Page 1 PONTIAC SOLSTICE 2007 Owners Manual

How to Use This Manual
Many people read the owner manual from
beginning to end when they rst receive their
new vehicle. If this is done, it can help you learn
about the features and controls for the vehicle.
Pictures and words work together in the owner
manual to explain things.
Index
A good place to quickly locate information about
the vehicle is the Index in the back of the manual.
It is an alphabetical list of what is in the manual
and the page number where it can be found.
Safety Warnings and Symbols
There are a number of safety cautions in this
book. We use a box and the word CAUTION to
tell about things that could hurt you if you were
to ignore the warning.
{CAUTION:
These mean there is something that could
hurt you or other people.
In the caution area, we tell you what the hazard
is. Then we tell you what to do to help avoid
or reduce the hazard. Please read these cautions.
If you do not, you or others could be hurt.
You will also nd a
circle with a slash
through it in this book.
This safety symbol
means “Do Not,”
“Do Not do this” or
“Do Not let this happen.”
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Power Lift Seat
Your vehicle may have this feature.
The switch is located on the outboard side of the
driver’s seat. To use the adjuster, rst move the
seat forward or rearward to where you want it. See
Manual Seats on page 8. To raise the seat hold the
switch up. To lower the seat hold the switch down.
Safety Belts
Safety Belts: They Are for Everyone
This part of the manual tells you how to use
safety belts properly. It also tells you some things
you should not do with safety belts.
{CAUTION:
Do not let anyone ride where he or she
can not wear a safety belt properly. If you
are in a crash and you are not wearing a
safety belt, your injuries can be much
worse. You can hit things inside the
vehicle or be ejected from it. You can be
seriously injured or killed. In the same
crash, you might not be if you are buckled
up. Always fasten your safety belt, and
check that your passenger’s belt is
fastened properly too.
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{CAUTION:
It is extremely dangerous to ride in a
cargo area, inside or outside of a vehicle.
In a collision, people riding in these areas
are more likely to be seriously injured or
killed. Do not allow people to ride in any
area of your vehicle that is not equipped
with seats and safety belts. Be sure
everyone in your vehicle is in a seat and
using a safety belt properly.
Your vehicle has indicators to remind you and your
passenger to buckle your safety belts. SeeSafety
Belt Reminder Light on page 130andPassenger
Safety Belt Reminder Light on page 130.In most states and in all Canadian provinces,
the law says to wear safety belts. Here is
why:They work.
You never know if you will be in a crash. If you
do have a crash, you do not know if it will be a
bad one.
A few crashes are mild, and some crashes can be
so serious that even buckled up, a person would
not survive. But most crashes are in between. In
many of them, people who buckle up can survive
and sometimes walk away. Without belts they could
have been badly hurt or killed.
After more than 40 years of safety belts in
vehicles, the facts are clear. In most crashes
buckling up does matter... a lot!
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How to Wear Safety Belts Properly
This part is only for people of adult size.
Be aware that there are special things to know
about safety belts and children. And there
are different rules for smaller children and babies.
If a child will be riding in your vehicle, see
Older Children on page 27orInfants and Young
Children on page 30. Follow those rules for
everyone’s protection.
First, you will want to know which restraint
systems your vehicle has.
We will start with the driver position.
Driver Position
Lap-Shoulder Belt
The driver has a lap-shoulder belt. Here is how
to wear it properly.
1. Close and lock the door.
2. Adjust the seat so you can sit up straight.
To see how, see “Seats” in the Index.3. 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.
4. Push the latch plate into the buckle until
it clicks.
Pull up on the latch plate to make sure it
is secure.
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If the belt is not long enough, seeSafety Belt
Extender on page 26.
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.
5. To make the lap part tight, pull up on the
shoulder belt.
It may be necessary to pull stitching on the
safety belt through the latch plate to fully
tighten the lap belt on smaller occupants.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 would 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 is a sudden stop
or crash.
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Passenger Position
To learn how to wear the passenger’s safety belt
properly, seeDriver Position on page 18.
The passenger’s safety belt works the same way
as the driver’s safety belt — except for one
thing. If you ever pull the shoulder portion of the
belt out all the way, you will engage the child
restraint locking feature. If this happens, just let
the belt go back all the way and start again.
Safety Belt Pretensioners
Your vehicle has safety belt pretensioners for the
driver and right front passenger. Although you
cannot see them, they are part of the safety belt
assembly. They help tighten the safety belts during
the early stages of a moderate to severe frontal
or near frontal crash if the threshold conditions for
pretensioner activation are met.
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 57.
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
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, just attach it to the regular safety belt.
For more information see the instruction sheet
that comes with the extender.
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Your vehicle does not have lower anchors or top
tether anchors to secure a child restraint with
the LATCH system. If a national or local law
requires that your top tether be anchored, do not
use a child restraint in this vehicle because a
top tether cannot be properly anchored. You must
use the safety belts to secure your child restraint
in this vehicle, unless a national or local law
requires that the top tether be anchored. Refer to
your child restraint instructions and instructions
in this manual for securing a child restraint
using the vehicle’s safety belts.Securing a Child Restraint in the
Passenger Seat Position
Your vehicle has a passenger’s airbag. A rear
seat is a safer place to secure a forward-facing
child restraint.
In addition, your vehicle has the passenger
sensing system. The passenger sensing system
is designed to turn off the passenger’s frontal
airbag when an infant in a rear-facing infant
seat or a small child in a forward-facing child
restraint or booster seat is detected. See
Passenger Sensing System on page 50and
Passenger Airbag Status Indicator on page 132
for more information on this including important
safety information.
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{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. Be sure the airbag is off
before using a rear-facing child restraint
in the passenger’s position.
Even though the passenger sensing
system is designed to turn off the
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.
CAUTION: (Continued)
CAUTION: (Continued)
We recommend that rear-facing child
restraints be transported in vehicles with
a rear seat that will accommodate a
rear-facing child restraint, whenever
possible.
There is no top strap anchor in your vehicle.
Do not secure a child seat in your vehicle
if a national or local law requires that the top strap
be anchored, or if the instructions that come
with the child restraint say that the top strap must
be anchored. SeeLower Anchors and Tethers
for Children (LATCH) on page 37for more
information.
If you need to secure a forward-facing child
restraint in the passenger’s position, move the
seat as far back as it will go before securing the
forward-facing child restraint. SeeManual Seats
on page 8.
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You will be using the lap-shoulder belt to secure
the child restraint in this position. Be sure to follow
the instructions that came with the child restraint.
Secure the child in the child restraint when and as
the instructions say.
1. Your vehicle has a passenger’s frontal airbag.
SeePassenger Sensing System on page 50.
We recommend that rear-facing child
restraints not be transported in your vehicle,
even if the airbag is off. If your child restraint is
forward-facing, move the seat as far back
as it will go before securing the child restraint
in this seat. SeeManual Seats on page 8.
When the passenger sensing system
has turned off the passenger’s frontal airbag,
the off indicator in the passenger airbag
status indicator should light and stay lit when
the vehicle is started. SeePassenger
Airbag Status Indicator on page 132.
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. Buckle the belt. Make sure the release button
is positioned so you would be able to unbuckle
the safety belt quickly if you ever had to.
40

{CAUTION:
Airbags inate with great force, faster
than the blink of an eye. If you are too
close to an inating airbag, 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 airbags. The driver should sit as far
back as possible while still maintaining
control of the vehicle.
{CAUTION:
Anyone who is up against, or very close
to, any airbag when it inates can be
seriously injured or killed. Airbags 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 airbag 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, seeOlder Children on
page 27andInfants and Young Children
on page 30.
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