engine CHEVROLET CORVETTE 1997 5.G Owner's Guide

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine 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.
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.
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.
Passenger Position
The 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.
Air Bag System
This part explains the air bag system.
Your Corvette has two air bags
-- one air bag for the
driver and another air bag for the passenger.
Here are the most important things to know about the air
bag system:
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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
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 “supplemental restraints” 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. 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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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine A CAUTION:
Air bags inflate with great force, faster 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 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.
An inflating
air bag can seriously injure small
children. Always secure children properly in your
vehicle.
To read how, see the part of this manual
called “Children” and the caution label on the
passenger’s safety belt.
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 “Air Bag Readiness Light” in the Index
for more information.
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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine How the Air Bag System Works
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The passenger's air bag
passenger's side.
Where are the air bags?
The driver's air bag is in the middle of the steering wheel.
is in the instrument panel on the
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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine I A CAUTION:
If something is between an occupant and an air
bag, the bag might not inflate properly or it
might force the object into that person. The path of an inflating air bag must be kept clear. Don’t
put anything between an occupant and an air
bag, and don’t attach or put anything on the
steering wheel hub or on or near any other air
bag
covering.
When should an air bag inflate?
An air bag is designed to inflate in a moderate to severe
frontal
or near-frontal crash. 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
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.
It
is possible that in a crash only one of the two air bags
in your Corvette will deploy.
This is rare, but can happen
in a crash just severe enough to make an air bag inflate.
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
how quickly the vehicle slows down in frontal or
near-frontal impacts.
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. 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 and in the instrument panel in front
of
the passenger.
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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine 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.
Air bags supplement 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 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.
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, or the
instrument panel for the passenger’s bag
-- 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 vents
in the deflated air bags. Air bag inflation doesn’t prevent
the driver from seeing or from being able to steer the
vehicle, nor does it stop people from leaving the vehicle.
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
passenger air bag.
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.
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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine 0
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Your vehicle is equipped with a 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.
Let only qualified technicians work on your
air bag system. Improper service can mean that your
air bag system won’t work properly. See your dealer
for service.
NOTICE:
If you damage the covering for the driver’s or the
passenger’s air bag, the bag 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
passenger’s air bag.
Do not open or break the air
bag coverings.
Servicing Your Air Bag-Equipped Corvette
Air bags affect how your Corvette 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
Corvette dealer and the Corvette 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.
For up to 10 minutes 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 yellow wires, 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.

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Children
Everyone in a vehicle needs protection! That includes
infants and all children smaller than adult size.
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
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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
CAUTION: (Continued) 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.
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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine I
A CAUTION:
Never hold a baby in your arms while riding in a
vehicle.
A baby doesn’t weigh much -- until a
crash. During
a crash a baby will become so
heavy you can’t hold it. For example, in a crash
at only 25 mph (40 kmlh), a 12-1b. (5.5 kg) baby
will suddenly become a 240-1b. (110
kg) force on
your arms. The baby would be almost impossible
to hold.

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Child Restraints
Be sure the child restraint is designed to be used in a
vehicle.
If it is, it will have a label saying that it meets
Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards.
Then follow the instructions for the restraint. You may
find these instructions on the restraint itself or in a
booklet, or both. These restraints use the belt system in
your vehicle, but the child also has to be secured within
the restraint to help reduce the chance of personal injury.
The instructions that come with the child restraint will
show you how to do that.
The child restraint must be secured properly in the
passenger seat.
Keep in mind that an unsecured child restraint can move
around in a collision or sudden stop and injure people in
the vehicle. Be sure to properly secure any child
restraint in your vehicle
-- even when no child is in it.
Top Strap
Some child restraints have a top strap. Don’t use a
restraint like that in your vehicle because the top strap
anchor cannot be installed properly. You shouldn’t
use this type of child restraint without anchoring the
top strap.
Securing a Child Restraint in the Passenger
Seat Position
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