warning CHEVROLET IMPALA 2010 9.G Owner's Guide

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WARNING:
A child in a child restraint in the center front seat
can be badly injured or killed by the frontal airbags
if they inflate. Never secure a child restraint in the
center front seat. It is always better to secure a
child restraint in a rear seat.
Do not use child restraints in the center front seat
position.
When securing a child restraint in a rear seating
position, study the instructions that came with your child
restraint to make sure it is compatible with this vehicle.
Wherever a child restraint is installed, be sure to secure
the child restraint properly.
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.
Lower Anchors and Tethers for
Children (LATCH)The LATCH system holds a child restraint during driving
or in a crash. This system is designed to make installation
of a child restraint easier. The LATCH system uses
anchors in the vehicle and attachments on the child
restraint that are made for use with the LATCH system.
Make sure that a LATCH-compatible child restraint is
properly installed using the anchors, or use the vehicle’s
safety belts to secure the restraint, following the
instructions that came with that restraint, and also the
instructions in this manual. When installing a child
restraint with a top tether, you must also use either the
lower anchors or the safety belts to properly secure
the child restraint. A child restraint must never be
installed using only the top tether and anchor.
In order to use the LATCH system in your vehicle, you
need a child restraint that has LATCH attachments.
The child restraint manufacturer will provide you
with instructions on how to use the child restraint and its
attachments. The following explains how to attach a
child restraint with these attachments in your vehicle.
Not all vehicle seating positions or child restraints have
lower anchors and attachments or top tether anchors
and attachments.
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The top tether anchors are located under the covers on
the rear seatback filler panel behind each head restraint.
Be sure to use an anchor located on the same side of the
vehicle as the seating position where the child restraint
will be placed.
Do not secure a child restraint in a position without a
top tether anchor if a national or local law requires that
the top tether be attached, or if the instructions that
come with the child restraint say that the top tether must
be attached.Accident statistics show that children are safer if they
are restrained in the rear rather than the front seat.
SeeWhere to Put the Restraint on page 2-42for
additional information.
Securing a Child Restraint Designed for
the LATCH System
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WARNING:
If a LATCH-type child restraint is not attached to
anchors, the child restraint will not be able to protect
the child correctly. In a crash, the child could be
seriously injured or killed. Install a LATCH-type
child restraint properly using the anchors, or use
the vehicle’s safety belts to secure the restraint,
following the instructions that came with the child
restraint and the instructions in this manual.
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{
WARNING:
Do not attach more than one child restraint to a
single anchor. Attaching more than one child
restraint to a single anchor could cause the anchor
or attachment to come loose or even break during
a crash. A child or others could be injured. To
reduce the risk of serious or fatal injuries during a
crash, attach only one child restraint per anchor.{
WARNING:
Children can be seriously injured or strangled if a
shoulder belt is wrapped around their neck and
the safety belt continues to tighten. Buckle any
unused safety belts behind the child restraint so
children cannot reach them. Pull the shoulder belt
all the way out of the retractor to set the lock, if
your vehicle has one, after the child restraint has
been installed.Notice:Do not let the LATCH attachments rub
against the vehicle’s safety belts. This may damage
these parts. If necessary, move buckled safety
belts to avoid rubbing the LATCH attachments.
Do not fold the empty rear seat with a safety belt
buckled. This could damage the safety belt or
the seat. Unbuckle and return the safety belt to its
stowed position, before folding the seat.
1. Attach and tighten the lower attachments to the
lower anchors. If the child restraint does not have
lower attachments or the desired seating position
does not have lower anchors, secure the child
restraint with the top tether and the safety belts.
Refer to your child restraint manufacturer
instructions and the instructions in this manual.
1.1. Find the lower anchors for the desired
seating position.
1.2. Put the child restraint on the seat.
1.3. Attach and tighten the lower attachments on
the child restraint to the lower anchors.
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Securing a Child Restraint in the
Center Front Seat Position
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WARNING:
A child in a child restraint in the center front seat
can be badly injured or killed by the frontal airbags
if they inflate. Never secure a child restraint in the
center front seat. It is always better to secure a
child restraint in a rear seat.
Do not use child restraints in the center front seat
position.
Securing a Child Restraint in the
Right Front Seat PositionThis vehicle has airbags. A rear seat is a safer place to
secure a forward-facing child restraint. SeeWhere to
Put the Restraint on page 2-42.
In addition, the vehicle has a passenger sensing system
which is designed to turn off the right front passenger
frontal airbag under certain conditions. SeePassenger
Sensing System on page 2-66andPassenger Airbag
Status Indicator on page 4-25for more information,
including important safety information.
A label on the 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.
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WARNING:
A child in a rear-facing child restraint can be
seriously injured or killed if the right front passenger
airbag inflates. This is because the back of the
rear-facing child restraint would be very close to the
inflating airbag. A child in a forward-facing child
restraint can be seriously injured or killed if the right
front passenger airbag inflates and the passenger
seat is in a forward position.
Even if the passenger sensing system has turned
off the right front passenger frontal airbag, no
system is fail-safe. No one can guarantee that
an airbag will not deploy under some unusual
circumstance, even though it is turned off.
Secure rear-facing child restraints in a rear
seat, even if the airbag is off. If you 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.
SeePassenger Sensing System on page 2-66for
additional information.If the child restraint has the LATCH system, seeLower
Anchors and Tethers for Children (LATCH) on
page 2-43for how and where to install the child restraint
using LATCH. If a child restraint is secured using a
safety belt and it uses a top tether, seeLower Anchors
and Tethers for Children (LATCH) on page 2-43for
top tether anchor locations.
Do not secure a child seat in a position without a top
tether anchor 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
strap must be anchored.
In Canada, the law requires that forward-facing child
restraints have a top tether, and that the tether be
attached.
You will be using the lap-shoulder belt to secure the
child restraint in this position. Follow the instructions that
came with the child restraint.
1. Move the seat as far back as it will go before
securing the forward-facing child restraint.
When the passenger sensing system has turned
off the right front passenger frontal airbag, the
off indicator on the passenger airbag status indicator
should light and stay lit when the vehicle is
started. SeePassenger Airbag Status Indicator on
page 4-25.
2. Put the child restraint on the seat.
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Here are the most important things to know about the
airbag system:
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WARNING:
You can be severely injured or killed in a crash if
you are not wearing your safety belt — even if you
have airbags. Airbags are designed to work with
safety belts, but do not replace them. Also, airbags
are not designed to deploy in every crash. In some
crashes safety belts are your only restraint. See
When Should an Airbag Inflate? on page 2-61.
Wearing your safety belt during a crash helps
reduce your chance of hitting things inside the
vehicle or being ejected from it. Airbags are
“supplemental restraints” to the safety belts.
Everyone in your vehicle should wear a safety belt
properly — whether or not there is an airbag for
that person.
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WARNING:
Airbags inflate with great force, faster than the
blink of an eye. Anyone who is up against, or very
close to, any airbag when it inflates can be
seriously injured or killed. Do not sit unnecessarily
close to the airbag, as you would be if you were
sitting on the edge of your seat or leaning forward.
Safety belts help keep you in position before and
during a crash. Always wear your safety belt, even
with airbags. The driver should sit as far back as
possible while still maintaining control of the
vehicle.
Occupants should not lean on or sleep against the
door or side windows in seating positions with
seat-mounted side impact airbags and/or roof-rail
airbags.
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{
WARNING:
Children who are up against, or very close to, any
airbag when it inflates can be seriously injured
or killed. Airbags plus lap-shoulder belts offer
protection for adults and older children, 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 2-32orInfants and Young Children on
page 2-35.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 4-24
for more information.
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WARNING:
If something is between an occupant and an
airbag, the airbag might not inflate properly or it
might force the object into that person causing
severe injury or even death. The path of an
inflating 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.
Do not use seat accessories that block the
inflation path of a seat-mounted side impact
airbag.
Never secure anything to the roof of a vehicle with
roof-rail airbags by routing a rope or tie down
through any door or window opening. If you do,
the path of an inflating roof-rail airbag will be
blocked.
When Should an Airbag Inflate?Frontal airbags are designed to inflate in moderate to
severe frontal or near-frontal crashes to help reduce the
potential for severe injuries mainly to the driver’s or
right front passenger’s head and chest. However, they
are only designed to inflate if the impact exceeds a
predetermined deployment threshold. Deployment
thresholds are used to predict how severe a crash is
likely to be in time for the airbags to inflate and
help restrain the occupants.
Whether the 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.
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What Will You See After an Airbag
Inflates?After the frontal airbags and seat-mounted side impact
airbags inflate, they quickly deflate, so quickly that
some people may not even realize an airbag inflated.
Roof-rail airbags may still be at least partially inflated
for some time after they deploy. Some components
of the airbag module may be hot for several minutes.
For location of the airbag modules, seeWhat Makes
an Airbag Inflate? on page 2-63.
The parts of the airbag that come into contact with you
may be warm, but not too hot to touch. There may
be some smoke and dust coming from the vents in the
deflated airbags. Airbag inflation does not prevent
the driver from seeing out of the windshield or being
able to steer the vehicle, nor does it prevent people from
leaving the vehicle.
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WARNING:
When an airbag inflates, there may be 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 cannot get out
of the vehicle after an airbag inflates, then get
fresh air by opening a window or a door. If you
experience breathing problems following an airbag
deployment, you should seek medical attention.
The vehicle has a feature that may automatically unlock
the doors, turn on the interior lamps and hazard warning
flashers, and shut off the fuel system after the airbags
inflate. You can lock the doors, turn off the interior lamps
and hazard warning flashers by using the controls for
those features.
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WARNING:
A crash severe enough to inflate the airbags may
have also damaged important functions in the
vehicle, such as the fuel system, brake and
steering systems, etc. Even if the vehicle appears
to be drivable after a moderate crash, there may
be concealed damage that could make it difficult
to safely operate the vehicle.
Use caution if you should attempt to restart the
engine after a crash has occurred.In many crashes severe enough to inflate the airbag,
windshields are broken by vehicle deformation.
Additional windshield breakage may also occur from
the right front passenger airbag.
•
Airbags are designed to inflate only once. After an
airbag inflates, you will need some new parts for
the airbag system. If you do not get them, the airbag
system will not be there to help protect you in
another crash. A new system will include airbag
modules and possibly other parts. The service
manual for your vehicle covers the need to replace
other parts.
•
The vehicle has a crash sensing and diagnostic
module which records information after a crash.
SeeVehicle Data Recording and Privacy on
page 8-18andEvent Data Recorders on page 8-19.
•
Let only qualified technicians work on the airbag
systems. Improper service can mean that an
airbag system will not work properly. See your
dealer/retailer for service.
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