child seat CHEVROLET ASTRO 2003 Owners Manual

The 2003 Chevrolet Astro Owner Manual
Seats and Restraint Systems ........................... I-!
Front Seats ............................................... 1-2
Rear Seats
............................................... 1-7
Safety Belts
............................................. 1-13
Child Restraints
....................................... 1-35
Air Bag System
....................................... 1-62
Restraint System Check
............................ 1-71
Keys
........................................................ 2-2
Doors and Locks
....................................... 2-7
Windows
................................................. 2-1 6
Theft-Deterrent Systems
............................ 2-1 8
Mirrors
.................................................... 2-32
HomeLink@ Transmitter
............................. 2-34
Features and Controls ..................................... 2-1
Starting and Operating Your Vehicle
........... 2-19
Storage Areas
Instrument Panel .
Instrument Panel
Climate Controls
......................................... 2-38
........................................... 3-1
Overview .......................... 3-2
...................................... 3-18
Warning Lights. Gages and Indicators
......... 3-23
Audio System(s)
....................................... 3-38
Driving Your Vehicle ....................................... 4-1
Your Driving, the Road, and Your Vehicle
........ 4-2
Towing
................................................... 4-29
Service and Appearance Care .......................... 5-1
Service ..................................................... 5-3
Fuel
......................................................... 5-5
All-Wheel Drive
........................................ 5-52
Rear Axle ............................................... 5-53
Front Axle
............................................... 5-54
Bulb Replacement
.................................... 5-55
Windshield Wiper Blade Replacement ......... 5-62
Tires
...................................................... 5-63
Appearance Care
..................................... 5-83
Vehicle Identification
................................. 5-91
Electrical System
...................................... 5-92
Capacities and Specifications
..................... 5-99
Normal Maintenance Replacement Parts
...... 5-1 01
Maintenance Schedule ..................................... 6-1
Maintenance Schedule
................................ 6-2
Customer Assistance Information .................... 7-1
Customer Assistance Information
.................. 7-2
Reporting Safety Defects ........................... 7-10
Checking Things Under
the Hood
............... 5-11
Index ................................................................ 1

These are some examples of vehicle symbols you may find on your vehicle:
POSSIBLE A
CAUTION INJURY
PROTECT EYES BY
SHIELDING
CAUSTIC
BATTERY
KID COULD
CAUSE
BURNS
AVOID
SPARKS OR FLAMES
SPARK OR COULD
EXPLODE FLAME
\\I/'
BAlTERY I
LATCH BOTH LAP AND
SHOULDER BELTS TO
PROTECT OCCUPANT
*&: @
DO NOT TWIST SAFETY
BELT WHEN AlTACHING
FASTEN SEAT
BELTS
MOVE SEAT FULLY
\!$!
REARWARD /a
SECURE
CHILD
SEAT
PULL BELT
COMPLETELY
rHEN SECURE CHILD SEAT
POWER
WINDOW DO NOT INSTALL
A REAR-FACING
CHILD RESTRAINT IN THIS SEATING POSITION
DO NOT INSTALL A
'ORWARD-FACING CHILD RESTRAINT IN THIS SEATING POSITION
DOOR LOCK UNLOCK LIGHTING
- MASTER SWITCH u- 0 ,
SIGNALS
TURN
LAMPS
Pf
RUNNING ***o
DAYTIME 0.0
LAMPS ea.
LAMPS $0
ENGINE
COOLANT
cc
TEMP
CHARGING
I-1
BATTERY SYSTEM
BRAKE
(a)
ENGINE OIL PRESSURE
Wb
ANTI-LOCK (@)
BRAKES COOLANT
FAN
OWNERS MANUAL
SERVICE
MANUAL
V

Section 1 Seats and Restraint Systems
Front Seats ...................................................... 1-2
Manual Seats
................................................ 1-2
Power Seat
................................................... 1-3
Manual Lumbar
.............................................. 1-3
Reclining Seatbacks
........................................ 1.4
Head Restraints
............................................. 1.5
Seatback Latches
........................................... 1.6
Rear Seats ....................................................... 1-7
Rear Seat Operation
....................................... 1-7
Bench Seat
.................................................. 1-1 1
Bucket Seats ............................................... 1-1 2
Safety Belts ................................................... 1-1 3
Safety Belts: They Are for Everyone
................ 1-13
Questions and Answers About Safety Belts
...... 1-17
How to Wear Safety Belts Properly
................. 1-18
Driver Position
.............................................. 1.18
Safety Belt Use During Pregnancy
.................. 1-26
Right Front Passenger Position
....................... 1.27
Center Passenger Position
............................. 1.27
Rear Seat Passengers
................................. -1-29
Rear Safety Belt Comfort Guides for
Children and Small Adults
...................... 1.32
Safety Belt Extender
..................................... 1-34
Child Restraints ............................................. 1-35
Older Children
.............................................. 1-35
Child Restraint Systems
................................. 1.44
Infants and Young
Children
.......... ....... 1.38 Where
to Put the Restraint
............................. 1-47
Top Strap
.................................................... 1-48
Top Strap Anchor Location ............................. 1-50
Lower Anchorages and Top Tethers for
Children (LATCH System)
........................... 1-52
Securing a Child Restraint Designed for
the LATCH System
.................................... 1-54
Securing a Child Restraint in a Rear
Outside Seat Position
............................ 1-54
Securing a Child Restraint in a Center
Seat Position
............................................ 1-57
Securing a Child Restraint in the Right
Front Seat Position
................................... -1 -59
Air Bag System .............................................. 1-62
Where Are the Air Bags?
............... ..... 1-64
When Should an Air Bag Inflate?
.................... 1-66
What Makes an Air Bag Inflate?
..................... 1-67
How Does an Air Bag Restrain?
..................... 1-67
What Will You See After an
Air Bag Inflates?
....................................... 1.68
Servicing Your Air Bag-Equipped Vehicle
......... 1.69
Adding Equipment to Your
Air Bag-Equipped Vehicle
........................... 1.70
Restraint System Check ................................. -1-71
Checking Your Restraint Systems ... ..... 1-71
Replacing Restraint System Parts
After a Crash
............................................ 1-71
1-1

Q: If I’m 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’re in an
accident
- even one that isn’t your fault - you and
your passengers can be hurt. Being a good
driver doesn’t 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.
How to Wear Safety Belts Properly
This part is only for people of adult size.
Be aware that there are special things to know about
safety belts and children. And there are different
rules for smaller children and babies.
If a child will be
riding in your vehicle, see
Older Children on page 1-35
or lnfants and Young Children on page 1-38. Follow
those rules for everyone’s protection.
First, you’ll want to know which restraint systems your
vehicle has.
We’ll start with the driver position.
Driver Position
This part describes the driver’s restraint system.
Lap-Shoulder Belt
The driver has a lap-shoulder belt. Here’s how to
wear it properly.
1. Close and lock the door.
2. Adjust the seat so you can sit up straight.
To see how, see “Seats” in the Index.
1-18

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
Driver Position on page 1-18.
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 lap 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.
Center Passenger Position
Lap Belt
If your vehicle has rear bench seats, someone can sit
in the center positions.
1-27

Rear Safety Belt Comfort Guides for
Children and Small Adults
Your vehicle may have this feature already. If it doesn’t,
you can get it from any
GM dealer.
This feature will provide added safety belt comfort for
older children who have outgrown booster seats and for
small adults. When installed on a shoulder belt, the
comfort guide better positions the belt away from
the neck and head.
To provide added safety belt comfort for children who
have outgrown child restraints and booster seats and for
smaller adults, the comfort guides may be installed on
the shoulder belts. Here’s how to install a comfort guide
and use the safety belt:
1. Remove the guide from its storage clip on the side
of the seatback.
1-32

Child Restraints
Older Children
Older children who have outgrown booster seats should
wear the vehicle’s safety belts.
Q: What is the proper way to wear safety belts?
A: If possible, an older child should wear a
lap-shoulder belt and get the additional restraint
a shouider beit can provide. The shouider belt
should not cross the face or neck. The lap
belt should fit snugly below the hips, just touching
the top of the thighs.
It should never be worn
over the abdomen, which could cause severe or
even fatal internal injuries in a crash.
Accident statistics show that children are safer
if they
are restrained in the rear seat.
In a crash, children who are not buckled up can strike
other people who are buckled up, or can be thrown
out of the vehicle. Older children need to use safety
belts properly.
If you have the choice, a child should sit next to a
window
so the child can wear a lap-shoulder belt and
get the additional restraint a shoulder belt can provide.
1-35

Never do this. Here two children are wearing the same belt.
The belt can’t properly spread the impact
forces.
In a crash, the two children can be
crushed together and seriously injured.
A belt
must be used by only one person at a time.
Q: What if a child is wearing a lap-shoulder belt,
but the child
is so small that the shoulder belt
is very close to the child’s face or neck?
A: Move the child toward the center of the vehicle, but
be sure that the shoulder belt still
is on the child’s
shoulder,
so that in a crash the child’s upper
body would have the restraint that belts provides.
If the child is sitting in a rear seat outside position,
see
Rear Safety Belt Comfort Guides for Children
and Small Adults
on page 1-32.
If the child is so small that the shoulder belt is still
very close to the child’s face or neck, you might
want
to place the child in a seat that has a lap belt,
if your vehicle has one.
1-36

I
I Never do this.
Here a child is sitting in a seat that has a
lap-shoulder belt, but the shoulder
part is
behind the child. If the child wears the belt in
this way, in a crash the child might slide under
the belt. The belt’s force would then be applied
right on the child’s abdomen. That could cause
serious or fatal injuries.
Wherever the child sits, the lap portion
of the belt
should be worn low and snug on the hips, just touching
the child’s thighs. This applies belt force to the child’s
pelvic bones in a crash.
1-37

Q: What are the different types of add-on child
restraints?
A: Add-on child restraints, which are purchased by the
vehicle’s owner, are available in four basic types.
Selection of a particular restraint should take
into consideration not only the child’s weight, height
and age but also whether or not the restraint will
be compatible with the motor vehicle in which it will
be used.
For most basic types of child restraints, there are
many different models available. When purchasing a
child restraint, be sure
it is designed to be used
in a motor vehicle.
If it is, the restraint will have a
label saying that it meets federal motor vehicle
safety standards.
The restraint manufacturer’s instructions that come
with the restraint state the weight and height
limitations for a particular child restraint. In addition,
there are many kinds of restraints available for
children with special needs.
Newborn infants need complete support,
including support for the head and neck. This
is
necessary because a newborn infant’s neck is
weak and its head weighs so much compared
with the rest of its body. In a crash, an infant
in a
rear-facing seat settles into the restraint,
so the
crash forces can be distributed across the
strongest part of an infant’s body, the back and
shoulders. Infants always should be secured in
appropriate infant restraints.
1-40