child seat CHEVROLET COBALT 2008 1.G Owners Manual

Seats and Restraint Systems........................... 1-1
Front Seats
............................................... 1-2
Rear Seats
............................................... 1-9
Safety Belts
.............................................1-10
Child Restraints
.......................................1-30
Airbag System
.........................................1-53
Restraint System Check
............................1-68
Features and Controls..................................... 2-1
Keys
........................................................ 2-3
Doors and Locks
......................................2-10
Windows
.................................................2-15
Theft-Deterrent Systems
............................2-18
Starting and Operating Your Vehicle
...........2-21
Mirrors
....................................................2-38
OnStar
®System
......................................2-40
Storage Areas
.........................................2-43
Sunroof
..................................................2-44
Instrument Panel............................................. 3-1
Instrument Panel Overview
.......................... 3-4
Climate Controls
......................................3-18
Warning Lights, Gages, and Indicators
........3-23
Driver Information Center (DIC)
..................3-40
Audio System(s)
.......................................3-54Driving Your Vehicle....................................... 4-1
Your Driving, the Road, and Your Vehicle
..... 4-2
Towing
...................................................4-32
Service and Appearance Care.......................... 5-1
Service
..................................................... 5-3
Fuel
......................................................... 5-5
Checking Things Under the Hood
...............5-10
Headlamp Aiming
.....................................5-39
Bulb Replacement
....................................5-42
Windshield Wiper Blade Replacement
.........5-48
Tires
......................................................5-49
Appearance Care
.....................................5-95
Vehicle Identication
...............................5-104
Electrical System
....................................5-105
Capacities and Specications
...................5-112
Maintenance Schedule..................................... 6-1
Maintenance Schedule
................................ 6-2
Customer Assistance Information.................... 7-1
Customer Assistance and Information
........... 7-2
Reporting Safety Defects
...........................7-15
Vehicle Data Recording and Privacy
...........7-17
Index................................................................ 1
2008 Chevrolet Cobalt Owner ManualM

Front Seats......................................................1-2
Manual Seats................................................1-2
Seat Height Adjuster.......................................1-3
Manual Lumbar..............................................1-3
Heated Seats.................................................1-4
Reclining Seatbacks........................................1-4
Head Restraints.............................................1-7
Easy Entry Seat (Coupe).................................1-8
Rear Seats.......................................................1-9
Split Folding Rear Seat...................................1-9
Safety Belts...................................................1-10
Safety Belts: They Are for Everyone................1-10
How to Wear Safety Belts Properly.................1-15
Lap-Shoulder Belt.........................................1-23
Safety Belt Use During Pregnancy..................1-29
Safety Belt Extender.....................................1-29
Child Restraints.............................................1-30
Older Children..............................................1-30
Infants and Young Children............................1-32
Child Restraint Systems.................................1-36
Where to Put the Restraint.............................1-38Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children
(LATCH)..................................................1-39
Securing a Child Restraint in a
Rear Seat Position....................................1-46
Securing a Child Restraint in the
Right Front Seat Position............................1-49
Airbag System...............................................1-53
Where Are the Airbags?................................1-56
When Should an Airbag Inate?.....................1-58
What Makes an Airbag Inate?.......................1-59
How Does an Airbag Restrain?.......................1-59
What Will You See After an Airbag Inates?.....1-60
Passenger Sensing System............................1-61
Servicing Your Airbag-Equipped Vehicle...........1-66
Adding Equipment to Your Airbag-Equipped
Vehicle....................................................1-66
Restraint System Check..................................1-68
Checking the Restraint Systems......................1-68
Replacing Restraint System Parts
After a Crash............................................1-69
Section 1 Seats and Restraint Systems
1-1

Lap-Shoulder Belt
All seating positions in your vehicle have a
lap-shoulder belt.
Here is how to wear a lap-shoulder belt properly.
1. If your seat has a safety belt guide, and the safety
belt is not routed through the guide, slide the edge
of the belt webbing through the opening on the
guide. Be sure the belt is not twisted.2. Adjust the seat, if the seat is adjustable, so you can
sit up straight. To see how, see “Seats” in the
Index.
3. Pick up the latch plate and pull the belt across you.
Do not let it get twisted.
The lap-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.
Engaging the child restraint locking feature
may affect the passenger sensing system.
SeePassenger Sensing System on page 1-61.
1-23

Safety Belt Pretensioners
Your vehicle has safety belt pretensioners for front
outboard occupants. Although you cannot see them,
they are part of the safety belt assembly. They can help
tighten the safety belts during the early stages of a
moderate to severe frontal and near frontal crash if the
threshold conditions for pretensioner activation are
met. And, if your vehicle has side impact airbags, safety
belt pretensioners can help tighten the safety belts in
a side crash.
Pretensioners work only once. If they activate in a
crash, you will need to get new ones, and probably other
new parts for your safety belt system. SeeReplacing
Restraint System Parts After a Crash on page 1-69.
Rear Safety Belt Comfort Guides
Rear shoulder belt comfort guides may provide added
safety belt comfort for older children who have outgrown
booster seats and for some adults. When installed on
a shoulder belt, the comfort guide positions the belt
away from the neck and head.
There is one guide for each outboard passenger
position in the rear seat. Here is how to install a comfort
guide to the safety belt:
1. Pull the elastic cord out from between the edge of
the seatback and the interior body to remove the
guide from its storage clip.
1-26

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 do not 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.
The best way to protect the fetus is to protect the mother.
When a safety belt is worn properly, it is more likely that
the fetus will not be hurt in a crash. For pregnant women,
as for anyone, the key to making safety belts effective is
wearing them properly.
Safety Belt Extender
If the vehicle’s safety belt will fasten around you,
you should use it.
But if a safety belt is not long enough, your
dealer/retailer will order you an extender. When you
go in to order it, take the heaviest coat you will wear,
so the extender will be long enough for you. To help
avoid personal injury, do not let someone else use it,
and use it only for the seat it is made to t. The extender
has been designed for adults. Never use it for securing
child seats. To wear it, attach it to the regular safety
belt. For more information, see the instruction sheet that
comes with the extender.
1-29

Child Restraints
Older Children
Older children who have outgrown booster seats should
wear the vehicle’s safety belts.The manufacturer’s instructions that come with the
booster seat state the weight and height limitations for
that booster. Use a booster seat with a lap-shoulder belt
until the child passes the below t test:
Sit all the way back on the seat. Do the knees bend
at the seat edge? If yes, continue. If no, return to
the booster seat.
Buckle the lap-shoulder belt. Does the shoulder belt
rest on the shoulder? If yes, continue. If no, try
using the rear safety belt comfort guide. See “Rear
Safety Belt Comfort Guides” underLap-Shoulder
Belt on page 1-23for more information. If the
shoulder belt still does not rest on the shoulder,
then return to the booster seat.
Does the lap belt t low and snug on the hips,
touching the thighs? If yes, continue. If no, return to
the booster seat.
Can proper safety belt t be maintained for the
length of the trip? If yes, continue. If no, return
to the booster seat.
1-30

Q:What is the proper way to wear safety belts?
A:An older child should wear a lap-shoulder belt and
get the additional restraint a shoulder belt can
provide. The shoulder belt should not cross the face
or neck. The lap belt should t snugly below the
hips, just touching the top of the thighs. This applies
belt force to the child’s pelvic bones in a crash.
It should never be worn over the abdomen, which
could cause severe or even fatal internal injuries
in a crash.
Also see “Rear Safety Belt Comfort Guides” under
Lap-Shoulder Belt on page 1-23.
According to accident statistics, children and infants are
safer when properly restrained in the rear seating
positions than in the front seating positions.
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.{CAUTION:
Never do this.
Here two children are wearing the same belt.
The belt cannot 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.
1-31

{CAUTION:
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. In a crash, the child would not
be restrained by the shoulder belt. The child
might slide under the lap belt. The belt force
would then be applied right on the abdomen.
That could cause serious or fatal injuries.
The child could also move too far forward
increasing the chance of head and neck injury.
The shoulder belt should go over the shoulder
and across the chest.
Infants and Young Children
Everyone in a vehicle needs protection! This includes
infants and all other children. 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.
1-32

{CAUTION:
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 should always be secured in
appropriate infant restraints.
{CAUTION:
The body structure of a young child is quite
unlike that of an adult or older child, for whom
the safety belts are designed. A young child’s
hip bones are still so small that the vehicle’s
regular safety belt may not remain low on the
hip bones, as it should. Instead, it may settle
up around the child’s abdomen. In a crash,
the belt would apply force on a body area
that is unprotected by any bony structure.
This alone could cause serious or fatal
injuries. Young children should always be
secured in appropriate child restraints.
1-35

Child Restraint Systems
A rear-facing infant
seat (A) provides restraint
with the seating surface
against the back of
the infant.
The harness system holds the infant in place and, in a
crash, acts to keep the infant positioned in the restraint.
A forward-facing child
seat (B) provides restraint
for the child’s body
with the harness.A booster seat (C-D) is a child restraint designed to
improve the t of the vehicle’s safety belt system.
A booster seat can also help a child to see out the
window.
1-36