GMC ENVOY XL 2005 Owner's Guide

Lap-Shoulder Belt
All rear seat positions have lap-shoulder belts.
Here is how to wear one properly.
1. Pick up the latch plate and pull the belt across you.
Do not 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.
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 on page 1-30.
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 up on the
shoulder part.
1-25

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
would 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.
{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 t against your body.
To unlatch the belt, push the button on the buckle.
1-26

Rear Safety Belt Comfort Guides for
Children and Small Adults
Rear shoulder belt comfort guides may provide added
safety belt comfort for older children who have outgrown
booster seats and for some adults. When attached to
a shoulder belt, the comfort guide positions the belt
away from the neck and head.
There is one guide for each of the rear outside
passenger positions. Here is how to attach the comfort
guide to the shoulder belt.
1. Find the comfort guide located on a storage clip
between the interior body and the seatback or
in a pocket sewn into the side of the seatback.
Slide the guide off of its storage clip or out of the
pocket.2. Slide the guide under and past the belt. The elastic
cord must be under the belt. Then, place the guide
over the belt and insert the two edges of the
belt into the slots of the guide.
1-27

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.
1-28

{CAUTION:
A safety belt that is not properly worn may
not provide the protection needed in a crash.
The person wearing the belt could be seriously
injured. 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.
5. Buckle, position, and release the safety belt as
described inRear Seat Passengers on page 1-24.
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.
1-29

Safety Belt Pretensioners
Your vehicle has safety belt pretensioners for the driver
and right front passenger. Although you cannot see
them, they are located on the retractor part of the safety
belts. They help the safety belts reduce a person’s
forward movement in a moderate to severe frontal, near
frontal or side crash or a rollover.
Pretensioners work only once. If they activate in a
crash, you will need to get new ones, and probably other
new parts for your safety belt system. SeeReplacing
Restraint System Parts After a Crash on page 1-68.
Safety Belt Extender
If the vehicle’s safety belt will fasten around you, you
should use it.
But if a safety belt is not long enough, your dealer will
order you an extender. It is free. When you go in to
order it, take the heaviest coat you will wear, so
the extender will be long enough for you. To help avoid
personal injury, do not let someone else use it, and
use it only for the seat it is made to t. The extender
has been designed for adults. Never use it for securing
child seats. To wear it, just attach it to the regular
safety belt. For more information, see the instruction
sheet that comes with the extender.
1-30

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: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.
1-31

{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.
Also seeRear Safety Belt Comfort Guides for
Children and Small Adults on page 1-27.Ifthe
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.
1-32

{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.
1-33

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.
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.
1-34