airbag off BUICK LACROSSE 2007 Owner's Manual

or the safety belts!
With safety belts, you slow down as the vehicle
does. You get more time to stop. You stop
over more distance, and your strongest bones
take the forces. That is why safety belts
make such good sense.
Questions and Answers About
Safety Belts
Q:Will I be trapped in the vehicle after an
accident if I am wearing a safety belt?
A:Youcouldbe — whether you are wearing a
safety belt or not. But you can unbuckle a
safety belt, even if you are upside down. And
your chance of being conscious during and
after an accident, so youcanunbuckle and get
out, ismuchgreater if you are belted.
Q:If my vehicle has airbags, why should I
have to wear safety belts?
A:Airbags are supplemental systems only; so
they workwithsafety belts — not instead of
them. Every airbag system ever offered
for sale has required the use of safety belts.
Even if you are in a vehicle that has airbags,
you still have to buckle up to get the most
protection. That is true not only in frontal
collisions, but especially in side and other
collisions.
20

{CAUTION:
Children who are up against, or very close
to, any airbag when it inates can be
seriously injured or killed. Airbags plus
lap-shoulder belts offer protection for
CAUTION: (Continued)
CAUTION: (Continued)
adults and older children, but not for
young children and infants. Neither the
vehicle’s safety belt system nor its airbag
system is designed for them. Young
children and infants need the protection
that a child restraint system can provide.
43

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 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.
Your vehicle has a rear seat that will accommodate
a rear-facing child restraint. A label on your sun
visor says, “Never put a rear-facing child seat
in the front.” This is because the risk to the
rear-facing child is so great, if the airbag deploys.
{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.
CAUTION: (Continued)
CAUTION: (Continued)
Even though the passenger sensing
system is designed to turn off the
passenger’s frontal airbag if the system
detects a rear-facing child restraint, no
system is fail-safe, and no one can
guarantee that an airbag will not deploy
under some unusual circumstance, even
though it is turned off. We recommend that
rear-facing child restraints be secured in
the rear seat, even if the airbag is off.
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.
50

Securing a Child Restraint in the
Center Front Seat Position
{CAUTION:
A child in a child restraint in the center
front seat can be badly injured or killed by
the right front passenger’s airbag if it
inates. Never secure a child restraint in
the center front seat. It is always better to
secure a child restraint in the rear seat.
Do not secure a child restraint in the center front
seat position.
Securing a Child Restraint in the
Right Front Seat Position
Your vehicle has a right front passenger’s airbag. A
rear seat is a safer place to secure a forward-facing
child restraint. SeeWhere to Put the Restraint on
page 50.
In addition, your vehicle has a passenger sensing
system. The passenger sensing system is designed
to turn off the right front passenger’s frontal airbag
when an infant in a rear-facing infant seat or a small
child in a forward-facing child restraint or booster
seat is detected. SeePassenger Sensing System
on page 75andPassenger Airbag Status Indicator
on page 183for more information on this including
important safety information.
61

A label on your sun visor says, “Never put a
rear-facing child seat in the front.” This is because
the risk to the rear-facing child is so great, if the
airbag deploys.
{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.
Even though the passenger sensing
system is designed to turn off the right
front passenger’s frontal airbag if the
system detects a rear-facing child restraint,
no system is fail-safe, and no one can
guarantee that an airbag will not deploy
under some unusual circumstance, even
CAUTION: (Continued)
CAUTION: (Continued)
though it is turned off. We recommend
that rear-facing child restraints be secured
in the rear seat, even if the airbag is off.
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.
If you need to secure a forward-facing child restraint
in the right front seat position, move the seat as far
back as it will go before securing the forward-facing
child restraint. SeePower Seats on page 9.
If your child restraint has the LATCH system, see
Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children (LATCH)
on page 51.
There is no top tether anchor at the right front
seating position. Do not secure a child restraint
in this position if a national or local law requires
that the top tether be anchored or if the
instructions that come with the child restraint
say that the top tether must be anchored.
62

SeeLower Anchors and Tethers for Children
(LATCH) on page 51if your child restraint has
a top tether.
You will be using the lap-shoulder belt to secure
the child restraint in this position. Be sure to follow
the instructions that came with the child restraint.
Secure the child in the child restraint when and as
the instructions say.
1. Your vehicle has a right front passenger’s
frontal airbag. SeePassenger Sensing System
on page 75. We recommend that rear-facing
child restraints be secured in a rear seat, even
if the airbag is off. If your child restraint is
forward-facing, move the seat as far back as it
will go before securing the child restraint in this
seat. SeePower Seats on page 9.
When the passenger sensing system has
turned off the right front passenger’s frontal
airbag, the off indicator in the passenger airbag
status indicator should light and stay lit when
you turn the ignition to RUN or START. See
Passenger Airbag Status Indicator on page 183.2. Put the child restraint on the seat.
3. Pick up the latch plate, and run the lap and
shoulder portions of the vehicle’s safety belt
through or around the restraint. The child
restraint instructions will show you how.
4. Buckle the belt. Make sure the release button
is positioned so you would be able to unbuckle
the safety belt quickly if you ever had to.
63

7. Push and pull the child restraint in different
directions to be sure it is secure.
8. If the airbag is off, the off indicator on the
instrument panel will be lit and stay lit
when the key is turned to RUN or START.
If a child restraint has been installed and the on
indicator is lit, turn the vehicle off. Remove the child
restraint from the vehicle and reinstall the child
restraint.
If, after reinstalling the child restraint and restarting
the vehicle, the on indicator is still lit, check to make
sure that the vehicle’s seatback is not pressing the
child restraint into the seat cushion. If this happens,
slightly recline the vehicle’s seatback and adjust the
seat cushion if possible. Also make sure the child
restraint is not trapped under the vehicle head
restraint. If this happens, adjust the head restraint.If the on indicator is still lit, secure the child in the
child restraint in a rear seat position in the vehicle
and check with your dealer.
To remove the child restraint, just unbuckle the
vehicle’s safety belt and let it go back all the way.
The safety belt will move freely again and be
ready to work for an adult or larger child
passenger.
65

{CAUTION:
Anyone who is up against, or very close to,
any airbag when it inates can be seriously
injured or killed. Airbags plus lap-shoulder
belts offer the best protection for adults,
but not for young children and infants.
Neither the vehicle’s safety belt system nor
its airbag system is designed for them.
Young children and infants need the
protection that a child restraint system can
provide. Always secure children properly
in your vehicle. To read how, seeOlder
Children on page 39orInfants and Young
Children on page 42.
There is an airbag
readiness light on the
instrument panel cluster,
which shows the
airbag symbol.The system checks the airbag electrical system
for malfunctions. The light tells you if there is
an electrical problem. SeeAirbag Readiness Light
on page 182for more information.
Where Are the Airbags?
The driver’s frontal airbag is in the middle of the
steering wheel.
68

What Will You See After an Airbag
Inates?
After a frontal airbag inates, it quickly deates, so
quickly that some people may not even realize the
airbag inated. Roof-mounted side impact airbags
may still be at least partially inated minutes after
the vehicle comes to rest. Some components of the
airbag module — the steering wheel hub for the
driver’s airbag, the instrument panel for the right
front passenger’s airbag, or the ceiling of your
vehicle near the side windows for vehicles with
roof–mounted side impact airbags — may be hot for
a short time. The parts of the airbag that come into
contact with you may be warm, but not too hot to
touch. There may be some smoke and dust coming
from the vents in the deated airbags. Airbag
ination does not prevent the driver from seeing out
of the windshield or being able to steer the vehicle,
nor does it prevent people from leaving the vehicle.
{CAUTION:
When an airbag inates, there may be
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 cannot get out of the vehicle
after an airbag inates, then get fresh air
by opening a window or a door. If you
experience breathing problems following
an airbag deployment, you should seek
medical attention.
Your vehicle has a feature that may automatically
unlock the doors, turn the interior lamps on, and
turn on the hazard warning ashers when the
airbags inate. You can lock the doors again, turn
the interior lamps off, and turn the hazard warning
ashers off by using the controls for those features.
74

In many crashes severe enough to inate an airbag,
windshields are broken by vehicle deformation.
Additional windshield breakage may also occur
from the right front passenger airbag.
Airbags are designed to inate only once. After
airbags inate, you will need some new parts
for the airbag system. If you do not get them,
the airbag system will not be there to help
protect you in another crash. A new system
will include airbag modules and possibly other
parts. The service manual for your vehicle
covers other parts that need to be replaced.
Your vehicle has a crash sensing and
diagnostic module which records information
after a crash. SeeVehicle Data Collection and
Event Data Recorders on page 489.
Let only qualied technicians work on the
airbag system. Improper service can mean that
your airbag system will not work properly. See
your dealer for service.
Passenger Sensing System
Your vehicle has a passenger sensing system. The
passenger airbag status indicator on the instrument
panel will be visible when you turn your ignition key
to RUN or START.
The passenger airbag
status indicator will
light ON and OFF for
several seconds as a
system check.
If you use remote start to start your vehicle from a
distance, if your vehicle has this feature, you may
not see the system check. When the system check
is complete, either the word ON or the word OFF
will be visible. SeePassenger Airbag Status
Indicator on page 183.
The passenger sensing system will turn off the
right front passenger’s frontal airbag under certain
conditions. The driver’s airbags are not part of
the passenger sensing system.
75