CHEVROLET CORVETTE 1998 5.G Owner's Guide

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine @ What’s wrong with this? 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.
A: The belt is twisted across the body.

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine 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.
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.
1-17

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
To learn how to wear the passenger’s safety belt
properly, see “Driver Position’’ earlier in this section.
The 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 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:
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.

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine 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. Children
who are up against, or very close to, an
air bag when it inflates can be seriously injured
or killed.
Air bags plus lap-shoulder belts offer
the best protection for adults and older children,
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. To read how, see the
part of this manual called “Children” and see the
caution labels
on the sunvisors and the
passenger’s safety belt.
1-19

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine There is an air bag readiness
light on the instrument
panel, which shows the air
bag symbol.
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.
How the Air Bag System Works
Where are the air bags?
The driver’s air bag is in the middle of the steering wheel.
1-20

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine The passenger’s air bag is in the instrument panel on the
passenger’s side.
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.
1-21

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine 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.
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 fi-ontal or near-frontal collisions.
1-22

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine 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.
0
0
0
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 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.
1-23

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine 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 Vehicle
Air bags affect how your vehicle 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
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 I Children
Everyone in a vehicle needs protection! That includes
infants and all children smaller than adult size. Neither
the distance to be 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
Children who are up against, or very close to, an
air bag when
it inflates can be seriously injured
or killed.
Air bags plus lap-shoulder belts offer
the best protection for adults and older children,
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.
A 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.
1-25