ECU CHEVROLET IMPALA 2007 9.G Owner's Manual

6. If your child restraint manufacturer
recommends using a top tether, attach and
tighten the top tether to the top tether anchor.
Refer to the instructions that came with the
child restraint and seeLower Anchors
and Tethers for Children (LATCH) on page 54.
7. Push and pull the child restraint in different
directions to be sure it is secure.
To remove the child restraint, if the top tether is
attached to the top tether anchor, disconnect
it. 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.Securing a Child Restraint in the
Center Front Seat Position
{CAUTION:
A child in a child restraint in the center
front seat can be badly injured or killed
by the right front passenger’s airbag if it
inates. Never secure a child restraint in
the center front seat. It is always better to
secure a child restraint in the rear seat.
Do not secure a child restraint in the center front
seat position.
63

Securing a Child Restraint in the
Right Front Seat Position
Your vehicle has a right front passenger’s
airbag. A rear seat is a safer place to secure a
forward-facing child restraint. SeeWhere to
Put the Restraint on page 52.
In addition, your vehicle has a passenger sensing
system. The passenger sensing system is
designed to turn off the right front passenger’s
frontal airbag when an infant in a rear-facing
infant seat or a small child in a forward-facing
child restraint or booster seat is detected.
SeePassenger Sensing System on page 77and
Passenger Airbag Status Indicator on page 179
for more information on this including important
safety information.
A label on your sun visor says, “Never put a
rear-facing child seat in the front.” This is because
the risk to the rear-facing child is so great, if the
airbag deploys.
{CAUTION:
A child in a rear-facing child restraint
can be seriously injured or killed if the
right front passenger’s airbag inates.
This is because the back of the
rear-facing child restraint would be
very close to the inating airbag.
Even though the passenger sensing
system is designed to turn off the right
front passenger’s frontal airbag if the
system detects a rear-facing child
restraint, no system is fail-safe, and
no one can guarantee that an airbag
will not deploy under some unusual
circumstance, even though it is turned off.
We recommend that rear-facing child
restraints be secured in the rear seat,
even if the airbag is off.
CAUTION: (Continued)
64

CAUTION: (Continued)
If you need to secure a forward-facing
child restraint in the right front seat,
always move the front passenger seat
as far back as it will go. It is better to
secure the child restraint in a rear seat.
If you need to secure a forward-facing child
restraint in the right front seat position, move the
seat as far back as it will go before securing
the forward-facing child restraint. SeeManual
Passenger Seat on page 9orPower Seats
on page 9.
If your child restraint has the LATCH system,
seeLower Anchors and Tethers for Children
(LATCH) on page 54.
There is no top tether anchor at the right front
seating position. Do not secure a child restraint
in this position if a national or local law requires
that the top tether be anchored or if the
instructions that come with the child restraint
say that the top tether must be anchored.SeeLower Anchors and Tethers for Children
(LATCH) on page 54if your child restraint
has a top tether.
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 right front passenger’s
frontal airbag. SeePassenger Sensing
System on page 77. We recommend that
rear-facing child restraints be secured in a
rear seat, even if the airbag is off. If your
child restraint is forward-facing, move the
seat as far back as it will go before securing
the child restraint in this seat. SeeManual
Passenger Seat on page 9orPower Seats
on page 9.
When the passenger sensing system has
turned off the right front passenger’s frontal
airbag, the off indicator in the passenger
airbag status indicator should light and
stay lit when you turn the ignition to RUN
or START. SeePassenger Airbag Status
Indicator on page 179.
65

6. To tighten the belt, push down on the child
restraint, pull the shoulder portion of the belt
to tighten the lap portion of the belt and
feed the shoulder belt back into the retractor.
If you are using a forward-facing child
restraint, you may nd it helpful to use your
knee to push down on the child restraint
as you tighten the belt. You should not be
able to pull more of the belt from the retractor
once the lock has been set.
7. Push and pull the child restraint in different
directions to be sure it is secure.8. If the airbag is off, the off indicator on the
instrument panel will be lit and stay lit
when the key is turned to RUN or START.
If a child restraint has been installed and the
on indicator is lit, turn the vehicle off. Remove the
child restraint from the vehicle and reinstall
the child restraint.
If, after reinstalling the child restraint and restarting
the vehicle, the on indicator is still lit, check to
make sure that the vehicle’s seatback is not
pressing the child restraint into the seat cushion.
If this happens, slightly recline the vehicle’s
seatback and adjust the seat cushion if possible.
Also make sure the child restraint is not trapped
under the vehicle head restraint. If this happens,
adjust the head restraint.
If the on indicator is still lit, secure the child in
the child restraint in a rear seat position in
the vehicle and check with your dealer.
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.
67

{CAUTION:
Anyone who is up against, or very
close to, any airbag when it inates can
be seriously injured or killed. Airbags
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 airbag 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 41orInfants and
Young Children on page 43.There is an airbag
readiness light on
the instrument panel
cluster, which shows
the airbag symbol.
The system checks the airbag electrical system
for malfunctions. The light tells you if there is
an electrical problem. SeeAirbag Readiness
Light on page 178for more information.
70

{CAUTION:
If something is between an occupant
and an airbag, 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
airbag must be kept clear. Do not put
anything between an occupant and an
airbag, and do not attach or put anything
on the steering wheel hub or on or near
any other airbag covering. And, if your
vehicle has roof-mounted side impact
airbags, never secure anything to the
roof of your vehicle by routing the rope
or tie down through any door or window
opening. If you do, the path of an inating
side impact airbag will be blocked.
The path of an inating airbag must
be kept clear.
When Should an Airbag Inate?
The driver’s and right front passenger’s frontal
airbags are designed to inate in moderate to
severe frontal or near-frontal crashes. But they are
designed to inate only if the impact exceeds a
predetermined deployment threshold. Deployment
thresholds take into account a variety of desired
deployment and non-deployment events and are
used to predict how severe a crash is likely to be in
time for the airbags to inate and help restrain the
occupants. Whether your frontal airbags will or
should deploy is not based on how fast your vehicle
is traveling. It depends largely on what you hit,
the direction of the impact, and how quickly your
vehicle slows down.
In addition, your vehicle has “dual-stage” frontal
airbags, which adjust the restraint according
to crash severity. Your vehicle has electronic
frontal sensors which help the sensing system
distinguish between a moderate frontal impact
and a more severe frontal impact. For moderate
frontal impacts, these airbags inate at a level
less than full deployment. For more severe
frontal impacts, full deployment occurs.
73

The passenger sensing system will turn off the
right front passenger’s frontal airbag under certain
conditions. The driver’s airbags are not part of
the passenger sensing system.
The passenger sensing system works with
sensors that are part of the right front passenger’s
seat and safety belt. The sensors are designed
to detect the presence of a properly seated
occupant and determine if the passenger’s frontal
airbag should be enabled (may inate) or not.
Accident statistics show that children are safer
if they are restrained in the rear rather than
the front seat. We recommend that child restraints
be secured in a rear seat, including an infant
riding in a rear-facing infant seat, a child riding
in a forward-facing child seat and an older
child riding in a booster seat.There is a label on your sun visor that says,
“Never put a rear-facing child seat in the front.”
This is because the risk to the rear-facing child is
so great if the airbag deploys. Never put a rear
facing child restraint in the right front passenger
seat unless the airbag is off. Here is why:
{CAUTION:
A child in a rear-facing child restraint
can be seriously injured or killed if the
right front passenger’s airbag inates.
This is because the back of the
rear-facing child restraint would be
very close to the inating airbag.
CAUTION: (Continued)
78

CAUTION: (Continued)
Even though the passenger sensing
system is designed to turn off the
passenger’s frontal airbag if the system
detects a rear-facing child restraint, no
system is fail-safe, and no one can
guarantee that an airbag will not deploy
under some unusual circumstance, even
though it is turned off. We recommend
that rear-facing child restraints be secured
in the rear seat, even if the airbag is off.
If you need to secure a forward-facing
child restraint in the right front seat,
always move the front passenger seat
as far back as it will go. It is better to
secure the child restraint in a rear seat.The passenger sensing system is designed to turn
off the right front passenger’s frontal airbag if:
The right front passenger seat is unoccupied.
The system determines that an infant is
present in a rear-facing infant seat.
The system determines that a small child is
present in a forward-facing child restraint.
The system determines that a small child is
present in a booster seat.
A right front passenger takes his/her weight off
of the seat for a period of time.
The right front passenger seat is occupied by
a smaller person, such as a child who has
outgrown child restraints.
Or, if there is a critical problem with the airbag
system or the passenger sensing system
When the passenger’s frontal airbag has been
turned off by the passenger sensing system, the
off indicator on the instrument panel will light
and stay lit to remind you that the airbag is off.
79

If a child restraint has been installed and the
on indicator is lit, turn the vehicle off. Remove
the child restraint from the vehicle and reinstall
the child restraint following the child restraint
manufacturer’s directions and refer toSecuring
a Child Restraint in the Right Front Seat Position
on page 64.
If, after reinstalling the child restraint and restarting
the vehicle, the on indicator is still lit, check to
make sure that the vehicle’s seatback is not
pressing the child restraint into the seat cushion.
If this happens, slightly recline the vehicle’s
seatback and adjust the seat cushion if possible.
Also make sure the child restraint is not trapped
under the vehicle head restraint. If this happens,
adjust the head restraint.
If the on indicator is still lit, secure the child in
the child restraint in a rear seat position in
the vehicle if one is available and check with
your dealer.The passenger sensing system is designed to
enable (may inate) the right front passenger’s
frontal airbag anytime the system senses
that a person of adult size is sitting properly in the
right front passenger’s seat. When the passenger
sensing system has allowed the airbag to be
enabled, the on indicator will light and stay lit to
remind you that the airbag is active.
For some children who have outgrown child
restraints and for very small adults, the passenger
sensing system may or may not turn off the
right front passenger’s frontal airbag, depending
upon the person’s seating posture and body
build. Everyone in your vehicle who has
outgrown child restraints should wear a safety
belt properly — whether or not there is an airbag
for that person.
If a person of adult-size is sitting in the right
front passenger’s seat, but the off indicator is lit,
it could be because that person is not sitting
properly in the seat. If this happens, turn
the vehicle off and ask the person to place the
seatback in the fully upright position, then sit
upright in the seat, centered on the seat cushion,
with the person’s legs comfortably extended.
80

Adding Equipment to Your
Airbag-Equipped Vehicle
Q:Is there anything I might add to the front
or sides of the vehicle that could keep the
airbags from working properly?
A:Yes. If you add things that change your
vehicle’s frame, bumper system, height,
front end or side sheet metal, they may keep
the airbag system from working properly.
Also, the airbag system may not work properly
if you relocate any of the airbag sensors.
If you have any questions about this,
you should contact Customer Assistance
before you modify your vehicle. The phone
numbers and addresses for Customer
Assistance are in Step Two of the Customer
Satisfaction Procedure in this manual.
SeeCustomer Satisfaction Procedure
on page 426.
Q:Because I have a disability, I have to get
my vehicle modied. How can I nd out
whether this will affect my airbag system?
A:Changing or moving any parts of the
front seats, safety belts, the airbag sensing
and diagnostic module, steering wheel,
instrument panel, ceiling headliner, ceiling
and pillar garnish trim, roof-mounted airbag
modules, or airbag wiring can affect the
operation of the airbag system. If you
have questions, call Customer Assistance.
The phone numbers and addresses for
Customer Assistance are in Step Two of
the Customer Satisfaction Procedure in this
manual. SeeCustomer Satisfaction Procedure
on page 426.
83