airbag BUICK PARK AVENUE 2005 Owner's Manual

Seats and Restraint Systems........................... 1-1
Front Seats
............................................... 1-2
Safety Belts
.............................................. 1-6
Child Restraints
.......................................1-27
Airbag System
.........................................1-49
Restraint System Check
............................1-57
Features and Controls..................................... 2-1
Keys
........................................................ 2-3
Doors and Locks
....................................... 2-9
Windows
.................................................2-16
Theft-Deterrent Systems
............................2-18
Starting and Operating Your Vehicle
...........2-22
Mirrors
....................................................2-34
OnStar
®System
......................................2-39
HomeLink®Transmitter
.............................2-40
Storage Areas
.........................................2-44
Sunroof
..................................................2-47
Vehicle Personalization
.............................2-48
Instrument Panel............................................. 3-1
Instrument Panel Overview
.......................... 3-4
Climate Controls
......................................3-25
Warning Lights, Gages, and Indicators
........3-32
Driver Information Center (DIC)
..................3-46
Audio System(s)
.......................................3-55Driving Your Vehicle....................................... 4-1
Your Driving, the Road, and Your Vehicle
..... 4-2
Towing
...................................................4-35
Service and Appearance Care.......................... 5-1
Service
..................................................... 5-3
Fuel
......................................................... 5-4
Checking Things Under the Hood
...............5-10
Headlamp Aiming
.....................................5-45
Bulb Replacement
....................................5-47
Windshield Wiper Blade Replacement
.........5-57
Tires
......................................................5-58
Appearance Care
.....................................5-82
Vehicle Identication
.................................5-91
Electrical System
......................................5-91
Capacities and Specications
...................5-100
Normal Maintenance Replacement Parts
....5-101
Maintenance Schedule..................................... 6-1
Maintenance Schedule
................................ 6-2
Customer Assistance and Information.............. 7-1
Customer Assistance and Information
........... 7-2
Reporting Safety Defects
...........................7-10
Index................................................................ 1
2005 Buick Park Avenue Owner ManualM

Front Seats......................................................1-2
Power Seats..................................................1-2
Power Lumbar...............................................1-3
Heated Seats.................................................1-3
Reclining Seatbacks........................................1-4
Head Restraints.............................................1-5
Safety Belts.....................................................1-6
Safety Belts: They Are for Everyone.................1-6
Questions and Answers About Safety Belts......1-10
How to Wear Safety Belts Properly.................1-11
Driver Position..............................................1-12
Safety Belt Use During Pregnancy..................1-18
Right Front Passenger Position.......................1-19
Center Passenger Position.............................1-19
Rear Seat Passengers..................................1-20
Rear Safety Belt Comfort Guides for
Children and Small Adults..........................1-24
Safety Belt Extender.....................................1-26
Child Restraints.............................................1-27
Older Children..............................................1-27
Infants and Young Children............................1-29
Child Restraint Systems.................................1-33
Where to Put the Restraint.............................1-36Top Strap....................................................1-37
Top Strap Anchor Location.............................1-39
Lower Anchorages and Top Tethers for
Children (LATCH System)...........................1-40
Securing a Child Restraint Designed for
the LATCH System....................................1-42
Securing a Child Restraint in a Rear
Outside Seat Position................................1-42
Securing a Child Restraint in a Center
Rear Seat Position....................................1-44
Securing a Child Restraint in the Right
Front Seat Position....................................1-46
Airbag System...............................................1-49
Where Are the Airbags?................................1-51
When Should an Airbag Inate?.....................1-53
What Makes an Airbag Inate?.......................1-55
How Does an Airbag Restrain?.......................1-55
What Will You See After an Airbag Inates?.....1-55
Servicing Your Airbag-Equipped Vehicle...........1-57
Restraint System Check..................................1-57
Checking Your Restraint Systems...................1-57
Replacing Restraint System Parts
After a Crash............................................1-58
Section 1 Seats and Restraint Systems
1-1

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 in many vehicles today and will be in
most of them in the future. But they are
supplemental systems only; so they workwith
safety 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.
1-10

{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 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.
1-31

When choosing a child restraint, be sure the child
restraint is designed to be used in a vehicle. If it is, it
will have a label saying that it meets federal motor
vehicle safety standards.
Then follow the instructions for the restraint. You may
nd these instructions on the restraint itself or in a
booklet, or both. These restraints use the belt system or
the LATCH system in your vehicle, but the child also
has to be secured within the restraint to help reduce the
chance of personal injury. When securing an add-on
child restraint, refer to the instructions that come with the
restraint which may be on the restraint itself or in a
booklet, or both, and to this manual. The child restraint
instructions are important, so if they are not available,
obtain a replacement copy from the manufacturer.
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,
therefore, 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.Never
put a rear-facing child restraint in the front passenger
seat. Here is why:
{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.
Always secure a rear-facing child restraint in a
rear seat.
If you 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.
1-36

{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.
If you secure a forward-facing child restraint in
the right front passenger 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.
Wherever you install it, be sure to secure the child
restraint properly.
Keep in mind that an unsecured child restraint can
move around in a collision or sudden stop and injure
people in the vehicle. Be sure to properly secure
any child restraint in your vehicle – even when no child
is in it.
Top Strap
Some child restraints have a top strap, or “top tether.” It
can help restrain the child restraint during a collision.
For it to work, a top strap must be properly anchored to
the vehicle. Some top strap-equipped child restraints
are designed for use with or without the top strap being
anchored. Others require the top strap always to be
anchored. Be sure to read and follow the instructions for
your child restraint. If yours requires that the top strap
be anchored, do not use the restraint unless it is
anchored properly.
If the child restraint does not have a top strap, one can
be obtained, in kit form, for many child restraints.
Ask the child restraint manufacturer whether or not a kit
is available.
1-37

Be sure to follow the instructions that came with the
child restraint. Secure the child restraint when and
as the instructions say.
{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.
If you secure a forward-facing child restraint in
the right front passenger 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.1. Make the belt as long as possible by tilting the latch
plate and pulling it along the belt.
2. Put the child restraint on the seat.
3. Run the vehicle’s safety belt through or around the
restraint. The child restraint instructions will show
you how.
1-45

Your vehicle has a right front passenger airbag.Never
put a rear-facing child restraint in this seat. Here is why:
{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.
Always secure a rear-facing child restraint in a
rear seat.
A rear seat is a safer place to secure a forward-facing
child resraint. If you need to secure a forward-facing
child restraint in the right front seat 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. Because your vehicle has a right front passenger
airbag, always move the seat as far back as it will
go before securing a forward-facing child restraint.
SeePower Seats on page 1-2.2. 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.
1-47

Airbag System
Your vehicle has four airbags – a frontal airbag for the
driver, another frontal airbag for the right front
passenger, a side impact airbag for the driver, and
another side impact airbag for the right front passenger.
Frontal airbags are designed to help reduce the risk
of injury from the force of an inating frontal airbag. But
these airbags must inate very quickly to do their job
and comply with federal regulations.
Here are the most important things to know about the
airbag systems:
{CAUTION:
You can be severely injured or killed in a crash
if you are not wearing your safety belt – even if
you have airbags. Wearing your safety belt
during a crash helps reduce your chance of
hitting things inside the vehicle or being
ejected from it. Airbags are designed to work
with safety belts but do not replace them.
CAUTION: (Continued)
CAUTION: (Continued)
Frontal airbags for the driver and right front
passenger are designed to deploy only in
moderate to severe frontal and near frontal
crashes. They are not designed to inate in
rollover, rear or low-speed frontal crashes, or in
many side crashes. And, for some unrestrained
occupants, frontal airbags may provide less
protection in frontal crashes than more forceful
airbags have provided in the past.
The side impact airbags for the driver and right
front passenger are designed to inate only in
moderate to severe crashes where something
hits the side of your vehicle. They are not
designed to inate in frontal, in rollover or in
rear crashes.
Everyone in your vehicle should wear a safety
belt properly – whether or not there is an airbag
for that person.
1-49

{CAUTION:
Both frontal and side impact airbags inate
with great force, faster than the blink of an eye.
If you are too close to an inating airbag, as you
would be if you were leaning forward, it could
seriously injure you. Safety belts help keep you
in position for airbag ination before and during
a crash. Always wear your safety belt, even with
frontal airbags. 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.
{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
CAUTION: (Continued)
CAUTION: (Continued)
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,
see the part of this manual called “Older
Children” or “Infants and Young Children.”
There is a 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 3-36
for more information.
1-50