PONTIAC FIREBIRD 1997 Owner's Guide

Don’t attach anything to, or put anything
between, an occupant and an air bag.
If
something is between an occupant and an air bag,
the
bag might not inflate properly or it might
force the object into
you and cause injury. The
path
of an inflating air bag must be kept clear, so
don’t attach or put anything on the steering
wheel hub or on or near any air bag covering.
When should an air bag inflate?
An air bag is designed to inflate in a moderate to severe
frontal or near-frontal crash. The air bag will inflate
only if the impact speed is above
the system’s designed
“threshold level.”
If your vehicle goes straight into a
wall that doesn’t move or deform, the threshold level
is
about 9 to 15 mph (14 to 24 krn/h). The threshold level
can
vary, however, with specific vehicle design, so that it can
be somewhat
above or below this range. If your
vehicle strikes something that will move or deform, such
as
a parked car, the threshold level will be higher. The
air bag is not designed to inflate in rollovers, side
impacts or rear impacts, because inflation would not
help the occupant.
In any particular crash,
no one can say whether an air
bag should have inflated simply because
of the damage
to a vehicle
or because of what the repair costs were.
Inflation is determined by the angle
of the impact and
how quickly the vehicle slows down in frontal
or
near-frontal impacts.
What makes an air bag inflate?
In an impact of sufficient severity, the air bag sensing
system detects that the vehicle is in
a crash. The sensing
system triggers a release of gas from the inflator, which
inflates the air bag. The inflator, air bag and related
hardware are all part
of the air bag modules inside the
steering wheel
and in the instrument panel in front of the
right front passenger.
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How does an air bag restrain?
In moderate to severe frontal or near-frontal collisions,
even belted occupants can contact the steering wheel
or the
instrument panel. Air bags supplement
the protection
provided by safety belts. Air bags distribute the force
of
the impact more evenly over the occupant’s upper body,
stopping the occupant more gradually.
But air bags would
not help you in many types of collisions, including
rollovers, rear impacts and side impacts, primarily because
an occupant’s motion is not toward those
air bags. Air
bags should never be regarded as anythmg more than
a
supplement to safety belts, and then only in moderate to
severe frontal or near-frontal collisions.
What will you see after an air bag inflates?
After an air bag inflates, it quickly deflates, 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 for the driver’s air bag, or the
instrument panel for the right front passenger’s bag, will
be hot for a short time. The parts of the bag that come
into contact with you may
be warm, but not too hot to
touch. There will be some smoke and dust coming from
vents in the deflated air bags. Air bag inflation doesn’t
prevent
the driver from seeing or from being able to
steer the vehicle, nor does it stop people from leaving
the vehicle.
~ ~~ ~~ ~ ~~
When an air bag inflates, there is 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 sa
If you have breathing problems but can’t get out
of the vehicle after an air bag inflates, then get
fresh air by opening a window or door.
In many crashes severe enough to inflate an air bag,
windshields are broken by vehicle deformation.
Additional windshield breakage may
also occur from the
right front passenger air bag.
Air bags are designed to inflate only once. After they
inflate, 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 air bag modules and
possibly other parts. The service manual for your
vehicle covers the need to replace other parts.
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Your vehicle is equipped with a crash sensing and
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
dealer
for service.
I I
NOTICE:
If you damage the covering for the driver% or the
right front passenger’s
air bag, the bag may not
work properly. You may have to replace the air
bag module in the steering wheel
or both the air
bag module and the instrument panel for the
right front passenger’s air bag. Do not open or
break the air bag coverings.
S ~ ring Your Air Bag-Equipped Pontiac
Air bags affect how your Pontiac should be serviced.
There are parts
sf 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
Pontiac deal’er and the Firebird Service Manual have
information about servicing your vehicle and the air bag
system.
To purchase a service manual, see “Service and
Owner Publications” in the Index,
For up to 10 minutes after the ignition key is
turned of€ and the battery is disconnected, an air
bag can still inflate during improper service, You
can be injured if you are close to an air bag when
it inflates. Avoid
wires wrapped with yellow tape
or yellow connectors.
They are probably part of
the air bag system. Be sure to follow proper
service procedures, and make sure
the person
performing
work for you is qualified to do so.
rhe air bag system does not need regular maintenance.
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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.
n
Lap-Shoulder Belt
The rear seats 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.
On convertible models, the 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.
2. Push the latch plate into the buckle until it clicks.
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If the belt stops before it reaches the buckle, tilt the
latch plate and
keep gulling until you can buckle it.
Pull
up on the latch plate to make sure it is secur’e.
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.
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.
On convertible models, the safety belt also locks if you
pull the belt very quickly out
of the retractor.
A CAUTION:
I
I
You can be seriously hurt if your shoulder belt is
too loose. In a crash, you would move forward
too much, which could increase injury. The
shoulder belt should
fit against your body.
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Children
To unlatch the belt, just push the button on the buckle.
Everyone in a vehicle needs protection! That includes
infants and all children smaller than adult size. 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.
Smaller Children and Babies
Smaller children and babies should always be
restrained in a child or infant restraint. The
instructions for the restraint will say whether
it is the right type and size for your child. A
very young child’s hip bones are so small that a
regular belt might not stay low on the hips, as it
should. Instead, the belt will likely be
over the
child’s abdomen. In
a crash, the belt would apply
force right
on the child’s abdomen, which could
cause serious or fatal injuries.
So, be sure that
any child small enough
€or one is always properly
restrained in a child
or infant restraint.
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Never hold a baby in your arms while riding in a
vehicle. A baby doesn’t weigh much -- until a
crash. During a crash a baby will become so
CAUTION: (Continued) heavy you
can’t hold it.
For example, in a crash
at only 25 mph (40 kmh), a 12-lb. (5.5 kg) baby
will suddenly become
a 240-lb. (110 kg) force on
your arms. The baby would be almost impossible
to hold.
Secure the
baby in an infant restraint.
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Child Restraints
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
find these instructions
on the restraint itself or in a
booklet, or both. These restraints use
the belt system in
your vehicle, but the child also has
to be secured within
the restraint to kelp reduce the chancle
of personal injury.
The instructions that come with the infant or child
restraint will show
you how to do that.
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 at
General Motors therefore recommend that you put your
child restraint
in the rear seat. Never put a rear-facing
child restraint in the front passenger seat. Here’s why:
A child in a rear-facing child restraint can be
seriously injured if the right front passenger’s
air bag inflates. This
is because the back of a
rearfacing child restraint would be very close to
the inflating air bag. Always secure a rear-facing
child restraint in the rear seat.
You may, however, secure a forward-facing child
restraint in the right front seat. Before you secure
a forward-facing child restraint, always move the
front passenger seat as far back
as it will go, Or,
secure the child restraint in the rear seat.
Wherever you install it, 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 vehicl’e. Be sure to properly secure any child
restraint in your vehicle
-- even when no child is in it.
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Top Strap
If your child restraint has a top strap, it should be
anchored. If you need
to have an anchor installed, you
can ask your Pontiac dealer to put it in for you.
If you
want to install an anchor yourself, your dealer can tell
you how to do it.
If you have a convertible, don’t use a restraint that has a
top strap
in your vehicle because the top strap anchor
cannot be installed properly.
--
The place where the anchor has to go is quite
close to your fuel tank.
If the anchor isn’t
installed correctly, it can make a hole in the
fuel tank
-- either then, or in a later collision.
Gasoline could leak
out and be ignited, and
people in the vehicle
or outside it could be badly
burned. Don’t install the anchor yourself unless
you know you can do it correctly.
Far cars first sold in Canada, child restraints with a top
strap must be anchored according to Canadian law.
Your dealer can obtain the hardware kit and install it for
you, or you may install it yourself using the instructions
provided in the kit.
Use the tether hardware kit available from the dealer.
The hardware and installation instructions were
specifically designed for this vehicle.
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