belt CADILLAC CATERA 2000 1.G Owner's Manual

1-25
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
To learn how to wear the right front passenger's safety belt
properly, see ªDriver Positionº earlier in this section.
The right front passenger's safety belt works the same
way as the driver's safety belt
-- except for one thing.
If you ever pull the shoulder portion of the belt out
all the way, you will engage the child restraint locking
feature. If this happens, just let the belt go back all the
way and start again.
Air Bag Systems
This part explains the frontal and side impact air
bag systems.
Your vehicle has air bags
-- a frontal air bag for the
driver and another frontal air bag for the right front
passenger. Your vehicle may also have side impact air
bags
-- a side impact air bag for the driver and another
side impact air bag for the right front passenger.
If your vehicle has
side impact air bags, it
will say AIRBAG on
the air bag covering
on the side of the
driver's and right front
passenger's seatback
closest to the door.
If Equipped
Frontal air bags are designed to help reduce the risk
of injury from the force of an inflating frontal air bag.
But these air bags must inflate very quickly to do their
job and comply with federal regulations.

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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 ªsupplemental restraintsº to
the safety belts. All air bags are designed to work
with safety belts but don't replace them.
CAUTION: (Continued)
CAUTION: (Continued)
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, side or low
-speed frontal
crashes. And, for 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 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.

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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.
CAUTION:
Anyone who is up against, or very close to, any
air bag when it inflates can be seriously injured
or killed. Air bags 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 air bag 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 ªChildren.º

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What makes an air bag inflate?
In an impact of sufficient severity, the air bag sensing
system detects that the vehicle is in a crash. For both
frontal and side impact air bags, the sensing system
triggers a release of gas from the inflator, which inflates
the air bag. The inflator, air bag and related hardware
are all part of the air bag modules inside the steering
wheel, instrument panel and the side of the front
seatbacks closest to the door.
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. In moderate to severe side
collisions, even belted occupants can contact the inside
of the vehicle. 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 the frontal
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. Side impact air bags would not help you inmany types of collisions, including frontal or near
frontal collisions, rollovers, and rear impacts, primarily
because an occupant's motion is not toward those air
bags. 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 for
the driver's and right front passenger's frontal air bags,
and only in moderate to severe side collisions for the
driver's and right front passenger's side impact air bags.
What will you see after an air bag inflates?
After an air bag inflates, it quickly deflates,
so quickly that some people may not even realize
the air bag inflated. Some components of the air bag
module
-- the steering wheel hub for the driver's air
bag, the instrument panel for the right front passenger's
bag, the side of the seatback closest to the door for
the driver and right front passenger's side impact air
bags
-- will be hot for a short time. The parts of the
bag that come into contact with you may be warm, but
not too hot to touch. There will be some smoke and dust
coming from the vents in the deflated air bags. Air bag
inflation doesn't prevent the driver from seeing or being
able to steer the vehicle, nor does it stop people from
leaving the vehicle.

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CAUTION:
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 a door.
In many crashes severe enough to inflate an air bag,
windshields are broken by vehicle deformation.
Additional windshield breakage may also occur from
the right front passenger air bag.

Air bags are designed to inflate only once. After an
air bag inflates, 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.
Your vehicle is equipped with a crash sensing and
diagnostic module, which records information about
the frontal air bag system. The module records
information about the readiness of the system, when
the system commands air bag inflation and driver's
safety belt usage at deployment.

Let only qualified technicians work on your air
bag systems. Improper service can mean that an
air bag system won't work properly. See your
dealer for service.
NOTICE:
If you damage the covering for the driver's or
the right front passenger's air bag, or the
air bag covering on the driver's and right front
passenger's seatback, the bag may not work
properly. You may have to replace the air bag
module in the steering wheel, both the air bag
module and the instrument panel for the right
front passenger's air bag, or both the air bag
module and seatback for the driver's and right
front passenger's side impact air bag. Do not
open or break the air bag coverings.

1-33 Servicing Your Air Bag-Equipped Vehicle
Air bags affect how your vehicle should be serviced.
There are parts of the air bag systems in several places
around your vehicle. Your dealer and the service manual
have information about servicing your vehicle and the
air bag systems. To purchase a service manual, see
ªService and Owner Publicationsº in the Index.
CAUTION:
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 felt, wires wrapped with yellow tape or
yellow connectors. They are probably part of
the air bag systems. Be sure to follow proper
service procedures, and make sure the person
performing work for you is qualified to do so.
The air bag systems do not need regular maintenance.
Safety Belt Pretensioners
Your vehicle has safety belt pretensioners. You'll find
them on the buckle end of the safety belts for the
driver and right front passenger. They help the safety
belts reduce a person's forward movement in a
moderate to severe crash in which the front of the
vehicle hits something.
Pretensioners work only once. If they activate in a crash,
you'll need to get new ones, and probably other new
parts for your safety belt system. See ªReplacing
Restraint System Parts After a Crashº in the Index.
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.

1-34 Rear Seat Passenger Positions
Lap-Shoulder Belt
All three rear seating positions 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.
The shoulder belt may lock if you pull the belt across
you very quickly. If this happens, let the belt go back
slightly to unlock it. Then pull the belt across you
more slowly.
2. Push the latch plate into the buckle until it clicks.
Pull up on the latch plate to make sure it is secure.

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When the shoulder belt is pulled out all the way, it
will lock. If it does, let it go back all the way and
start again. 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.
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.
The safety belt locks if there's a sudden stop or a crash,
or if you pull the belt very quickly out of the retractor.

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Each position next to the windows has a shoulder belt
height adjuster. Move the shoulder belt adjuster to the
height that is right for you.To move it down, press the arrow symbol and move the
height adjuster to the desired position. You can move
the height adjuster up just by pushing up on the bottom
of the height adjuster. After you move the adjuster to
where you want it, try to move it down without pushing
in to make sure it has locked into position.
Adjust the height so that the shoulder portion of the
belt is centered on your shoulder. The belt should be
away from your face and neck, but not falling off
your shoulder.
CAUTION:
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.

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To unlatch the belt, just push the button on the buckle.
Children
Everyone in a vehicle needs protection! That includes
infants and all children smaller than adult size. Neither
the distance traveled nor the age and size of the traveler
changes the need, for everyone, to use safety restraints.
In fact, the law in every state in the United States and in
every Canadian province says children up to some age
must be restrained while in a vehicle.
Smaller Children and Babies
CAUTION:
Children who are up against, or very close to,
any air bag when it inflates can be seriously
injured or killed. Air bags 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 air bag 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.