ECU SATURN ION 2007 Owners Manual

Front Seats..................................................... 8
Manual Seats................................................ 8
Driver Seat Height Adjuster........................... 9
Manual Lumbar............................................. 9
Reclining Seatbacks.................................... 10
Head Restraints.......................................... 13
Passenger Folding Seatback....................... 14
Rear Seats.................................................... 16
Split Folding Rear Seat............................... 16
Safety Belts.................................................. 18
Safety Belts: They Are for Everyone........... 18
Questions and Answers About Safety Belts.... 23
How to Wear Safety Belts Properly............. 24
Driver Position............................................. 24
Shoulder Belt Height Adjustment (Sedan).... 31
Safety Belt Use During Pregnancy.............. 32
Right Front Passenger Position................... 32
Rear Seat Passengers................................ 33
Rear Safety Belt Comfort Guides................ 36
Safety Belt Pretensioners............................ 40
Safety Belt Extender................................... 40
Child Restraints............................................ 41
Older Children............................................. 41
Infants and Young Children......................... 44Child Restraint Systems.............................. 47
Where to Put the Restraint.......................... 52
Lower Anchors and Tethers for
Children (LATCH).................................... 53
Securing a Child Restraint in a Rear
Seat Position........................................... 61
Securing a Child Restraint in the Right
Front Seat Position.................................. 64
Airbag System.............................................. 68
Where Are the Airbags?.............................. 71
When Should an Airbag Inate?.................. 73
What Makes an Airbag Inate?................... 75
How Does an Airbag Restrain?................... 75
What Will You See After an Airbag
Inates?................................................... 76
Passenger Sensing System......................... 77
Servicing Your Airbag-Equipped Vehicle...... 82
Adding Equipment to Your
Airbag-Equipped Vehicle.......................... 83
Restraint System Check............................... 84
Checking the Restraint Systems.................. 84
Replacing Restraint System Parts After
a Crash................................................... 85
Section 1 Seats and Restraint Systems
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Pull the head restraint
up to raise it. To lower
the head restraint,
press the button,
located on the top of the
seatback, and push
the restraint down.
Passenger Folding Seatback
Your vehicle may have a passenger seat that
folds at.
{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 71andLoading Your Vehicle on
page 250.
{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.
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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 40.
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. If your vehicle is a sedan, 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. SeeShoulder
Belt Height Adjustment (Sedan) on page 31.6. To make the lap part tight, pull up on the
shoulder belt.
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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 your lap-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 up on the
shoulder part.
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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 85.
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. 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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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.
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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.
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{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.
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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.
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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 53for 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.
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