CHEVROLET VENTURE 1998 Repair Manual

@ 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.
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To unlatch the belt, just push the button on the buckle.
The belt should go back out of the way.
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.
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.
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.
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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.
Right Front Passenger Position
To learn how to wear the right front passenger’s safety belt
properly, see “Driver Position” earlier
in this section.
The right front passenger’s safety belt works the same way \
as
the driver’s safety belt
-- except for one thing. If you ever pull
the shoulder 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 Systems
This part explains the frontal and side impact air bag systems.
Your vehicle has four air bags -- a “Next Generation”
reduced-force frontal
air bag for the driver, another “Next
Generation” reduced-force
frontal air bag for the right front
passenger, a side impact
air bag for the driver, and
another side impact
air bag for the right front passenger.
Reduced-force frontal
air bags are designed to help reduce
the
risk of injury from the force of an inflating air bag. But
even these
air bags must inflate very quickly if they are to do
their job and comply with federal regulations. Here
are the most important things to know
about the -ir
bag systems:
CAUTION:
You can be severely injd 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 -- even reduced-force air bags -- are
designed to work with safety belts but don’t
replace them.
Reduced-force frontal
air bags for the driver and
right front passenger 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, rem, side or low-speed
frontal crashes. And, for unrestrained occupants,
reduced-force frontal
air bags may provide less
protection in frontal crashes than more forceful
air
bags have provided in the past. The side impact air
CAUTION: (Continued)
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bags for the drLa’ and right front passenger are
designed to inflate
only in moderate to severe
crashes where something
hits the side of your
vehicle. They aren’t designed to inflate
in frontal,
in rollover or in rear crashes. Everyone in your
vehicle should
wear a safety belt properly --
whether or not there’s an air bag for that person.
Both frontal and side impact
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
for
air bag inflation before and during a crash.
Always wear your safety belt, even with
reduced-force frontal
air bags. The driver should sit
as far back as possible while still maintaining control
of the vehicle. Front occupants should not lean on or
sleep against the door. 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 though your vehicle
has reduced-force frontal
air bags. 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 right front passenger’s
safety belt.
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There is an air bag
readiness light on the
instrument panel, which
shows a deployed 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.
How the Air Bag Systems Work
Where are the air bags?
The driver’s frontal air bag is in the middle of the
steering wheel.
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The right front passenger’s frontal air bag is in the
instrument panel on the passenger’s side. The
right front passenger’s side impact air bag is in the
side
of the passenger’s seatback closest to the door.
The driver’s side impact air bag is
in the side of the
driver’s seatback closest to the door.
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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 and don’t let seat covers block the
inflation path
of a side impact air bag.
When
should an air bag inflate?
The driver’s and right front passenger’s frontal air bags
are designed to inflate in moderate to severe frontal or
near-frontal crashes. The frontal air bags are designed to
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 driver’s and right front passenger’s
frontal air bags are not designed to inflate in rollovers,
side impacts, or rear impacts, because inflation would
not help the occupant.
The driver’s and right front passenger’s side impact air
bags are designed to inflate in moderate
to severe side
crashes involving a front door.
A side impact air bag
will inflate if the crash severity is above the system’s
designed “threshold level.” The threshold level can
vary
with specific vehicle design. Side impact air bags are not
designed to inflate in frontal or near-frontal impacts,
rollovers or rear impacts, because inflation would not
help the occupant.
A side impact air bag will only
deploy on the side
of the vehicle that is struck.
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In any particular crash, no one can say whether an air How does an air bag restrain?
bag should have inflated simply because of the damage
In moderate to severe frontal or near frontal collisions,
to a vehicle or because of what the repair costs were. For even belted occupants can contact the steering wheel or
frontal air bags, inflation is determined by the angle of
the impact and how quickly the vehicle slows down in the instrument panel. In moderate to severe side
collisions, even belted occupants can contact the inside
frontal and near-frontal impacts. For side impact air
of the vehicle. The air bag supplements the protection
bags, inflation is determined by the location of the
provided by safety belts. Air bags distribute the force
of
and how quickly the side Of the deforms* the impact more evenly over the occupant’s upper body,
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. For both
frontal and side impact air bags, 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, instrument panel and the side
of the front
seatbacks closest to the door. stopping
the occupant more gradually But the frontal 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
the air bag. Side impact air bags would not help you in
many types of collisions, including frontal or near
frontal collisions, rollovers, and rear 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 for
the driver’s and right front passenger’s frontal air bags,
and only in moderate
to severe side collisions for the
driver’s and right front passenger’s side impact air bags.
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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, the
instrument panel for the right front passenger’s bag, the
side of the seatback closest to the door for the driver and
right front passenger’s side impact
air bags -- 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.
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 a 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
right front passenger
air bag.
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Air bags are designed to inflate only once. After an
air bag inflates, 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
velucle covers the need to replace other parts.
Your vehicle is equipped with a crash sensing and
diagnostic module, which records information about
the frontal
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 systems. Improper service can mean that an air bag
system won’t work properly. See your dealer
for service.
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NOTICE:
If you damage the covering for the driver’s or the
right front passenger’s air bag, or the air bag
covering on the driver’s and right front
passenger’s seatback, the bag may not work
properly. You may have to replace the air bag
module in the steering wheel, both the air bag
module and the instrument panel for the right
front passenger’s air bag, or both the air bag
module and seatback for the driver’s and right
front passenger’s side impact 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
frontal and side impact air bags inflate and safety belt
pretensioners activate, even if there’s no crash.
You
would have to replace the air bags, all the sensors and
related parts, parts of the safety belt system and parts
of
the driver and right front passenger’s seatbacks. 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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