airbag off BUICK RAINIER 2007 Owner's Manual

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.
Q:If I am a good driver, and I never drive far
from home, why should I wear safety belts?
A:You may be an excellent driver, but if you are
in an accident — even one that is not your
fault — you and your passengers can be hurt.
Being a good driver does not protect you
from things beyond your control, such as
bad drivers.
Most accidents occur within 25 miles (40 km)
of home. And the greatest number of
serious injuries and deaths occur at speeds
of less than 40 mph (65 km/h).
Safety belts are for everyone.
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{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.
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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.
If 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.
CAUTION: (Continued)
CAUTION: (Continued)
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
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.
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If your vehicle does not have a rear seat that
will accommodate a rear-facing child restraint,
never put a child in a rear-facing child restraint
in the right front passenger seat unless the
passenger airbag status indicator shows off and
the airbag is off. 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.Be sure the airbag is off
before using a rear-facing child restraint
in the right front seat position.
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
CAUTION: (Continued)
CAUTION: (Continued)
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
transported in vehicles with a rear seat
that will accommodate a rear-facing child
restraint, whenever possible.
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.
Wherever you install a child restraint, 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.
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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 toLower Anchors and
Tethers for Children (LATCH) on page 54.
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.
Securing a Child Restraint in the
Center Rear Seat Position
Many child restraints are too wide to be correctly
secured in the center rear seat, although some
of them will t there. If the center seat position is
too narrow for your child restraint, secure it in
a rear outside seat position.If you secure a child restraint in the center seat
position, follow the instructions inSecuring a
Child Restraint in a Rear Outside Seat Position
on page 61.
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 52.
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. See
Passenger Sensing System on page 78and
Passenger Airbag Status Indicator on page 182
for 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 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.
CAUTION: (Continued)
CAUTION: (Continued)
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 8.
If your child restraint has the LATCH system, see
Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children (LATCH)
on page 54.
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
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that come with the child restraint say that the top
tether must be anchored. SeeLower Anchors
and Tethers for Children (LATCH) on page 54if
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 78. 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 8.
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.
SeePassenger Airbag Status Indicator
on page 182.2. 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.
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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 will come
on and stay on 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.
67

{CAUTION:
Both frontal and roof-mounted 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.
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 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 40orInfants and Young Children
on page 43.
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Frontal airbags (driver and right front passenger)
are not intended to inate during vehicle
rollovers, rear impacts, or in many side impacts.
Your vehicle has seat position sensors which
enables the sensing system to monitor the position
of the driver’s seat and the right front passenger’s
seat. Seat position sensors provide information
that is used to determine if the airbags should
deploy at a reduced level or at full deployment.
Your vehicle may or may not have roof-mounted
airbags and a rollover sensor. SeeAirbag
System on page 68. These “rollover capable”
airbags are intended to inate in moderate
to severe side crashes or during a rollover.
A roof-mounted airbag will inate if the crash
severity is above the system’s designed “threshold
level.” The threshold level can vary with specic
vehicle design. Roof-mounted airbags are not
intended to inate in frontal or near-frontal impacts,
or rear impacts. Both roof-mounted airbags will
deploy when either side of the vehicle is struck
or during a rollover.In any particular crash, no one can say whether
an airbag should have inated simply because
of the damage to a vehicle or because of what the
repair costs were. For frontal airbags, ination is
determined by what the vehicle hits, the angle
of the impact, and how quickly the vehicle slows
down. For roof-mounted airbags, ination is
determined by the location and severity of
the impact.
The airbag system is designed to work properly
under a wide range of conditions, including off-road
usage. Observe safe driving speeds, especially
on rough terrain. As always, wear your safety belt.
SeeOff-Road Driving on page 299for tips on
off-road driving.
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