Some BUICK LESABRE 2002 Owner's Manual

iii
CAUTION:
These mean there is something that could hurt
In the caution area, we tell you what the hazard is.
Y ou will also find a circle

iv
Vehicle Damage Warnings
Also, in this book you will find these notices:
NOTICE:
These mean there is something that could damage
your vehicle.
In the notice area, we tell you about something that
can damage your vehicle. Many times, this damage
would not be covered by your warranty, and it could
be costly. But the notice will tell you what to do to help
avoid the damage.
When you read other manuals, you might see
CAUTION and NOTICE warnings in different
colors or in different words.
You'll also see warning labels on your vehicle.
They use the same words, CAUTION or NOTICE.
Vehicle Symbols
Your vehicle may be equipped with components and
labels that use symbols instead of text. Symbols,
used on your vehicle, are shown along with the text
describing the operation or information relating to a
specific component, control, message, gage or indicator.
If you need help figuring out a specific name of a
component, gage or indicator reference the following
topics in the Index:

ªEngine Compartment Overviewº

ªInstrument Panelº

ªComfort Controlsº

ªAudio Systemsº
Also see ªWarning Lights and Gagesº in the Index.

v
These are some examples of vehicle symbols you may find on your vehicle:

1-
1-1
Section 1 Seats and Restraint Systems
Here you'll find information about the seats in your vehicle and how to use your safety belts properly. You can also
learn about some things you should not do with air bags and safety belts.
1
-2 Seats and Seat Controls
1
-8 Safety Belts: They're for Everyone
1
-13 Here Are Questions Many People Ask About
Safety Belts
-- and the Answers
1
-14 How to Wear Safety Belts Properly
1
-14 Driver Position
1
-20 Safety Belt Use During Pregnancy
1
-21 Right Front Passenger Position
1
-21 Air Bag Systems
1
-29 Center Front Passenger Position1
-31 Rear Seat Passengers
1
-34 Rear Safety Belt Comfort Guides for
Children and Small Adults
1
-36 Children
1
-40 Restraint Systems for Children
1
-54 Older Children
1
-57 Safety Belt Extender
1
-57 Checking Your Restraint Systems
1
-57 Replacing Restraint System Parts
After a Crash

1-8 Head Restraints
Slide the head restraint up or down 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.
Safety Belts: They're for Everyone
This part of the manual tells you how to use safety belts
properly. It also tells you some things you should not do
with safety belts.
And it explains the air bag system.
CAUTION:
Don't let anyone ride where he or she can't wear
a safety belt properly. If you are in a crash and
you're not wearing a safety belt, your injuries
can be much worse. You can hit things inside the
vehicle or be ejected from it. You can be seriously
injured or killed. In the same crash, you might
not be if you are buckled up. Always fasten your
safety belt, and check that your passengers' belts
are fastened properly too.

1-9
CAUTION:
It is extremely dangerous to ride in a cargo area,
inside or outside of a vehicle. In a collision,
people riding in these areas are more likely to be
seriously injured or killed. Do not allow people to
ride in any area of your vehicle that is not
equipped with seats and safety belts. Be sure
everyone in your vehicle is in a seat and using a
safety belt properly.
Your vehicle has a light
that comes on as a reminder
to buckle up. See ªSafety
Belt Reminder Lightº in
the Index.
In most states and Canadian provinces, the law says to
wear safety belts. Here's why: They work.
You never know if you'll be in a crash. If you do have a
crash, you don't know if it will be a bad one.
A few crashes are mild, and some crashes can be so
serious that even buckled up a person wouldn't survive.
But most crashes are in between. In many of them,
people who buckle up can survive and sometimes walk
away. Without belts they could have been badly hurt
or killed.
After more than 30 years of safety belts in vehicles,
the facts are clear. In most crashes buckling up does
matter ... a lot!

1-10 Why Safety Belts Work
When you ride in or on anything, you go as fast as
it goes.
Take the simplest vehicle. Suppose it's just a seat on wheels.
Put someone on it.

1-11
Get it up to speed. Then stop the vehicle. The rider
doesn't stop.The person keeps going until stopped by something.
In a real vehicle, it could be the windshield ...

1-22
Here are the most important things to know about
the air bag systems:
CAUTION:
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 designed to work with safety belts but
don't replace them.
Frontal air bags for the driver and right front
passenger 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 or low
-speed frontal crashes,
or in many side crashes. And, for some
unrestrained occupants, frontal air bags may
provide less protection in frontal crashes than
more forceful air bags have provided in the past.
The side impact air bags for the driver and right
CAUTION: (Continued)
CAUTION: (Continued)
front passenger are designed to inflate only in
moderate to severe crashes where something hits
the side of your vehicle. They aren't designed to
inflate in frontal, in rollover or in rear crashes.
Everyone in your vehicle should wear a safety
belt properly
-- whether or not there's an air bag
for that person.
CAUTION:
Both frontal and side impact air bags inflate with
great force, faster than the blink of an eye. If
you're too close to an inflating air bag, as you
would be if you were leaning forward, it could
seriously injure you. Safety belts help keep you in
position for air bag inflation before and during a
crash. Always wear your safety belt, even with
frontal air bags. The driver should sit as far back
as possible while still maintaining control of the
vehicle. Front occupants should not lean on or
sleep against the door.

1-25
The right front passenger's side impact air bag is in the
side of the passenger's seatback closest to the door.
CAUTION:
If something is between an occupant and an
air bag, the bag might not inflate properly or it
might force the object into that person causing
severe injury or even death. The path of an
inflating air bag must be kept clear. Don't put
anything between an occupant and an air bag,
and don't attach or put anything on the steering
wheel hub or on or near any other air bag
covering. Don't let seat covers block the inflation
path of a side impact air bag.
When should an air bag inflate?
The driver's and right front passenger's frontal air bags
are designed to inflate in moderate to severe frontal or
near
-frontal crashes. But they are designed to inflate
only if the impact speed is above the system's
designed ªthreshold level.º