Page 1 BUICK LUCERNE 2007 Owner's Guide

5. To tighten the belt, push down on the child
restraint, pull the shoulder portion of the belt
to tighten the lap portion of the belt, and
feed the shoulder belt back into the retractor.
If you are using a forward-facing child
restraint, you may nd it helpful to use your
knee to push down on the child restraint
as you tighten the belt.6. If your child restraint manufacturer
recommends using a top tether, attach and
tighten the top tether to the top tether anchor.
Refer to the instructions that came with the
child restraint and seeLower Anchors
and Tethers for Children (LATCH) on page 55.
7. Push and pull the child restraint in different
directions to be sure it is secure.
To remove the child restraint, if the top tether is
attached to the top tether anchor, disconnect
it. 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.
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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 53.
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 and seat-mounted side impact 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 81andPassenger Airbag
Status Indicator on page 198for more information
on this, including important safety information.
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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 and
seat-mounted side impact airbag if the
system detects a rear-facing child
restraint, no system is fail-safe, and no
CAUTION: (Continued)
CAUTION: (Continued)
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 airbags are 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. SeeManual
Passenger Seat on page 9orPower Seats
on page 9.
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If your child restraint has the LATCH system, see
Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children
(LATCH) on page 55.
There is no top tether anchor at the right front
seating position. Do not secure a child seat 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. SeeLower Anchors
and Tethers for Children (LATCH) on page 55if
the 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 81. 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. SeeManual
Passenger Seat on page 9orPower Seats
on page 9.
When the passenger sensing system has
turned off the right front passenger’s frontal
airbag and seat-mounted side impact airbag,
the off indicator on 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 198.
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{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 43orInfants and Young
Children on page 46.
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 197for more information.
Where Are the Airbags?
The driver’s frontal airbag is in the middle of the
steering wheel.
72

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 the hazard warning ashers on when the
airbags inate. You can lock the doors, turn the
interior lamps off, and turn the hazard warning
ashers off by using the controls for those features.
In many crashes severe enough to inate the
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 an airbag inates, 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 the need to
replace other parts.
Your vehicle has a crash sensing and
diagnostic module which records information
after a crash. SeeVehicle Data Collection and
Event Data Recorders on page 471.
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Let only qualied technicians work on the
airbag systems. Improper service can
mean that an 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
overhead console will be visible when you turn
your ignition key to RUN or START.
The words ON and OFF or the symbol for on and
off, will be visible during the system check.
When the system check is complete, either the
word ON or the word OFF, or the symbol for on or
the symbol for off will be visible. SeePassenger
Airbag Status Indicator on page 198.The passenger sensing system will turn off the
right front passenger’s frontal airbag and
seat-mounted side impact airbag under certain
conditions. The driver’s airbags are not part of the
passenger sensing system.
The passenger sensing system works with sensors
that are part of the right front passenger’s seat and
safety belt. The sensors are designed to detect the
presence of a properly-seated occupant and
determine if the right front passenger’s frontal
airbag and seat-mounted side impact airbag should
be enabled (may inate) or not.
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.
United StatesCanada
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The passenger sensing system is designed to turn
off the right front passenger’s frontal airbag and
seat-mounted side impact airbag if:
The right front passenger seat is unoccupied.
The system determines that an infant is
present in a rear-facing infant seat.
The system determines that a small child is
present in a forward-facing child restraint.
The system determines that a small child is
present in a booster seat.
A right front passenger takes his/her weight off
of the seat for a period of time.
The right front passenger seat is occupied by
a smaller person, such as a child who has
outgrown child restraints.
Or if there is a critical problem with the airbag
system or the passenger sensing system.
When the passenger sensing system has turned
off the right front passenger’s frontal airbag
and seat-mounted side impact airbag, the off
indicator will light and stay lit to remind you that
the airbags are off.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 following the child restraint
manufacturer’s directions and refer toSecuring a
Child Restraint in the Right Front Seat Position
on page 65.
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.
83

{CAUTION:
If the airbag readiness light in the
instrument panel cluster ever comes on
and stays on, it means that something
may be wrong with the airbag system. If
this ever happens, have the vehicle
serviced promptly, because an adult-size
person sitting in the right front
passenger’s seat may not have the
protection of the frontal airbag. See
Airbag Readiness Light on page 197for
more on this, including important safety
information.Aftermarket equipment, such as seat covers, can
affect how well the passenger sensing system
operates. You may want to consider not using seat
covers or other aftermarket equipment if your
vehicle has the passenger sensing system. See
Adding Equipment to Your Airbag-Equipped
Vehicle on page 87for more information about
modications that can affect how the system
operates.
{CAUTION:
Stowing of articles under the passenger’s
seat or between the passenger’s seat
cushion and seatback may interfere with
the proper operation of the passenger
sensing system.
85

Servicing Your Airbag-Equipped
Vehicle
Airbags affect how your vehicle should be
serviced. There are parts of the airbag system in
several places around your vehicle. You do
not want the system to inate while someone is
working on your vehicle. Your dealer and the
service manual have information about servicing
your vehicle and the airbag system. To purchase a
service manual, seeService Publications
Ordering Information on page 478.
{CAUTION:
For up to 10 seconds, after the ignition is
turned off and the battery is disconnected,
an airbag can still inate during improper
service. You can be injured if you are
close to an airbag when it inates. Avoid
yellow connectors. They are probably part
of the airbag system. Be sure to follow
proper service procedures, and make sure
the person performing work for you is
qualied to do so.
The airbag system does not need regular
maintenance.
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