................1-64
What Will You See After an Airbag Inflates?.....1-64
Airbag Off Switch..........................................1-66
Passenger Sensing System............................1-69
Servicing Your Airbag-Equipped Vehicle...........1-73
Adding Equipment to Your Airbag-Equipped
Vehicle....................................................1-74
Restraint System Check..................................1-75
Checking the Restraint Systems......................1-75
Replacing Restraint System Parts
After a Crash............................................1-76
Section 1 Seats and Restraint Systems
1-1

Questions and Answers About
Safety Belts
Q:Will I be trapped in the vehicle after a crash if
I am wearing a safety belt?
A:Youcouldbe — whether you are wearing a safety
belt or not. But your chance of being conscious
during and after an accident, so youcanunbuckle
and get out, ismuchgreater if you are belted.
And you can unbuckle a safety belt, even if you
are upside down.
Q:If my vehicle has airbags, why should I have
to wear safety belts?
A:Airbags are supplemental systems only; so they
workwithsafety belts — not instead of them.
Whether or not an airbag is provided, all occupants
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.
Q:If I am a good driver, and I never drive far from
home, why should I wear safety belts?
A:You may be an excellent driver, but if you are in a
crash — even one that is not your fault — you
and your passenger(s) can be hurt. Being a good
driver does not protect you from things beyond
your control, such as bad drivers.
Most accidents occur within 25 miles (40 km)
of home. And the greatest number of serious
injuries and deaths occur at speeds of less than
40 mph (65 km/h).
Safety belts are for everyone.
1-14

Safety Belt Pretensioners
If the GVWR (Gross Vehicle Weight Rating) of your
vehicle is below 8,500 lb (3 855 kg) then your vehicle
has safety belt pretensioners for the front occupants.
You can find the GVWR on the certification label
on the rear edge of the driver’s door. SeeLoading
Your Vehicle on page 4-20for more information.
Although you cannot see them, they are part of
the safety belt assembly. They can help tighten the
safety belts during the early stages of a moderate
to severe frontal, near frontal, or rear crash if the
threshold conditions for pretensioner activation are
met. And, if your vehicle has side impact airbags,
safety belt pretensioners can help tighten the safety
belts in a side crash or a rollover event.
Pretensioners work only once. If they activate in a
crash, you will need to get new ones, and probably other
new parts for your safety belt system. SeeReplacing
Restraint System Parts After a Crash on page 1-76.
Rear Safety Belt Comfort Guides
Rear shoulder belt comfort guides may provide added
safety belt comfort for older children who have outgrown
booster seats and for some adults. When installed on
a shoulder belt, the comfort guide positions the belt
away from the neck and head.
There is one guide for each outside passenger position in
the rear seats. Here is how to install a comfort guide to
the safety belt:
1. Locate the guide in a pocket on the side of the
seatback.
1-25

{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.
CAUTION: (Continued)
CAUTION: (Continued)
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.
1-33

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.
CAUTION: (Continued)
CAUTION: (Continued)
Even though the passenger sensing system
or the airbag off switch 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.
When securing a child restraint in a rear seating
position, study the instructions that came with
your child restraint to make sure it is compatible
with this vehicle.
1-38

If your vehicle does not have a rear seat that will
accommodate a rear-facing child restraint, we
recommend that rear-facing child restraints not be
transported in your vehicle, even if the airbag is off.
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)
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 installed using only the top tether
strap and anchor.
In order to use the LATCH system in your vehicle,
you need a child restraint that has LATCH attachments.
The child restraint manufacturer will provide you with
instructions on how to use the child restraint and
its attachments. The following explains how to attach
a child restraint with these attachments in your vehicle.
Not all vehicle seating positions or child restraints
have lower anchors and attachments or top tether
anchors and attachments.
1-39

5. 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. If you are using a
forward-facing child restraint, you may find it
helpful to use your knee to push down on the
child restraint as you tighten the belt.6. If your child restraint has a top tether, follow the
child restraint manufacturer’s instructions regarding
the use of the top tether. SeeLower Anchors
and Tethers for Children (LATCH) on page 1-39
for more information.
7. Push and pull the child restraint in different
directions to be sure it is secure.
To remove the child restraint, unbuckle the vehicle’s
safety belt and let it go back all the way. If the top
tether is attached to a top tether anchor, disconnect it.
Securing a Child Restraint in
the Right Front Seat Position
(With Passenger Sensing System)
Your vehicle has airbags. A rear seat is a safer place
to secure a forward-facing child restraint. SeeWhere
to Put the Restraint on page 1-38.
In addition, your vehicle has a passenger sensing system
which is designed to turn off the right front passenger’s
frontal airbag under certain conditions. SeePassenger
Sensing System on page 1-69andPassenger Airbag
Status Indicator on page 3-30for 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.
1-48

{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 1-69
for additional information.If your vehicle does not have a rear seat that will
accommodate a rear-facing child restraint, we
recommend that rear-facing child restraints not be
transported in your vehicle, even if the airbag is off.
If your child restraint has the LATCH system, see
Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children (LATCH)
on page 1-39for how to install your child restraint using
LATCH. If you secure a child restraint using a safety
belt and it uses a top tether, seeLower Anchors
and Tethers for Children (LATCH) on page 1-39
for top tether anchor locations.
Do not secure a child seat in a position without a
top tether anchor 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 strap
must be anchored.
In Canada, the law requires that forward-facing child
restraints have a top tether, and that the tether be
attached.
1-49

You will be using the lap-shoulder belt to secure the
child restraint in this position. Follow the instructions
that came with the child restraint.
1. Move the seat as far back as it will go before
securing the forward-facing child restraint.
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 start the vehicle.
SeePassenger Airbag Status Indicator on
page 3-30.
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. Push the latch plate into the buckle until it clicks.
Make sure the release button is positioned so
you would be able to unbuckle the safety belt
quickly if necessary.
1-50