BUICK PARK AVENUE 1996 Owner's Guide

How the __ Bag System Works
Where is the air bag?
The driver's air bag is in the middle of the steering wheel. The
right front passenger's air bag
is in the instrument
panel on the passenger's side.
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Don’t put anything on, or attach anything to, the
steering wheel or instrument panel. Also, don’t put anything (such
as pets or objects) between
any occupant and the steering wheel or
instrument panel. If something is between an
occupant and an air bag,
it could affect the
performance
of the air bag -- or worse, it could
cause injury.
When should an
air bag inflate?
The air bag is designed to inflate in moderate to severe
frontal or near-frontal crashes. The air bag will inflate
only if the impact speed
is above the system’s designed
“threshold level.” If your vehicle goes straight into a
wall that doesn’t move or deform, the threshold level is
about
9 to 15 mph (14 to 24 km/h). The threshold level
can vary, however, with specific vehicle design,
so that
it can be somewhat above or below this range. If your vehicle strikes something that will move
or deform, such
as a parked car, the threshold level will be higher. The
air bag is not designed to inflate
in rollovers, side
impacts or rear impacts, because inflation would not
help the occupant.
In any particular crash, no one can say whether an air
bag should have inflated simply because
of the damage
to a vehicle or because of what the repair costs were.
Inflation is determined
by the angle of the impact and
the vehicle’s deceleration. Vehicle damage is only one
indication of this.
What makes an air bag inflate?
In a frontal or near-frontal impact of sufficient severity,
the air bag sensing system detects that the vehicle is
suddenly stopping as a result of a crash. The sensing
system triggers a chemical reaction
of the sodium azide
sealed in the inflator. The reaction produces nitrogen
gas, which inflates the air bag, The inflator, air bag
and
related hardware are all part of the air bag modules
packed inside the steering wheel and in the instrument
panel
in front of the right front passenger.
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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.
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 help you in many types
of collisions,
including rollovers, rear impacts 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 belts, and then only in
moderate to severe frontal or near-frontal collisions.
What will you see after an air bag inflates?
After the air bag inflates, it quickly deflates, This occurs
so quickly that some people may not even realize the air
bag inflated. Some components of the air bag module in
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 part
of the bag that comes
into contact with you may be warm, but it will never be
too hot to touch. There will be some smoke and dust
coming from vents in the deflated air bags. Air bag inflation will not prevent
the driver from seeing
or from being able to steer the vehicle, nor will it stop
people from leaving the vehicle.
When an air bag inflates, 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.
The 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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I‘ 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.
0 Let only qualified technicians work on your air bag
system. Improper service can mean that yoyr
air bag
syst,em won’t work properly. See your dealer
for service.
NOTICE:
If you damage the cover for the driver’s-or the
right front passenger’s
air bag, they 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 covers.
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 Park Avenue 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.
For up to
10 seconds 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.
me air bag system does not need regular maintenance.
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Safety Belt -,ring 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.
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.
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 lap portion of the belt
is pulled out all the
way,
it will lock. If it does, let it go back all the way and
start again.
If your vehicle has a center passenger position, be sure
to use the correct buckle when buckling your
lap-shoulder belt. If you find that
the latch plate will not
go fully into the buckle, see
if you are using the buckle
for the center passenger position.
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Belt
If your vehicle has a front split seat and a rear bench
seat, someone can sit in the center positions.
When you sit in a center seating position, you have a lap
safety belt, which has no retractor.
To make the belt
longer, tilt the latch plate and pull
it along the belt.
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To make the belt shorter, pull its free end as shown until
the belt is snug.
Buckle, position and release
it the same way as the lap
part of a lap-shoulder belt.
If the belt isn’t long enough,
see “Safety Belt Extender” at the end of this section.
Make sure the release button on the buckle is positioned
so you would be able to unbuckle the safety belt quickly
if you ever had to.
Rear Seat Passengers
It’s very important for rear seat passengers to buckle up!
Accident statistics show that unbelted people
in the rear
seat
are hurt more often in crashes than those who are
wearing safety belts.
Rear passengers who aren’t safety belted can be thrown
out of the vehicle in a crash. And they can strike others
in the vehicle who are wearing safety belts.
Rear Seat Outside Passenger Positions
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Lap-Shoulder Belt
The positions next to the windows have lap-shoulder
belts. Here’s how to wear one properly.
..
1. Pick up the latch plate and pull the belt across you.
Don’t let
it get twisted.
2. Push the latch plate into the buckle until it clicks.
If the belt stops before it reaches the buckle, tilt the latch
plate and keep pulling until you can buckle it.
Pull up on the latch plate to make sure it is secure.
.
If the belt is not long enough, see “Safety Belt Extender”
at the end of
this section. Make sure the release button on
the buckle is positioned
so you would be able to unbuckle
the safety belt quickly
if you ever had to.
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3. To make the lap part tight, pull down on the buckle
end of the belt as you pull up
on the shoulder part. The lap
part of
the belt should be worn low and snug on
the hips, just touching the thighs.
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.
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The safety belt locks if there’s a sudden stop or a crash.
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.
To unlatch the belt, just push the button on the buckle.
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