ECU SATURN ION 2005 Owners Manual

Front Seats......................................................1-2
Manual Seats................................................1-2
Driver Seat Height Adjuster..............................1-3
Manual Lumbar..............................................1-3
Reclining Seatbacks........................................1-4
Head Restraints.............................................1-5
Passenger Folding Seatback............................1-6
Rear Seats.......................................................1-9
Split Folding Rear Seat...................................1-9
Safety Belts...................................................1-10
Safety Belts: They Are for Everyone................1-10
Questions and Answers About Safety Belts......1-15
How to Wear Safety Belts Properly.................1-16
Driver Position..............................................1-16
Shoulder Belt Height Adjustment (Sedan).........1-22
Safety Belt Use During Pregnancy..................1-23
Right Front Passenger Position.......................1-23
Rear Seat Passengers..................................1-23
Rear Safety Belt Comfort Guides....................1-26
Safety Belt Pretensioners...............................1-29
Safety Belt Extender.....................................1-29
Child Restraints.............................................1-30
Older Children..............................................1-30
Infants and Young Children............................1-32
Child Restraint Systems.................................1-36Where to Put the Restraint.............................1-39
Top Strap....................................................1-39
Top Strap Anchor Location.............................1-41
Lower Anchors and Tethers for
Children (LATCH)......................................1-42
Securing a Child Restraint Designed for the
LATCH System.........................................1-43
Securing a Child Restraint in a Rear Seat
Position...................................................1-44
Securing a Child Restraint in the Right Front
Seat Position............................................1-46
Airbag System...............................................1-49
Where Are the Airbags?................................1-51
When Should an Airbag Inate?.....................1-54
What Makes an Airbag Inate?.......................1-55
How Does an Airbag Restrain?.......................1-56
What Will You See After an Airbag Inates?.....1-56
Servicing Your Airbag-Equipped Vehicle...........1-58
Adding Equipment to Your Airbag-Equipped
Vehicle....................................................1-59
Restraint System Check..................................1-59
Checking the Restraint Systems......................1-59
Replacing Restraint System Parts After
a Crash...................................................1-60
Section 1 Seats and Restraint Systems
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Adjust your head restraint so that the top of the restraint
is closest to the top of your head. This position
reduces the chance of a neck injury in a crash.
Passenger Folding Seatback
Your vehicle may have a passenger seat that folds at.
To fold the seatback, do the following:
{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, see
Where Are the Airbags? on page 1-51and
Loading Your Vehicle on page 4-29.
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{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.
To fold the seatback at, do the following:
1. Lift the bar under the seat to unlock it.
2. Slide the seat as far back as it will go and release
the bar. Try to move the seat with your body to
make sure it is locked into place.
3. Lift the recliner lever, located on the outboard side
of the seat, fully and fold the seat forward until the
seatback disengages.
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4. Push the latch plate into the buckle until it clicks. If
the belt stops before it reaches the buckle, let it go
back all the way and start again.
Pull up on the latch plate to make sure it is secure.
If the belt is not long enough, seeSafety Belt
Extender on page 1-29.
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 down on the buckle
end of the belt as you pull up on the shoulder belt.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,
or if you pull the belt very quickly out of the retractor.
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Lap-Shoulder Belt
All rear seat positions have lap-shoulder belts. Here is
how to wear one properly.
1. Pick up the latch plate and pull the belt across you.
Do not let it get twisted.
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
your vehicle has a center passenger position, be
sure to use the correct buckle when buckling yourlap-shoulder belt. If you nd that the latch plate will
not go fully into the buckle, see if you are using the
buckle for the center passenger position.
Pull up on the latch plate to make sure it is secure.
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.
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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6. Buckle, position, and release the safety belt as
described inRear Seat Passengers on page 1-23.
Make sure that the shoulder belt crosses the
shoulder.
To remove and store the comfort guides, squeeze the
belt edges together so that you can take them out of the
guides. Fold down the rear seatbacks. Store the
guides on their storage clips. Lift the rear seatbacks to
their original seating positions.
Safety Belt Pretensioners
Your vehicle has safety belt pretensioners. You will nd
them on the retractor portion 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 crash in which the front of the
vehicle hits something.
Pretensioners work only once. If they activate in a
crash, you will need to get new pretensioners and may
need other new parts for your safety belt system.
SeeReplacing Restraint System Parts After a Crash on
page 1-60for more information.
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 retailer will
order you an extender. It is free. 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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{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.
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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.
{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.
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Q:How do child restraints work?
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.
For many years, add-on child restraints have used
the adult belt system in the vehicle. To help
reduce the chance of injury, the child also has to
be secured within the restraint. The vehicle’s
belt system secures the add-on child restraint in the
vehicle, and the add-on child restraint’s harness
system holds the child in place within the restraint.
One system, the three-point harness, has straps that
come down over each of the infant’s shoulders and
buckle together at the crotch. The ve-point harness
system has two shoulder straps, two hip straps and a
crotch strap. A shield may take the place of hip
straps. A T-shaped shield has shoulder straps that
are attached to a at pad which rests low against the
child’s body. A shelf- or armrest-type shield has
straps that are attached to a wide, shelf-like shield
that swings up or to the side.When choosing a 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. These restraints use the belt system or
the LATCH (Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children)
system in your vehicle, but the child also has to be
secured within the restraint to help reduce the chance of
personal injury. 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.
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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,
therefore, recommend that child restraints be secured
in a rear seat, including an infant riding in a rear-facing
infant seat, a child riding in a forward-facing child
seat and an older child riding in a booster seat.Never
put a rear-facing child restraint in the front passenger
seat. Here is why:
{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.
Always secure a rear-facing child restraint in a
rear seat.
If you need to secure a forward-facing child
restraint in the right front seat, always move
the front passenger seat as far back as it will
go. It is better to secure the child restraint in a
rear seat.Wherever you install a child restraint, 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 vehicle. Be sure to properly secure
any child restraint in your vehicle — even when no child
is in it.
Top Strap
Some child restraints have a top strap, or “top tether.” It
can help restrain the child restraint during a collision.
For it to work, a top strap must be properly anchored to
the vehicle. Some top strap-equipped child restraints
are designed for use with or without the top strap being
anchored. Others require the top strap always to be
anchored. Be sure to read and follow the instructions for
your child restraint. If yours requires that the top strap
be anchored, do not use the restraint unless it is
anchored properly.
If the child restraint does not have a top strap, one can
be obtained, in kit form, for many child restraints.
Ask the child restraint manufacturer whether or not a kit
is available.
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