belt BUICK CENTURY 1997 User Guide

Shoulder Belt Height Adjuster
Before you begin to drive, move the shoulder belt
adjuster to
the height that is right for you.
t
10 move it down, squeeze the release lever and move
the height adjuster to the desired position. You can move
the adjuster up just by pushing
up on the shoulder belt
guide. After you move the adjuster to where you want it,
try to move
it down without squeezing the release lever
to make sure it has locked into position.
Adjust the height
so that the shoulder portion of the
belt
is centered on your shoulder. The belt should be
away from your face and neck, but
not falling off
your shoulder.
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@ What’s wrong with this?
A: The shoulder belt is too loose. It won’t give nearly
as much protection this way.
A CAUTION:
You can be seriously hurt if your shoulder belt is
too loose. In a crash, you would move forward
too much, which could 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.
You can be seriously injured if your belt is
buckled in the wrong place like this. In a crash,
the belt would go up over your abdomen. The bel
forces would be there, not
at the pelvic bones. Thi
could cause serious internal injuries. Always
buckle your belt into the buckle nearest you.
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&: What’s wrong with this?
A: The shoulder belt is worn under the arm. It should
be
worn over the shoulder at all times.
A CP 7TION:
You can be seriously injured if you wear the
shoulder belt under your arm. In
a crash, your
body would move too far forward, which would
increase the chance of head and neck injury.
Also, the belt would apply too much force to the
ribs, which aren’t as strong
as shoulder bones.
You could also severely injure internal organs
like your liver or spleen.
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&.’ What’s wrong with this?
A: The belt is twisted across the body.
You can be seriously injured by a twisted belt. In
a crash, you wouldn’t have the full width of the
belt to spread impact forces. If a belt
is twisted,
make it straight
so it can work properly, or ask
your dealer to
fix it.
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Safety Belt Use During Pregnancy
Safety belts work for everyone, including pregnant
women. Like all occupants, they are more likely to be
seriously injured if they don’t wear safety belts.
To unlatch the belt, just push the button on the buckle.
The belt should go back out
of the way.
Before
you close the door, be sure the belt is out of the
way.
If you slam the door on it, you can damage both the
belt and your vehicle.
A pregnant woman should wear a lap-shoulder belt, and
the lap portion should be
worn as low as possible, below
the rounding, throughout the pregnancy.
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The best way to protect the fetus is to protect the
mother. When a safety belt is worn properly, it’s more
likely that the fetus won’t be hurt
in a crash. For
pregnant women, as for anyone, the key to making
safety belts effective is wearing them properly.
Right Front Passenger Position
The right front passenger’s safety belt works the same
way as the driver’s safety belt. See “Driver Position,”
earlier in this section.
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.
Air Bag System
This part explains the air bag system.
Your Buick has two air bags
-- one air bag for the driver
and another air bag for the right front passenger. Here
are the most important things to know about the air
bag system:
You can be severely injured or killed in a crash if
you aren’t wearing your safety belt
-- even if you
have air bags. Wearing your safety belt during a
crash helps reduce your chance of hitting things
inside the vehicle or being ejected from it. Air
bags are “supplemental restraints” to the safety
belts.
All air bags are designed to work with
safety belts, but don’t replace them. Air bags are
designed to work only in moderate to severe
crashes where the front of your vehicle hits
something. They aren’t designed
to inflate at all
in rollover, rear, side or low-speed frontal
crashes. Everyone in your vehicle should wear
a
safety belt properly -- whether or not there’s an
air bag for that person.
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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 before and during a
crash. Always wear your safety belt, even with air
bags. The driver should
sit as far back as possible
while still maintaining control of the vehicle.
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An inflating air bag can seriously injure small
children. Always secure children properly in your
vehicle.
To read how, see the part of this manual
called “Children” and the caution label on the
right front passenger’s safety belt.
There is an air bag
readiness light
on the
instrument panel, which
shows the air bag symbol.
The system checks the air bag electrical system for
malfunctions. The light tells you
if there is an electrical
problem. See “Air Bag Readiness Light” in the Index
for more information.
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How does an air bag restrain?
In moderate to severe frontal or near-frontal collisions,
even belted occupants can contact the steering wheel or
the instrument panel. Air bags supplement 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 help you in many types of collisions, including
rollovers, rear impacts and side impacts, primarily
because an occupant’s motion is not toward those air
bags. Air bags should never be regarded as anything
more than a supplement
to safety belts, and then only in
moderate to severe frontal or near-frontal collisions.
What will you see after an air bag inflates?
After an air bag inflates, it quickly deflates, so
quickly that some people may not even realize the
air bag inflated. Some components of the air bag
module
-- the steering wheel hub for the driver’s
air bag, or the instrument panel for the right front
passenger’s bag
-- will be hot for a short time. The
parts of the bag that come into contact with you may
be warm, but not
too hot to touch. There will be some
smoke and dust coming from vents
in the deflated air
bags. Air bag inflation doesn’t prevent the driver from
seeing or from being able to steer the vehicle, nor does
it stop people from leaving
the vehicle.
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When an air bag i. ates, there is dust in the air.
This dust could cause breathing problems for
people with a history of asthma or other
breathing trouble.
To avoid this, everyone in the
vehicle should get out as soon as it
is safe to do so.
If you have breathing problems but can’t get out
of the vehicle after an air bag inflates, then get
fresh air by opening a window
or door.
In many crashes severe enough to inflate an air bag,
windshields are broken by vehicle deformation.
Additional windshield breakage may also occur from
the right front passenger air bag.
Air bags are designed to inflate only once. After they
inflate, you’ll need some new parts for your air bag
system. If
you don’t get them, the air bag system
won’t be there to help protect
you in another crash.
A new system will include air bag modules and
possibly other parts.
The service manual for your
vehicle covers the need to replace other parts.
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0
a
Your vehicle is equipped with a crash sensing and
diagnostic module, which records information about
the
air bag system. The module records information
about the readiness
of the system, when the sensors
are activated and driver’s safety belt usage at
deployment.
Let only qualified technicians work on your air
bag system. Improper service can mean that your
air bag system won’t work properly. See your
dealer for service.
NOTICE:
If you damage the covering for the driver’s or the
right front passenger’s
air bag, the bag may not
work properly. You may have to replace the air
bag module in the steering wheel or both the
air
bag module and the instrument panel for the
right front passenger’s
air bag. Do not open or
break the
air bag coverings.
Servicing Your Air Bag-Equipped Buick
Air bags affect how your Buick should be serviced.
There are parts
of the air bag system in several places
around your vehicle. You don’t want the system to
inflate while someone is working on your vehicle. Your
Buick dealer and the Century Service Manual have
information about servicing your vehicle and the air bag
system. To purchase a service manual, see “Service and
Owner Publications” in the Index.
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For up to 10 minutes after the ignition key is
turned off and the battery is disconnected, an air
bag can
still inflate during improper service. You
can be injured
if you are close to an air bag when
it inflates. Avoid wires wrapped with yellow tape
or yellow connectors. They are probably
part of
the air bag system.
Be sure to follow proper
service procedures, and make sure the person
performing work for you
is qualified to do so.
The air bag system does not need regular maintenance.
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