Oldsmobile Achieva 1995 s Owner's Guide

What will you see after an air bag inflates?
After the air bag inflates, it quickly deflates. This occurs
so quickly that some people may not even realize the air
bag inflated. Some components of the air bag module in
the steering wheel hub will be hot for a short time, but
the part
of the bag that comes into contact with you will
not be hot to the touch. There will be some smoke and
dust coming from vents in the deflated air bag. Air bag
inflation will not prevent the driver from seeing or from
being able to steer the vehicle, nor will
it stop people
from leaving the vehicle.
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The air bag is designed to inflate only once. After it
inflates, 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 the air bag module and
possibly other parts. The service manual for your
vehicle covers the need to replace other parts.
Your vehicle is equipped with a diagnostic module,
which records information about the air bag system.
The module records information about the readiness
of the system, when the sensors are activated and
driver’s safety belt usage at deployment.
Let only qualified technicians work on your air bag
system. Improper service can mean that your air bag
system won’t work properly. See your retailer for
service.
I NOTICE:
If you damage the cover for the driver’s air bag,
it may
not work properly. You may have to
replace the air bag module.
Do not open or break
the air bag cover.

Servicing Your Air Bag-Equipped
Oldsmobile
The air bag affects how your Oldsmobile should be
serviced. There are parts
of the air bag system in several
places around your vehicle. You don’t want the system
to inflate while someone is working on your vehicle.
Your Oldsmobile retailer and the
1995 Achieva Service
Manual have information about servicing your vehicle
and the air bag system.
To purchase a service manual,
see “Service Publications’’ in the Index, The air bag
system does not need regular maintenance.
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Safety Belt Use During Pregnancy
Safety belts work for everyone, including pregnant
women. Like all occupants, they are more likely to be
seriously injured
if they don’t wear safety belts.
A pregnant woman should wear a lap-shoulder belt, and
the lap portion should be worn as low as possible
throughout the pregnancy. The
best way to protect the fetus is to protect the
mother. When a safety belt is worn properly, it’s more
likely that the
fetus won’t be hurt in a crash. For
pregnant women, as for anyone, the key to making
safety belts effective is wearing them properly.
Right Front Passenger Position
Was your Oldsmobile first sold, when new, in Canada?
(If it was, a sticker
on the driver’s door will say
“conforms to all applicable Canada motor vehicle
. . . ”
etc.) If so, then this “Right Front Passenger Position”
part doesn’t apply to your vehicle.
To learn how to use
your right front passenger position safety belts, read the
Canadian Owner’s Manual Safety Belt Supplement. It
comes with every new Oldsmobile first sold in Canada.
The right front passenger’s safety belt works the same
way as the driver’s safety belt. See “Driver Position,”
earlier in this section.
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0 Adjust the seat (to see how, see “Seats” in the Index)
so you can sit up straight. Move your seat far enough
forward that your feet touch the part
of the car that is
called the “toeboard” (A). That way you’d be less
likely to slide under the lap belt
in a crash.
Rear Seat Passengers
It’s very important for rear seat passengers to buckle up!
Accident statistics show that unbelted people in the rear
seat are
hurt more often in crashes than those who are
wearing safety belts.
Rear passengers who aren’t safety belted can be thrown
out
of the vehicle in a crash. And they can strike others
in the vehicle who are wearing safety belts.
Rear Seat Outside Passenger Positions
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Lap-Shoulder Belt
The positions next to the windows have lap-shoulder
belts. Here’s how to wear one properly.
1. Pick up the latch plate and pull the belt across you.
Don’t let it get twisted.
2. Push the latch plate into the buckle until it clicks.
.. .
If the belt stops before it reaches the buckle, tilt the
latch plate and keep pulling until you can buckle it.
Pull up on the latch plate to make sure it is secure.
If the belt is not long enough, see “Safety Belt
Extender” at the end
of this section. Make sure the
release button on the buckle is positioned
so you
would be able to unbuckle the safety belt quickly
if
you ever had to.
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3. To make the lap part tight, pull down on the buckle
end
of the belt as you pull up on the shoulder part.
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The lap part of the belt should be worn low and snug on
the hips, just touching the thighs. In a crash, this applies
force to the strong pelvic bones. And you’d be less likely
to slide under the lap belt.
If you slid under it, the belt
would apply force at your abdomen.
This could cause
serious or even fatal injuries. The shoulder belt should
go
over the shoulder and across the chest. These parts of the
body are best able to take belt restraining forces.
The safety belt locks
if there’s a sudden stop or a crash.
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To unlatch the belt, just push the button on the buckle.
Rear Safety Belt Comfort Guides for
Children and Small Adults
Rear shoulder belt comfort guides will provide added
comfort for children who have outgrown child restraints
and
for small adults. The comfort guides pull the
shoulder belts away from the neck and head.
There is one guide for each outside passenger position in
the rear seat. You will find them tucked
in between the
seatback and the interior body, about half-way down the
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edge of the seatback. Here is how you should install the
comfort guides on the shoulder belts:
1. Pull the elastic cord out from between the edge of
the seatback and the interior body to remove the
guide from it.s storage clip.
3. Be sure that the belt is not twisted and it lies flat. The
elastic cord must be under the belt and the guide on
top.
2. Slide the guide under and past the belt. The elastic
cord must be under the belt. Then, place the guide
over the belt, and insert the two edges
of the belt into
the slots
of the guide.
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4.
To remove and store the comfort guides, just perform
these steps
in reverse order. Squeeze the belt edges
together
so that you can take them out from the guides.
Pull the guide upward
to expose its storage clip, and
then slide
the guide onto the clip. Rotate the guide and
clip inward
and in between the seatback and the interior
body, leaving only the loop of elastic cord exposed.
Center Passenger Position
U
Buckle the belt around the child, and make sure that
both the lap belt and the shoulder belt are secured
properly. Make sure that the shoulder belt crosses the
shoulder. See “Safety Belts, Rear Seat Passengers’’ in
the Index.
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Lap Belt To make the belt shorter, pull its free end as shown until
the
belt is snug.
When you sit in the center seating position, you have a
lap safety belt, which has
no retractor. To make the belt
longer, tilt the latch plate and pull
it along the belt. Buckle, position and release it
the same way as the lap
part of a lap-shoulder belt. If the belt isn’t long enough,
see “Safety Belt Extender” at the end of this section.
Make sure the release button
on the buckle is positioned
so you would be able to unbuckle the safety belt quickly
if you ever had
to.
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