child restraint CHEVROLET ASTRO CARGO VAN 2000 2.G Owners Manual

ii
Table of Contents
Keys and Door Locks
Keyless Entry System
Hatch
Automatic Transmission
All-Wheel Drive Operation (Option)
Parking Brake
Windows
Tilt Wheel
Turn Signal/Multifunction Lever
Windshield WipersCruise Control
Interior and Exterior Lamps
Mirrors
Storage Compartments
Convenience Net/Luggage Carrier (If Equipped)
Accessory Power Outlets
HomeLink® Transmitter (Option)
Instrument Panel, Warning Lights and Gages
Driver Information System (If Equipped) Seats and Seat Controls
Safety BeltsAir Bag System
Child Restraints
Section
1
Section
2
Seats and Restraint Systems
Features and Controls

1-
1-1
Section 1 Seats and Restraint Systems
Here you'll find information about the seats in your vehicle and how to use your safety belts properly. You can also
learn about some things you should not do with air bags and safety belts.
1
-2 Seats and Seat Controls
1
-13 Safety Belts: They're for Everyone
1
-17 Here Are Questions Many People Ask About
Safety Belts
-- and the Answers
1
-18 How to Wear Safety Belts Properly
1
-18 Driver Position
1
-26 Safety Belt Use During Pregnancy
1
-27 Right Front Passenger Position
1
-27 Air Bag System
1
-34 Rear Seat Passengers1
-37 Rear Safety Belt Comfort Guides for Children
and Small Adults
1
-39 Center Passenger Position (Bench Seat)
1
-41 Children
1
-45 Child Restraints
1
-59 Larger Children
1
-62 Safety Belt Extender
1
-62 Checking Your Restraint Systems
1
-63 Replacing Restraint System Parts After
a Crash

1-18
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
Adults
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 the part of this manual
called ªChildren.º 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 (to see how, see ªSeatsº in the Index)
so you can sit up straight.

1-27
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 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.
Air Bag System
This part explains the air bag system.
Your vehicle has air bags
-- one air bag for the driver
and another air bag for the right front passenger.
Frontal air bags are designed to help reduce the risk of
injury from the force of an inflating air bag. But these
air bags must inflate very quickly to do their job and
comply with federal regulations.Here are the most important things to know about the air
bag system:
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. 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. And, for unrestrained occupants, air
bags may provide less protection in frontal
crashes than more forceful air bags have
provided in the past. Everyone in your vehicle
should wear a safety belt properly
-- whether or
not there's an air bag for that person.

1-28
CAUTION:
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 before and during a
crash. Always wear your safety belt, even with air
bags. The driver should sit as far back as possible
while still maintaining control of the vehicle.
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
CAUTION: (Continued)
CAUTION: (Continued)
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
There is an air bag readiness
light on the instrument
panel, which shows
AIR BAG.
The system checks the air bag electrical system for
malfunctions. The light tells you if there is an electrical
problem. See ªAir Bag Readiness Lightº in the Index
for more information.

1-37
Rear Safety Belt Comfort Guides for
Children and Small Adults
Your vehicle may have rear shoulder belt comfort
guides. This feature will provide added safety belt
comfort for children who have outgrown child restraints
and for small adults. When installed on a shoulder belt,
the comfort guide pulls the belt away from the neck
and head.
There is one guide for each outside passenger position in
the rear seats. To provide added safety belt comfort for
children who have outgrown child restraints 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.

1-41
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
(Except Cargo Vans)
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.
CAUTION:
Smaller children and babies should always be
restrained in a child or infant restraint. The
instructions for the restraint will say whether it is
the right type and size for your child. A very
young child's hip bones are so small that a
regular belt might not stay low on the hips, as it
should. Instead, the belt will likely be over the
child's abdomen. In a crash, the belt would apply
force right on the child's abdomen, which could
cause serious or fatal injuries. So, be sure that
any child small enough for one is always properly
restrained in a child or infant restraint.
Infants need complete support, including support for the
head and neck. This is necessary because an infant's neck
is weak and its head weighs so much compared with the
rest of its body. In a frontal crash, an infant in a rear
-facing
restraint settles into the restraint, so the crash forces can be
distributed across the strongest part of the infant's body,
the back and shoulders. A baby should be secured in an
appropriate infant restraint. This is so important that many
hospitals today won't release a newborn infant to its
parents unless there is an infant restraint available for the
baby's first trip in a motor vehicle.

1-43 Smaller Children and Babies (Cargo Vans)
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.
CAUTION:
A very young child's hip bones are so small that a
regular belt might not stay low on the hips, as it
should. Instead, the belt will likely be over the
child's abdomen. In a crash, the belt would apply
force right on the child's abdomen, which could
cause serious or fatal injuries. Smaller children
and babies should always be restrained in a child
restraint. However, infants, who should be
restrained in a rear
-facing child restraint, cannot
ride safely in this vehicle. The instructions for the
restraint will say whether it is the right type and
size for your child. If a forward
-facing child
restraint is suitable for your child, be sure the
child is always properly restrained while riding in
this vehicle.

1-45
Child Restraints
Every time infants and young children ride in vehicles, they
should have protection provided by appropriate restraints.
Q:What are the different types of add-on
child restraints?
A:Add-on child restraints are available in four basic
types. When selecting a child restraint, take into
consideration not only the child's weight and
size, but also whether or not the restraint will be
compatible with the motor vehicle in which it will
be used.
An infant car bed (A) is a special bed made for use
in a motor vehicle. It's an infant restraint system
designed to restrain or position a child on a
continuous flat surface. With an infant car bed,
make sure that the infant's head rests toward the
center of the vehicle.

1-47
A forward-facing child restraint (C-E) positions
a child upright to face forward in the vehicle.
These forward
-facing restraints are designed to
help protect children who are from 20 to 40 lbs.
(9 to 18 kg) and about 26 to 40 inches
(66 to 102 cm) in height, or up to around four
years of age. One type, a convertible restraint, is
designed to be used either as a rear
-facing infant
seat or a forward
-facing child seat.