GMC SAVANA 1997 Owner's Guide

&= 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.
I
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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Right Front Passenger Position
The right front passenger’s safety belt works the same
way as the driver’s safety belt. See “Driver Position”
earlier in this section.
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,
Supplemental Inflatable Restraint
(SIR) System
This part explains the Supplemental Inflatable Restraint
(SIR) system or air bag system.
If it says SUPPLEMENTAL INFLATABLE
RESTRAINT on the middle part of the steering wheel
and SUPPLEMENTAL, INFLATABLE RESTRAINT on
the instrument panel in front of the right front passenger’s
seat, your vehicle has
two air bags -- one air bag for the
driver and another air bag for the right front passenger.
If it says SUPPLEMENTAL INFLATABLE
RESTRAINT on the middle part of the steering wheel
but it doesn’t say SUPPLEMENTAL INFLATABLE
RESTRAINT on the instrument panel in front of the
right front passenger’s seat, your vehicle has an air bag
for the driver only.
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If it says SUPPLEMENTAL INFLATABLE
RESTRAINT
on the middle part of the steering wheel
but there
is no right front passenger’s seat, your vehicle
has an air bag for the driver only.
If it doesn’t say SUPPLEMENTAL INFLATABLE
RESTRAINT on the middle
part of the steering wheel,
your vehicle doesn’t have air bags.
Here
are the most important things to know about the air
bag system:
You can be severely injured 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 are designed to work with
safety belts, but don’t replace them.
Air bags are
CAUTION: (Continued) designed
to work
t y in moderate to severe
crashes where the front of your vehicle hits
something. They aren’t designed to inflate at all
in rollover, rear, side
or low-speed frontal
crashes. Everyone in your vehicle should wear a
safety belt properly
-- whether or not there’s an
air bag for that person.
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. Safety belts
help keep you in position before and during a
crash. Always wear your safety belt, even with
air
bags. The driver should sit as far back as possible
while still maintaining control of the vehicle.
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If your vehicle has an air bag for the right front
passenger, please read this:
A CAUTION:
An inflating air bag can seriously injure small
children, Always secure children properly in your
vehicle.
To read how, see the part of this manual
called “Children” and the caution label on the
right front passenger’s safety belt.
There is an air bag readiness
light
on the instrument
panel, which
shows
AIR
BAG
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.
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How the Air Bag System Works
I
Where are the air bags?
The driver's air bag is in the middle of the steering wheel. The
right front passenger's air bag
is in the instrument
panel on the passenger's side.
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I
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 hang anything from the
assist handle on the passenger’s side
of the
instrument panel.
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
11 to 16 mph (18 to 26 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.
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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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
-- in
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.
I
A CAUTION:
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.
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 replace other parts.
0 Your vehicle is equipped with a crash 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.
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0 Let only qualified technicians work on your air bag - Servicing Your Air Bag-Equipped Vehicle
system. lmproper service can mean that your air
bag system
won’t work properly. See your dealer
for service. Air bags affect how your vehicle should be
serviced.
There are parts of
the air bag system in several places
around your vehicle.
You don’t want the system to
inflate while someone is working on your vehicle.
Your
GM dealer and the GM Service Manual have
information about servicing your vehicle and the air bag NOTICE:
If you damage the covering for the driver’s or the
right front passenger’s
air bag, the bag may not
system. To purchase a service manual, see “Service and
Owner Publications”
in the Index.
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. For
up to 10 minutes after the ignition key is
turned off and the battery is disconnected, an air
bag can still inflate during improper service. You
can be injured if you are close to an air bag when
it inflates. Avoid wires wrapped with yellow tape
or yellow connectors. They are probably part of
the air bag system. Be sure to follow proper
service procedures, and make sure the person
performing work for you is qualified to do
so.
The air bag system does not need regular maintenance.
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Adding Equipment to Your Air
Bag-Equipped Vehicle
If I add a push bumper or a bicycle rack to the
front of my vehicle, will it keep the air bags
from working properly?
A: As long as the push bumper or bicycle rack is
attached to your vehicle
so that the vehicle’s basic
structure isn’t changed, it’s not likely
to keep the
air bags from working properly in
a crash.
Is there anything I might add to the front of the
vehicle that could keep the air bags from
working properly?
A: Yes. If you add things that change your vehicle’s
frame, bumper system, front end sheet metal or
height, they may keep the
air bag system from
working properly. Also, the air bag system may not
work properly if you relocate any of the air bag sensors.
If you have any questions about this, you
should contact Customer Assistance before you
modify your vehicle. (The phone numbers and
addresses for Customer Assistance are in Step
Two of
the Customer Satisfaction Procedure in this
manual.
See “Customer Satisfaction Procedure” in the Index.)
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.
Rear Seat Outside Passenger Positions
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