belt CHEVROLET TRACKER 1998 1.G Owner's Manual

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. This is true
even
with reduced-force frontal air bags. Safety
belts help keep you in position before and during
a crash. Always wear your safety belt, even with
reduced-force air bags. The driver should sit as
far back as possible while still maintaining
control of the vehicle.
6& CAWTION:
Children who are up against, or very close to, an
air bag when it inflates can be seriously injured
or killed. This is true even
if your vehicle has
reduced-force frontal air bags. Air bags plus
lap-shoulder belts offer the best protection for
CAUTION: (Continued) 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,
see the part of this manual called (‘Children” and
see the caution labels on the sunvisors and the
right front passenger’s safety belt.
AIR
BAG
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.

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine 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
8 to 12 mph (1 3 to 19 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.
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.
The air bag system is designed to work properly under
a wide range of conditions, including off-road usage.
Observe safe driving speeds, especially on rough terrain.
As always, wear your safety belt. See “Off-Road
Driving” in the Index for more tips on off-road driving.
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
right front 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 right front
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.
’ A CAUT IN: rn
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.
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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine In many crashes severe enough to inflate an air bag,
windshields
are broken by vehicle deformation.
Additional windshield breakage may also occur from the
right front passenger air bag.
e
0
e
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 reglace other parts.
Your vehicle is equipped wityi a,t-fslsh sensing
and 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
right front 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
right front passenger’s air bag.
Do not open or
break the air bag coverings.
If your vehicle ever gets into a lot of water -- such as
water up to
the carpeting or higher -- or if water enters
your vehicle and
soaks the carpet, the air bag controller
can be soaked and ruined. If this ever happens, and then
you start your vehicle, the damage could make the air
bags inflate, even if there’s
no crash. You would have to
replace the air bags
as well as the sensors and related
parts. If your vehicle is ever in a flood, or
if it’s exposed
to water that soaks the carpet, you can avoid needless
repair costs by turning off the vehicle immediately.
Don’t
let anyone start the vehicle, even to tow it, unless
the battery cables are first disconnected.
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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Rear Seat Passengers
It’s very important for rear seat passengers to buckle up!
Accident statistics show that unbelted people in the rear
seat are hurt more often in crashes than those who are
wearing safety belts.
Rear passengers who aren’t safety belted can be thrown out of the vehicle in a crash. And they can strike others
in the vehicle who
are wearing safety belts.
Lap-Shoulder Belt
The rear seats have lap-shoulder belts. Here’s how to
wear one properly.
1. Pick up the latch plate and pull the belt across you.
Don’t let it get twisted.
The shoulder belt may lock if you pull the belt across
you very quickly. If this happens, let the belt
go back
slightly to unlock it. Then pull the belt across you
more slowly.
2. Push the latch plate into the buckle until it clicks.
Pull
up on the latch plate to make sure it is secure.
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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine When the shoulder belt is pulled out all the way, it
will lock. If it does, let it go back all the way and
start again. If the belt is not long enough, see “Safety
Belt Extender” at the end
of this section. Make sure
the release button
on the buckle is positioned so you
would be able to unbuckle
the safety belt quickly if
you ever had to.
3. To make the lap part tight, pull down on the buckle
end of the belt as you pull up on the shoulder part. The lap
part of the belt should be worn low and snug on
the
hips, just touching the thighs. In a crash, this applies
force
to the strong pelvic bones. And you’d be less likely
to slide under the lap belt.
If you slid under it, the belt
would apply force at your abdomen.
This could cause
serious or even fatal injuries. The shoulder belt should go
over the shoulder and across the chest. These parts of the
body are best able to take belt restraining forces.
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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine The safety belt locks if there’s a sudden stop or a crash,
or if you pull the belt very quickly out of the retractor.
I A CAUTION:
You can be seriously hurt if your shoulder belt is
too loose. In a crash, you would move forward
too much, which could increase injury. The
shoulder belt should fit against your body.
To unlatch the belt, just push the button on the buckle.
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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. Neither
the distance 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
A CAUTION:
Children who are up against, or very close to, any
air bag when it inflates can be seriously injured
or killed. This is true even if your vehicle has
reduced-force frontal air bags. 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.
1-35
.- -

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine I
SwaIler children and babies should always be
restrained
in a child or infant restraint. The
instructions for the restraint
will say whether it is
the right type and size for your child. 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.
So, be sure that
any child
mall enough for one is always properly
restrained
in a child or infant restraint.
Infants need complete support, including support for
the head and neck. This is necessary because an
infant’s neck is weak and its fiead weighs so much
compared with the rest of its body. In a crash, an infant
in a rear-facing restraint settles into the restraint,
so the
crash forces can be distributed across
the strongest part
of the infant’s body,
the back and shoulders. A baby
should be secured
in an appropriate infant restraint.
This is
so important that many hospitals today won’t
release a newborn
infant to its parents unless there is
an infant restraint available
for the baby’s first trip in a
motor vehicle.
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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine A booster seat (F, G) is designed for children
who are about
40 to 60 lbs. (1 8 to 27 kg) and
about four to eight years
of age. It’s designed to
improve the fit of the vehicle’s safety belt system.
Booster seats with shields use lap-only belts;
however, booster seats without shields use lap-shoulder belts. Booster seats
can also help
a child to see out the window.
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