CADILLAC FLEETWOOD 1996 2.G Owner's Guide

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I
I /! CAUTION:
You can be seriously injured by a twisted belt. In
a crash, you wouldn’t have the full width of the
belt to spread impact forces. If a belt is twisted,
make it straight
so it can work properly, or ask
your dealer to
fix it.
I I
A: The belt is twisted across the body.
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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Supplemental Inflatable Restraint (SIR) System
This part explains the Supplemental Inflatable Restraint
(SIR) system or air bag system.
Your Cadillac has two air bags
-- one air bag for the
driver and another air bag for the right front passenger.
Here
are the most important things to know about the air
bag system:
To unlatch the belt, just push the button on the buckle.
The belt should go back out
of the way.
Before you close the door, be sure the belt is out
of the
way.
If you slam the door on it, you can damage both the
belt and your vehicle.
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You can be severely injured or killed in a crash
if you aren’t wearing your safety belt
-- even if
you have an air bag. Wearing your safety belt
during a crash helps reduce your chance of
hitting things inside the vehicle or being ejected
from
it. The air bag is only a “supplemental
restraint.” That
is, it works with safety belts but
doesn’t replace them.
Air bags 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. Everyone in
your vehicle, including the driver, should wear a
safety belt properly
-- whether or not there’s an
air bag for that person.
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Air bags inflate with great force, €aster than the
blink of an eye.
If you’re too close to an inflating
air bag,
it could seriously injure you. Safety belts
help keep you in position for an air bag inflation
in a crash. Always wear your safety belt, even
with an
air bag. The driver should sit as far
back as possible while still maintaining control
of the vehicle.

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine An inflating air bag can seriously injure small
children. Always secure chiIdren properly in your
vehicle.
To read how, see the part of this manual
called “Children” and the caution label
on the
right front passenger’s safety belt.
AIR
BAG
There is an air bag readiness
light
on the instrument
panel, which shows
AIR
BAG.
The system checks the air bag’s electrical system for
malfunctions. The light tells you if there is an electrical
problem. See “Air Bag Readiness Light” in the Index
for more information.
How the Air Bag System Works
Where is the air bag?
The driver’s air bag is in the middle of the steering wheel.
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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine 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
The
right front passenger’s air bag is in the instrument
panel on the passenger’s side.
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.
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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine 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.
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 warrn, 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 fiom
being able to steer the vehicle,
nor will it stop people
from leaving the vehicle.
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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.
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,
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.
Your vehicle is equipped with a crash sensing 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.
bag system. Improper service can mean that your
air bag system won’t work properly. See your dealer
for service.
Let only qualified technicians work on your air
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.
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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Servicing Your Air Bag-Equipped Cadillac
Air bags affect how your Cadillac 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
Cadillac dealer and the Fleetwood 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.
I A 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 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.
The air bag system does not need regular maintenance.
Safety Belt Use During 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.
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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine 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.
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.
Center Front Passenger Position
u
Lap Belt
If your vehicle has a front split seat and a rear bench
seat, someone can sit in the center positions.
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A

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine L
When you sit in the center front 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.
I
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.
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