CHEVROLET CORVETTE 2004 5.G Service Manual

If your vehicle is a convertible or has a removable roof
panel, there are no top strap anchors in your vehicle.
Do not secure a child seat in a convertible or a vehicle
with a removable roof panel, if a national or local
law requires that the top strap be anchored, or if the
instructions that come with the restraint say that the top
strap must be anchored.
1. Your vehicle has a passenger’s air bag. SeeAir
Bag Off Switch on page 1-46. If your child restraint
is forward-facing, always move the seat as far
back as it will go before securing it in this seat. See
Manual Seats on page 1-2orPower Seats on
page 1-2. Never use a rear-facing child restraint in
this seat unless the air bag is off.
2. Find the LATCH anchorages in the passenger seat.
SeeLower Anchorages and Top Tethers for
Children (LATCH System) on page 1-30.
3. Put the child restraint on the seat.
4. Attach and tighten the LATCH attachments on the
child restraint to the LATCH anchorages in the
vehicle. The child restraint instructions will show you
how.
5. If the child restraint is forward-facing, attach and
tighten the top tether to the top tether anchorage
if your vehicle has one. The child restraint
instructions will show you how. Also seeTop Strap
on page 1-28.6. Push and pull the child restraint in different
directions to be sure it is secure.
To remove the child restraint, simply unhook the top
tether from the top tether anchorage and then
disconnect the LATCH anchorages.
Turn on the passenger’s air bag when you remove the
child restraint from the vehicle unless the person
who will be sitting there is a member of a passenger air
bag risk group. SeeAir Bag Off Switch on page 1-46.
{CAUTION:
If the passenger’s air bag is turned off for a
person who isn’t in a risk group identied by
the national government, that person won’t
have the extra protection of an air bag. In a
crash, the air bag wouldn’t be able to inate
and help protect the person sitting there. Don’t
turn off the passenger’s air bag unless the
person sitting there is in a risk group. See “Air
Bag Off Switch” in the Index for more on this,
including important safety information.
1-35

Securing a Child Restraint in the
Passenger Seat Position
Your vehicle has a passenger air bag. There is an air
bag off switch in the glove box you can use to turn
off the passenger’s air bag. SeeAir Bag Off Switch on
page 1-46for more on this including important safety
information.
Unless the passenger’s air bag has been turned off,
neverput a rear-facing child restraint in this vehicle.
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Here is why:
{CAUTION:
A child in a rear-facing child restraint can be
seriously injured or killed if the passenger’s air
bag inates. This is because the back of the
rear-facing child restraint would be very close
to the inating air bag. Do not use a
rear-facing child restraint in this vehicle unless
the passenger’s air bag has been turned off.
Even though the air bag off switch is designed
to turn off the passenger’s frontal air bag, no
system is fail-safe, and no one can guarantee
that an air bag will not deploy under some
unusual circumstance, even though it is turned
off. We recommend that rear-facing child
restraints be transported in vehicles with a
rear seat that will accommodate a rear-facing
child restraint, whenever possible.
If you secure a forward-facing child restraint in
the passenger seat, always move the
passenger seat as far back as it will go.
{CAUTION:
If the air bag readiness light ever comes on
when you have turned off the air bag, it means
that something may be wrong with the air bag
system. The passenger’s air bag could inate
even though the switch is off. If this ever
happens, don’t let anyone whom the national
government has identied as a member of a
passenger air bag risk group sit in the
passenger’s position (for example, don’t
secure a rear-facing child restraint in your
vehicle) until you have your vehicle serviced.
See “Air Bag Off Switch” in the Index.
1-37

If your child restraint is equipped with the LATCH
system, seeLower Anchorages and Top Tethers for
Children (LATCH System) on page 1-30. SeeTop Strap
on page 1-28if the child restraint has one.
If your vehicle is a convertible or has a removable roof
panel, there are no top strap anchors in your vehicle.
Do not secure a child seat in a convertible or a vehicle
with a removable roof panel, if a national or local
law requires that the top strap be anchored, or if the
instructions that come with the restraint say that the top
strap must be anchored.
If your child restraint does not have the LATCH system
you will be using the lap-shoulder belt to secure the
child restraint in this position. Be sure to follow the
instructions that came with the child restraint. Secure
the child in the child restraint when and as the
instructions say.
1. Your vehicle has a passenger’s air bag. SeeAir
Bag Off Switch on page 1-46. If your child restraint
is forward-facing, always move the seat as far
back as it will go before securing it in this seat. See
Manual Seats on page 1-2orPower Seats on
page 1-2. Never use a rear-facing child restraint in
this seat unless the air bag is off.
2. Put the child restraint on the seat.3. Pick up the latch plate, and run the lap and shoulder
portions of the vehicle’s safety belt through or
around the restraint. The child restraint instructions
will show you how.
4. Buckle the belt. Make sure the release button is
positioned so you would be able to unbuckle the
safety belt quickly if you ever had to.
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5. Pull the rest of the lap belt all the way out of the
retractor to set the lock.6. To tighten the belt, feed the lap belt back into the
retractor while you push down on the child restraint.
You may find it helpful to use your knee to push
down on the child restraint as you tighten the belt.
7. Push and pull the child restraint in different
directions to be sure it is secure.
1-39

To remove the child restraint, just unbuckle the vehicle’s
safety belt and let it go back all the way. The safety
belt will move freely again and be ready to work for an
adult or larger child passenger.
Turn on the passenger’s air bag when you remove the
child restraint from the vehicle unless the person
who will be sitting there is a member of a passenger air
bag risk group. SeeAir Bag Off Switch on page 1-46.
{CAUTION:
If the passenger’s air bag is turned off for a
person who isn’t in a risk group identied by
the national government, that person won’t
have the extra protection of an air bag. In a
crash, the air bag wouldn’t be able to inate
and help protect the person sitting there. Don’t
turn off the passenger’s air bag unless the
person sitting there is in a risk group. See “Air
Bag Off Switch” in the Index for more on this,
including important safety information.
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 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 are not 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 designed to work
with safety belts, but do not replace them. Air
bags are designed to deploy only in moderate
to severe frontal and near frontal crashes.
CAUTION: (Continued)
1-40

CAUTION: (Continued)
They are not designed to inate in rollover,
rear or low-speed frontal crashes, or in many
side crashes. And, for some 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 is an air
bag for that person.
{CAUTION:
Air bags inate with great force, faster than the
blink of an eye. If you’re too close to an
inating 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 inates 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. To read how,
seeOlder Children on page 1-19andInfants
and Young Children on page 1-22.
There is a 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. SeeAir Bag Readiness Light on page 3-35
for more information.
1-41

Where Are the Air Bags?
The driver’s air bag is in the middle of the
steering wheel.The passenger’s air bag is in the instrument panel on
the passenger’s side.
1-42

{CAUTION:
If something is between an occupant and an
air bag, the bag might not inate properly or it
might force the object into that person causing
severe injury or even death. The path of an
inating 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 Inate?
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 does not 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, rear impacts, or in many side impacts because
inflation would not help the occupant.
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 Inate?
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.
1-43

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 many
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
Inates?
After the 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, 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 the vents in the
deflated air bags. Air bag inflation doesn’t prevent the
driver from seeing or being able to steer the vehicle, nor
does it stop people from leaving the vehicle.
{CAUTION:
When an air bag inates, there is dust in the
air. This dust could cause breathing problems
for people with a history of asthma or other
breathing trouble.
CAUTION: (Continued)
1-44