belt PONTIAC FIREBIRD 2002 User Guide

1-18
Q:What's wrong with this?
A:The shoulder belt is worn under the arm. It should
be worn over the shoulder at all times.
CAUTION:
You can be seriously injured if you wear the
shoulder belt under your arm. In a crash, your
body would move too far forward, which would
increase the chance of head and neck injury.
Also, the belt would apply too much force to the
ribs, which aren't as strong as shoulder bones.
You could also severely injure internal organs
like your liver or spleen.

1-19
Q:What's wrong with this?
A:The belt is twisted across the body.
CAUTION:
You can be seriously injured by a twisted belt.
In a crash, you wouldn't have the full width
of the belt to spread impact forces. If a belt is
twisted, make it straight so it can work properly,
or ask your dealer to fix it.

1-20
To unlatch the belt, just push the button on the buckle.
The belt should go back out of the way.
Before you close the door, be sure the belt is out of the
way. If you slam the door on it, you can damage both
the belt and your vehicle.
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,
below the rounding, throughout the pregnancy.

1-21
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
To learn how to wear the right front passenger's safety
belt properly, see ªDriver Positionº earlier in this section.
The right front passenger's safety belt works the same
way as the driver's safety belt
-- except for one thing.
If the belt stops before it reaches the buckle, tilt the latch
plate and keep pulling until you can buckle the belt.

1-22
Supplemental Restraint System (SRS)
This part explains the Supplemental Restraint System
(SRS) or air bag system.
Your vehicle has air bags
-- one air bag for the driver
and another air bag for the right front passenger.
Frontal air bags are designed to help reduce the risk of
injury from the force of an inflating air bag. But these
air bags must inflate very quickly to do their job and
comply with federal regulations.
Here are the most important things to know about the
air bag system:
CAUTION:
You can be severely injured or killed in a crash if
you aren't wearing your safety belt
-- even if you
have air bags. Wearing your safety belt during a
crash helps reduce your chance of hitting things
inside the vehicle or being ejected from it.
Air bags are designed to work with safety belts,
but don't replace them. Air bags are designed to
work only in moderate to severe crashes where
the front of your vehicle hits something.
CAUTION: (Continued)
CAUTION: (Continued)
They aren't designed to inflate at all in rollover,
rear or low
-speed frontal crashes, or in many side
crashes. And, for some unrestrained occupants,
air bags may provide less protection in frontal
crashes than more forceful air bags have provided
in the past. Everyone in your vehicle should wear
a safety belt properly
-- whether or not there's an
air bag for that person.
CAUTION:
Air bags inflate with great force, faster than the
blink of an eye. If you're too close to an inflating
air bag, as you would be if you were leaning
forward, it could seriously injure you. Safety belts
help keep you in position before and during a
crash. Always wear your safety belt, even with air
bags. The driver should sit as far back as possible
while still maintaining control of the vehicle.

1-23
CAUTION:
Anyone who is up against, or very close to, any
air bag when it inflates can be seriously injured
or killed. Air bags plus lap
-shoulder belts offer
the best protection for adults, but not for young
children and infants. Neither the vehicle's safety
belt system nor its air bag 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, see the part of this manual
called ªChildren.º
United States Canada
There is an air bag readiness light on the instrument
panel, which shows AIR BAG or the air bag symbol.
The system checks the air bag electrical system for
malfunctions. The light tells you if there is an electrical
problem. See ªAir Bag Readiness Lightº in the Index
for more information.

1-26
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.
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 many side impacts,
primarily because an occupant's motion is not toward
those air bags. Air bags should never be regarded as
anything 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
-- 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.
CAUTION:
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 so.
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.

1-27
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.

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 system
commands air bag inflation and driver's safety belt
usage at deployment. The module also records speed,
engine rpm, brake and throttle data.

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.
NOTICE:
If you damage the covering for the driver's 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.

1-28 Servicing Your Air Bag-Equipped Vehicle
Air bags affect how your vehicle 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 dealer and the service manual have information
about servicing your vehicle and the air bag system.
To purchase a service manual, see ªService and Owner
Publicationsº in the Index.
CAUTION:
For up to 10 seconds after the ignition key is
turned off 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 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.
The air bag system does not need regular maintenance.
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.

1-29
Lap-Shoulder Belt
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.
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 ªSafety Belt
Extenderº 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.