ECU GMC SAVANA 2004 Owner's Manual

Front Seats......................................................1-3
Manual Seats................................................1-3
Power Seat...................................................1-4
Reclining Seatbacks........................................1-4
Rear Seats.......................................................1-6
Rear Seat Operation.......................................1-6
Safety Belts...................................................1-10
Safety Belts: They Are for Everyone................1-10
Questions and Answers About Safety Belts......1-14
How to Wear Safety Belts Properly.................1-15
Driver Position..............................................1-15
Safety Belt Use During Pregnancy..................1-23
Right Front Passenger Position.......................1-24
Center Passenger Position (2nd Row)..............1-24
Center Passenger Position
(3rd, 4th and 5th Row)...............................1-25
Rear Seat Passengers..................................1-26
Rear Safety Belt Comfort Guides for
Children and Small Adults..........................1-29
Safety Belt Extender.....................................1-32
Child Restraints.............................................1-32
Older Children..............................................1-32
Infants and Young Children............................1-36
Child Restraint Systems.................................1-42Where to Put the Restraint.............................1-45
Top Strap....................................................1-49
Top Strap Anchor Location.............................1-50
Lower Anchorages and Top Tethers for
Children (LATCH System)...........................1-52
Securing a Child Restraint Designed for
the LATCH System (Rear)..........................1-54
Securing a Child Restraint Designed for
the LATCH System (Front).........................1-54
Securing a Child Restraint in a Rear
Outside Seat Position................................1-57
Securing a Child Restraint in a Center
Seat Position (2nd Row).............................1-59
Securing a Child Restraint in a Center
Seat Position (3rd, 4th and 5th Row)...........1-60
Securing a Child Restraint in the Right
Front Seat Position....................................1-62
Air Bag System..............................................1-67
Where Are the Air Bags?...............................1-70
When Should an Air Bag Inate?....................1-71
What Makes an Air Bag Inate?.....................1-73
How Does an Air Bag Restrain?.....................1-73
What Will You See After an
Air Bag Inates?.......................................1-74
Section 1 Seats and Restraint Systems
1-1

3. Pick up the latch plate and pull the belt across you.
Don’t let it get twisted.
4. Push the latch plate into the buckle until it clicks.
Pull up on the latch plate to make sure it is secure.
If the belt isn’t long enough, seeSafety Belt
Extender on page 1-32.
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.5. To make the lap part tight, pull down on the buckle
end of the belt as you pull up on the shoulder belt.
1-16

Lap-Shoulder Belt
Here’s how to wear a lap-shoulder belt properly.
1. Pick up the latch plate and pull the belt across you.
Don’t let it get twisted.
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
you will engage the child restraint locking feature. If
this happens, just let the belt go back all the way
and start again.If the belt is not long enough, seeSafety Belt
Extender on page 1-32.
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.
1-27

{CAUTION:
People should never hold a baby in their arms
while riding in a vehicle. A baby doesn’t 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.
1-37

{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.
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.
1-38

{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’s
unprotected by any bony structure. This alone
could cause serious or fatal injuries. Young
children always should be secured in
appropriate child restraints.
Cargo Vans with a Passenger Air Bag
and without an Air Bag Off Switch
{CAUTION:
Children who are up against, or very close to,
an 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.
1-39

{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
muchcompared 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 restrained in appropriate
infant restraints. However, infants, who should
be restrained in a rear-facing child restraint,
cannot ride safely in this vehicle.
{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’s
unprotected by any bony structure. This alone
could cause serious or fatal injuries. Young
children always should be secured in
appropriate child restraints.
1-40

Q:How do child restraints work?
A:A child restraint system is any device designed for
use in a motor vehicle to restrain, seat, or position
children. A built-in child restraint system is a
permanent part of the motor vehicle. An add-on
child restraint system is a portable one, which
is purchased by the vehicle’s owner.
For many years, add-on child restraints have used
the adult belt system in the vehicle. To help
reduce the chance of injury, the child also has to be
secured within the restraint. The vehicle’s belt
system secures the add-on child restraint in the
vehicle, and the add-on child restraint’s harness
system holds the child in place within the restraint.
One system, the three-point harness, has straps that
come down over each of the infant’s shoulders and
buckle together at the crotch. The ve-point harness
system has two shoulder straps, two hip straps and a
crotch strap. A shield may take the place of hip
straps. A T-shaped shield has shoulder straps that
are attached to a at pad which rests low against the
child’s body. A shelf- or armrest-type shield has
straps that are attached to a wide, shelf-like shield
that swings up or to the side.When choosing a child restraint, be sure the child
restraint is designed to be used in a vehicle. If it is, it
will have a label saying that it meets federal motor
vehicle safety standards.
Then follow the instructions for the restraint. You may
nd these instructions on the restraint itself or in a
booklet, or both. These restraints use the belt system or
the LATCH system in your vehicle, but the child also
has to be secured within the restraint to help reduce the
chance of personal injury. When securing an add-on
child restraint, refer to the instructions that come with the
restraint which may be on the restraint itself or in a
booklet, or both, and to this manual. The child restraint
instructions are important, so if they are not available,
obtain a replacement copy from the manufacturer.
1-44

Where to Put the Restraint
Passenger Vans without an Air Bag
Off Switch
Accident statistics show that children are safer if they
are restrained in the rear rather than the front seat. We,
therefore, recommend that child restraints be secured
in a rear seat including an infant riding in a rear-facing
infant seat, a child riding in a forward-facing child
seat and an older child riding in a booster seat. If your
vehicle has a front passenger air bag,neverput a
rear-facing child restraint in the front passenger seat.
Here is why:
{CAUTION:
A child in a rear-facing child restraint can be
seriously injured or killed if the air bag inates.
This is because the back of the rear-facing
child restraint would be very close to the
inating air bag. If your vehicle has a right
front passenger’s air bag, always secure a
rear-facing child restraint in a rear seat.
CAUTION: (Continued)
CAUTION: (Continued)
If you secure a forward-facing child restraint in
the right front seat, always move the front
passenger seat as far back as it will go. It
is better to secure the child restraint in a
rear seat.
Wherever you install it, be sure to secure the child
restraint properly.
Keep in mind that an unsecured child restraint can
move around in a collision or sudden stop and injure
people in the vehicle. Be sure to properly secure
any child restraint in your vehicle – even when no child
is in it.
1-45

Passenger Vans with an Air Bag
Off Switch
Accident statistics show that children are safer if they
are restrained in the rear rather than the front seat. We,
therefore, recommend that child restraints be secured
in a rear seat, including an infant riding in a rear-facing
infant seat, a child riding in a forward-facing child
seat and an older child riding in a booster seat. If you
need to secure a rear-facing child restraint in the
right front passenger’s seat, turn off the passenger’s air
bag. SeeAir Bag Off Switch on page 1-75and
Securing a Child Restraint in the Right Front Seat
Position on page 1-62for more on this, including
important safety information.
{CAUTION:
A child in a rear-facing child restraint can be
seriously injured or killed if the air bag inates.
This is because the back of the rear-facing
child restraint would be very close to the
inating air bag. Be sure to turn off the air bag
before using a rear-facing child restraint in the
right front seat position.
CAUTION: (Continued)
CAUTION: (Continued)
Even though the air bag off switch is designed
to turn off the passenger’s frontal air bag, no
system is fail-safe, and no one can guarantee
that an air bag will not deploy under some
unusual circumstance, even though it is turned
off. We recommend that rear-facing child
restraints be transported in vehicles with a
rear seat that will accommodate a rear-facing
child restraint, whenever possible.
If you secure a forward-facing child restraint in
the right front seat always move the seat as far
back as it will go. It is better to secure the
child restraint in a rear seat.
Wherever you install it, be sure to secure the child
restraint properly.
Keep in mind that an unsecured child restraint can
move around in a collision or sudden stop and injure
people in the vehicle. Be sure to properly secure
any child restraint in your vehicle – even when no child
is in it.
1-46