BUICK CENTURY 1993 Owner's Guide

@ If I’m a good driver, and I never drive far from
home, why
should I wear safety belts?
A: You may be an excellent driver, but if you’re in an
accident-even one that isn’t your fault-you and
your passengers can be hurt. Being
a good driver
doesn’t protect you from things beyond your control,
such as bad drivers.
Most accidents occur within
25 miles (40 km) of
home. And
the greatest number of serious injuries
and deaths occur at
speeds of less than 40 mph
(65 krn/h).
Safety belts are for everyone.
Safety Belt Warning Light
When the key is turned to
“Run” or
“Start:’ a chime
will come on for about
eight seconds to remind
people. to fasten their safety
belts, unless the driver’s safety belt is buckled. The
safety belt light will also
come on and stay on for about
60 seconds or until
the driver’s
belt is buckled. A
i
h
A CAUTION:
I If your safety belt light ever comes on or stays
on after the front doors are closed and the
driver’s belt
is buckled, have your vehicle fixed.
If you don’t, you might not have the protection
you’d need in
a crash.
How to Wear Safety Belts Properly
Adults
This section is only for people of adult size.
A CAUTION:
There are special things to know about safety
belts and children.
And there are different
rules for babies and smaller children. If a child
will be riding
in your Buick, see the section
after this one, called “Childrenl’
Follow those I
rules for everyone’s protection.
First, you’ll want to know which restraint systems your
vehicle has.
We’ll start with the driver position.
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Cars First Sold in Canada
Was your Buick first sold, when new, in Canada? (If it
was, a sticker on the driver’s door will say “conforms t\
o all applicable Canada motor vehicle.
. . ” etc.) If so, then
the rest of
part 1 does not apply to your vehicle.
To learn how to use your safety belts, please read the
Owner’s Manual Safety Belt Supplement. It comes
with every new Buick first sold in Canada.
Driver Position
This section describes the driver’s restraint system.
Automatic Lap-Shoulder Belt
This safety belt is called “automatic” because you don’\
t
have to buckle up when you get into your vehicle.
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And you don't have to unbuckle when you get out.
Just get into your vehicle. Then close and
lock the door.
Adjust the seat (to see how, see "Seats" in the Index)
so
you can sit up straight. The lap belt should be worn as
low on the hips as
possible. In a crash, this applies force
to the strong pelvic
bones. And you'd 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's a sudden stop or a crash.
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It's possible that an automatic belt could keep you from
fully opening a door. That can happen if the door was slammed shut very hard. Just close the door all the way,
then slowly open
it. If that doesn't fix it, then your Buick
needs service.
We hope you'll always keep your automatic belt buckled.
However, you may need to unbuckle it in
an emergency.
And you would need to unbuckle it to let someone get
into the center front seat position,
if your vehicle has
one.
To unbuckle the automatic belt, just push the button on
the buckle.
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To reattach the automatic belt:
1. Close and lock the door.
2. Adjust the seat (to see how, see “Seats” in the Index)
so you can sit up straight.
3. Pick up the latch plate and pull the belt across you.
4. Push the latch plate into the buckle until it clicks. Don’t
let it get twisted.
@ What’s wrong with this?
A: The shoulder belt is too loose. It won’t give nearly
as much protection this way.
I i
You can be seriously hurt if your shoulder belt is
too loose. In a crash you would move forward too much, which could significantly increase injury.
The shoulder belt should
fit against your body.
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@ What’s wrong with this?
A: The belt is buckled in the wrong place.
I
A CAUTION’:
ybu can be seriously injured if your belt is
buckled in the
wrong place Ilk this. In a
crash, the belt would go up over your
abdomen. The belt forces
would be there, not
at the pelvic bones. This could cause serious
internal injuries.
Always buckle your belt into
the buckle nearest you.
@ What’s wrong with this?
A: The shoulder belt is worn under the arm. It should
be worn over the shoulder at all times.
L
1 A CAUTION:
Mu can be serlously injured if you wear the
shoulder belt under your arm. In a crash, your
body would move too far forward, which would
increage the chance
of head and neck injury.
Also, the belt would apply too much force to
the ribs, whlch aren’t as strong as shoulder
bones.
mu could also severely injure internal
organs like your llver
or spleen.
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@ What’s wrong with this?
A: The belt is twisted across the body.
Mu can be seriously injured by a twisted belt.
In a crash, you wouldn’t have the full width of
the belt
to take impact forces. If a belt is twisted,
make
it straight so it can work properly, or ask
your dealer to fix
it.
Supplemental Inflatable Restraint
System
(Air Bag) (option)
I This section explains the driver’s Supplemental Inflatable
Restraint (SIR) system, commonly referred
to as an
air bag. Here are the most important things
to know:
I
/i CAUTION:
Even with an air bag, if you’re not wearing a
safety belt and you’re
in a crash, your injuries
may be much worse.
Air bags’are not
designed to inflate in rollovers or in rear, side
or low-speed frontal crashes.
Ybu need to wear
your safety belt to reduce the chance of
hitting
things inside the vehicle or being ejected from
it. Always wear your safety belt, even with an
air bag.
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A CAUTION:
Air bags inflate with great force, faster than
the blink of an eye. If you’re too close to
an
inflating air bag, it could seriously injure ,you.
Safety
belts help keep you in position for an
air bag inflation in a
crash. Always wear your
safety belt, even with
an air bag, and sit as far
back
as you can while still maintaining control
of your vehicle.
Air Bag System Light
There is an air bag
readiness light on the
instrument panel, which
shows
“AIRBAG.” The
system checks itself and the
light tells you if there
is a
problem.
You will see this light flash
for a few seconds when you
turn your ignition to “Run”
or
“Start.” Then the light
should go out, which
means the system is ready.
In ! .CAUTION:
If the air bag readiness light doesn’t come on
when
you start your vehicle, or stays on, or
comes on when you are driving, your air bag
system may not work properly. Have your
vehicle serviced right away.
How the Air Bag System Works
1
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Q: Where is the air bag?
A: The driver’s air bag is in the middle of the steering
wheel.
Q: When is an air bag expected to inflate?
A: The air bag is designed to inflate in moderate to
severe frontal or near-frontal crashes. The air bag
will only inflate if the velocity of the impact is above
the designed threshold level. When impacting straight into a wall that does not move or deform,
the threshold level for most
GM vehicles is between
9 and 14 mph (14 and 23 km/h). However, this
velocity threshold depends on the vehicle design and
may be several miles-per-hour faster or slower. In
addition, this threshold velocity will be considerably
higher if the vehicle strikes an object such as a
parked car which will move and deform on impact.
The air bag is
also not designed to inflate in
rollovers, side impacts, or rear impacts where the
inflation would provide
no occupant protection
benefit. In
any particular crash, the determination of whether
the air bag should have inflated cannot be based solely on the level of damage on the vehicle(s).
Inflation is determined by the angle
of the impact
and the vehicle’s deceleration, of which vehicle damage is only one indication. Repair cost is not a good indicator of whether
an air bag should have
deployed.
Q: What makes an air bag inflate?
A: In a frontal impact of sufficient severity, sensors
strategically located on the vehicle detect that the
vehicle is suddenly stopping as a result of a crash.
These sensors complete an electrical circuit, triggering a chemical reaction of the sodium azide
sealed in the inflator. The reaction produces nitrogen
gas, which inflates the cloth bag. The inflator, cloth
bag, and related hardware are
all part of the air bag
inflator module packed inside the steering wheel.
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How does an air bag restrain?
A: In moderate to severe frontal or near-frontal
collisions, even belted occupants
can contact the
steering wheel. The air bag supplements 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 provide
protection in many types
of collisions, including
rollovers and rear and side impacts, primarily
because an occupant’s motion is not toward the air
bag. Air bags should never be regarded as anything more than a supplement to safety belt protection in
moderate to severe frontal and near-frontal
collisions.
Qt What will you see after an air bag inflation?
A: After the air bag has inflated, it will then quickly
deflate.
This occurs so quickly that some people
may not even realize that the air bag inflated. The
air bag will
not impede the driver’s vision or ability
to steer the vehicle, nor will it hinder the occupants from exiting the vehicle. There will be
small
amounts of smoke coming from vents in the deflated
air bag. Some components of the air bag module in
the steering wheel hub may be hot
for a short time,
but the portion
of the bag that comes into contact
with you
will not be hot to the touch. The nitrogen
gas used to inflate the
air bag will have vented into
the passenger compartment, and the bag will be
deflated within seconds after the collision. Nitrogen
makes up about
80% of the air we breathe and is not
hazardous.
As the nitrogen vents from the bag, small
particles are also vented into the passenger compartment.
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