ECU PONTIAC VIBE 2007 Owners Manual

Front Seats..................................................... 8
Manual Seats................................................ 8
Driver Seat Height Adjuster........................... 9
Reclining Seatbacks.................................... 10
Head Restraints.......................................... 13
Passenger Folding Seatback....................... 14
Rear Seats.................................................... 16
Rear Seat Operation................................... 16
Safety Belts.................................................. 18
Safety Belts: They Are for Everyone........... 18
Questions and Answers About
Safety Belts............................................. 22
How to Wear Safety Belts Properly............. 23
Driver Position............................................. 24
Shoulder Belt Height Adjustment................. 31
Safety Belt Use During Pregnancy.............. 32
Right Front Passenger Position................... 32
Rear Seat Passengers................................ 33
Safety Belt Pretensioners............................ 36
Safety Belt Extender................................... 36
Child Restraints............................................ 37
Older Children............................................. 37
Infants and Young Children......................... 40Child Restraint Systems.............................. 43
Where to Put the Restraint.......................... 47
Lower Anchors and Tethers for
Children (LATCH).................................... 49
Securing a Child Restraint in a Rear
Seat Position........................................... 56
Securing a Child Restraint in the Right
Front Seat Position.................................. 58
Airbag System.............................................. 63
Where Are the Airbags?.............................. 66
When Should an Airbag Inate?.................. 70
What Makes an Airbag Inate?................... 71
How Does an Airbag Restrain?................... 72
What Will You See After an Airbag
Inates?................................................... 72
Passenger Sensing System......................... 74
Servicing Your Airbag-Equipped Vehicle...... 80
Adding Equipment to Your
Airbag-Equipped Vehicle.......................... 81
Restraint System Check............................... 82
Checking the Restraint Systems.................. 82
Replacing Restraint System Parts After
a Crash................................................... 83
Section 1 Seats and Restraint Systems
7

Passenger Folding Seatback
{CAUTION:
If you fold the seatback forward to carry
longer objects, such as skis, be sure any
such cargo is not near an airbag. In a
crash, an inating airbag might force that
object toward a person. This could cause
severe injury or even death. Secure
objects away from the area in which an
airbag would inate. For more
information, seeWhere Are the Airbags?
on page 66andLoading Your Vehicle on
page 253.
{CAUTION:
Things you put on this seatback can
strike and injure people in a sudden stop
or turn, or in a crash. Remove or secure
all items before driving.
You can fold the front passenger’s seatback down
to allow for more cargo space or as a temporary
table while the vehicle is stopped. When the
area is not being used for more cargo space, the
seatback should be placed in the locked,
upright position.
To fold the seatback down, do the following:
1. Lower the head restraint to the lowest position
and make sure the seatback is at the most
upright position and locked.
14

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. If the belt is not long enough,
seeSafety Belt Extender on page 36.
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. Move the shoulder belt height adjuster to the
height that is right for you. Improper shoulder
belt height adjustment could reduce the
effectiveness of the safety belt in a crash. See
Shoulder Belt Height Adjustment on page 31.
24

2. Push the latch plate into the buckle until it
clicks. Pull up on the latch plate to make
sure it is secure. If the buckle does not click,
check to be sure that you are using the
correct buckle. The buckle for the center
rear passenger position has the word
CENTER on it.
When the shoulder belt is pulled out all the
way, it will lock. If it does, let it go back all the
way and start again.
If the belt is not long enough, seeSafety Belt
Extender on page 36.
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 up on the
shoulder belt.
34

Safety Belt Pretensioners
Your vehicle has safety belt pretensioners.
Although you cannot see them, they are located on
the retractor part of the safety belts for the driver
and right front passenger. They help the safety
belts reduce a person’s forward movement in a
moderate to severe frontal or near frontal crash.
If the passenger sensing system detects that there
is not a passenger in the right front passenger
position, the safety belt pretensioner for that
position will not activate. SeePassenger Sensing
System on page 74.
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 83.
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 orderit, 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.
Always disconnect the extender from the safety belt
after you use it so that the airbag will work properly
the next time someone uses that seat.
When you use a safety belt extender in the right
front passenger’s seat, make sure the passenger
airbag status indicator shows “ON.” See
Passenger Airbag Status Indicator on page 163.If
the indicator shows “OFF,” disconnect the
extender’s latch from the buckle then reconnect
the safety belt. Make sure the indicator light shows
“ON”, then reconnect the safety belt extender. If
you use the safety belt extender while the indicator
light shows “OFF,” the right front passenger’s
frontal and seat-mounted side impact airbags
(if equipped) may not activate correctly. See
Airbag System on page 63for important safety
information about your airbags.
36

Infants and Young Children
Everyone in a vehicle needs protection! This
includes infants and all other children. Neither the
distance traveled nor the age and size of the
traveler changes the need, for everyone, to use
safety restraints. 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.
{CAUTION:
Children can be seriously injured or
strangled if a shoulder belt is wrapped
around their neck and the safety belt
continues to tighten. Never leave children
unattended in a vehicle and never allow
children to play with the safety belts.Every time infants and young children ride in
vehicles, they should have the protection provided
by appropriate restraints. Young children should
not use the vehicle’s adult safety belts alone,
unless there is no other choice. Instead, they need
to use a child restraint.
{CAUTION:
People should never hold a baby in their
arms while riding in a vehicle. A baby
does not weigh much — until a crash.
During a crash a baby will become so
heavy it is not possible to hold it. For
example, in a crash at only 25 mph
(40 km/h), a 12 lb (5.5 kg) baby will
suddenly become a 240 lb (110 kg) force
on a person’s arms. A baby should be
secured in an appropriate restraint.
40

Q:What are the different types of add-on
child restraints?
A:Add-on child restraints, which are purchased by
the vehicle’s owner, are available in four basic
types. Selection of a particular restraint should
take into consideration not only the child’s
weight, height, and age but also whether or not
the restraint will be compatible with the motor
vehicle in which it will be used.
For most basic types of child restraints, there
are many different models available. When
purchasing a child restraint, be sure it is
designed to be used in a motor vehicle. If it is,
the restraint will have a label saying that it
meets federal motor vehicle safety standards.
The restraint manufacturer’s instructions that
come with the restraint state the weight and
height limitations for a particular child restraint.
In addition, there are many kinds of restraints
available for children with special needs.
{CAUTION:
Newborn infants need complete support,
including support for the head and neck.
This is necessary because a newborn
infant’s neck is weak and its head weighs
so much compared with the rest of its
body. In a crash, an infant in a rear-facing
seat settles into the restraint, so the crash
forces can be distributed across the
strongest part of an infant’s body, the
back and shoulders. Infants always
should be secured in appropriate infant
restraints.
42

{CAUTION:
The body structure of a young child is
quite unlike that of an adult or older child,
for whom the safety belts are designed. A
young child’s hip bones are still so small
that the vehicle’s regular safety belt may
not remain low on the hip bones, as it
should. Instead, it may settle up around
the child’s abdomen. In a crash, the belt
would apply force on a body area that is
unprotected by any bony structure. This
alone could cause serious or fatal injuries.
Young children always should be secured
in appropriate child restraints.
Child Restraint Systems
An infant car bed (A), a special bed made for use
in a motor vehicle, is an infant restraint system
designed to restrain or position a child on a
continuous at surface. Make sure that the infant’s
head rests toward the center of the vehicle.
43

A booster seat (F-G) is a child restraint designed
to improve the t of the vehicle’s safety belt
system. Some booster seats have a shoulder belt
positioner, and some high-back booster seats
have a ve-point harness. A booster seat can also
help a child to see out the window.
Q:How Should I Use a Child Restraint?
A:A child restraint system is any device designed
for use in a motor vehicle to restrain, seat, or
position children. A built-in child restraint
system is a permanent part of the motor
vehicle. An add-on child restraint system is a
portable one, which is purchased by the
vehicle’s owner. To help reduce injuries, an
add-on child restraint must be secured in
the vehicle. With built-in or add-on child
restraints, the child has to be secured within
the child restraint.
When choosing an add-on child restraint, 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 nd these
instructions on the restraint itself or in a
booklet, or both.
45

Securing an Add-on Child Restraint in
the Vehicle
{CAUTION:
A child can be seriously injured or killed in
a crash if the child restraint is not properly
secured in the vehicle. Make sure the child
restraint is properly installed in the vehicle
using the vehicle’s safety belt or LATCH
system, following the instructions that
came with that restraint, and also the
instructions in this manual.
To help reduce the chance of injury, the child
restraint must be secured in the vehicle. Child
restraint systems must be secured in vehicle seats
by lap belts or the lap belt portion of a lap-shoulder
belt, or by the LATCH system.SeeLower Anchors and Tethers for Children
(LATCH) on page 49for more information. A child
can be endangered in a crash if the child
restraint is not properly secured in the vehicle.
When securing an add-on child restraint, refer to
the instructions that come with the restraint
which may be on the restraint itself or in a booklet,
or both, and to this manual. The child restraint
instructions are important, so if they are not
available, obtain a replacement copy from the
manufacturer.
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.
46