GMC ENVOY XL 2004 Owner's Guide

3. Your comfort guide may have an adjuster to
lengthen or shorten the cord. If it does, you
can adjust the cord by following these steps.
3.1. Squeeze and hold the ends of the lock (A)
on the elastic cord.
3.2. Pull the loop to shorten the guide or pull
the cord to lengthen the guide.
3.3. Release the lock.4. Be sure that the belt is not twisted and it lies at.
The elastic cord must be under the belt and the
guide on top.
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5. Buckle, position and release the safety belt as
described inRear Seat Passengers on page 1-21.
Make sure that the shoulder belt crosses the
shoulder.
To remove and store the comfort guides, squeeze the
belt edges together so that you can take them out of
the guides. Slide the guide back onto its storage clip
or into its storage pocket.
Safety Belt Extender
If the vehicle’s safety belt will fasten around you, you
should use it.
But if a safety belt isn’t long enough to fasten, your dealer
will order you an extender. It’s free. When you go in to
order it, take the heaviest coat you will wear, so the
extender will be long enough for you. The extender will be
just for you, and just for the seat in your vehicle that you
choose. Don’t let someone else use it, and use it only for
the seat it is made to t. To wear it, just attach it to the
regular safety belt.
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Child Restraints
Older Children
Older children who have outgrown booster seats should
wear the vehicle’s safety belts.
Q:What is the proper way to wear safety belts?
A:If possible, an older child should wear a
lap-shoulder belt and get the additional restraint
a shoulder belt can provide. The shoulder belt
should not cross the face or neck. The lap
belt should t snugly below the hips, just touching
the top of the thighs. It should never be worn
over the abdomen, which could cause severe or
even fatal internal injuries in a crash.
Accident statistics show that children are safer if they
are restrained in the rear seat.
In a crash, children who are not buckled up can strike
other people who are buckled up, or can be thrown
out of the vehicle. Older children need to use safety
belts properly.
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{CAUTION:
Never do this.
Here two children are wearing the same belt.
The belt can not properly spread the impact
forces. In a crash, the two children can be
crushed together and seriously injured. A belt
must be used by only one person at a time.
Q:What if a child is wearing a lap-shoulder belt,
but the child is so small that the shoulder belt
is very close to the child’s face or neck?
A:If the child is sitting in a seat next to a window,
move the child toward the center of the vehicle.
If the child is sitting in the center rear seat
passenger position, move the child toward the
safety belt buckle. In either case, be sure that the
shoulder belt still is on the child’s shoulder, so
that in a crash the child’s upper body would have
the restraint the belts provide.
If the child is sitting in a rear seat outside position,
seeRear Safety Belt Comfort Guides for Children
and Small Adults on page 1-24.
1-28

{CAUTION:
Never do this.
Here a child is sitting in a seat that has a
lap-shoulder belt, but the shoulder part is
behind the child. If the child wears the belt in
this way, in a crash the child might slide under
the belt. The belt’s force would then be applied
right on the child’s abdomen. That could cause
serious or fatal injuries.
Wherever the child sits, the lap portion of the belt
should be worn low and snug on the hips, just touching
the child’s thighs. This applies belt force to the child’s
pelvic bones in a crash.
Infants and Young Children
Everyone in a vehicle needs protection! This includes
infants and all other children. 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.
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Every time infants and young children ride in vehicles,
they should have the protection provided by appropriate
restraints. Young children should not use the vehicle’s
adult safety belts alone, unless there is no other choice.
Instead, they need to use a child restraint.
{CAUTION:
People should never hold a baby in their arms
while riding in a vehicle. A baby does not
weigh much -- until a crash. During a crash
a baby will become so heavy it is not possible
to hold it. For example, in a crash at only
25 mph (40 km/h), a 12-lb. (5.5 kg) baby will
suddenly become a 240-lb. (110 kg) force on
a person’s arms. A baby should be secured in
an appropriate restraint.
1-30

{CAUTION:
Children who are 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 outstanding 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.
1-31

Q:What are the different types of add-on child
restraints?
A:Add-on child restraints, which are purchased by the
vehicle’s owner, are available in four basic types.
Selection of a particular restraint should take
into consideration not only the child’s weight, height,
and age but also whether or not the restraint will
be compatible with the motor vehicle in which it will
be used.
For most basic types of child restraints, there are
many different models available. When purchasing
a child restraint, be sure it is designed to be
used in a motor vehicle. If it is, the restraint will
have a label saying that it meets federal motor
vehicle safety standards.
The restraint manufacturer’s instructions that come
with the restraint state the weight and height
limitations for a particular child restraint. In addition,
there are many kinds of restraints available for
children with special needs.
{CAUTION:
Newborn infants need complete support,
including support for the head and neck. This is
necessary because a newborn infant’s neck is
weak and its head weighs so much compared
with the rest of its body. In a crash, an infant in
a rear-facing seat settles into the restraint,
so the crash forces can be distributed across
the strongest part of an infant’s body, the back
and shoulders. Infants always should be
secured in appropriate infant restraints.
1-32

{CAUTION:
The body structure of a young child is quite
unlike that of an adult or older child, for whom
the safety belts are designed. A young child’s
hip bones are still so small that the vehicle’s
regular safety belt may not remain low on the
hip bones, as it should. Instead, it may settle
up around the child’s abdomen. In a crash, the
belt would apply force on a body area that is
unprotected by any bony structure. This alone
could cause serious or fatal injuries. Young
children always should be secured in
appropriate child restraints.
Child Restraint Systems
An infant car bed (A), a special bed made for use in a
motor vehicle, is an infant restraint system designed
to restrain or position a child on a continuous at
surface. Make sure that the infant’s head rests toward
the center of the vehicle.
1-33

A rear-facing infant seat (B) provides restraint with
the seating surface against the back of the infant.
The harness system holds the infant in place and,
in a crash, acts to keep the infant positioned in
the restraint.A forward-facing child seat (C-E) provides restraint for
the child’s body with the harness and also sometimes
with surfaces such as T-shaped or shelf-like shields.
1-34