airbag GMC SAVANA 2005 User Guide
[x] Cancel search | Manufacturer: GMC, Model Year: 2005, Model line: SAVANA, Model: GMC SAVANA 2005Pages: 384, PDF Size: 2.41 MB
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Unless your vehicle has an airbag off switch and you
have used it to turn the passenger’s airbag off, never put
a rear-facing child restraint in the right front passenger’s
seat. Here is why:
{CAUTION:
A child in a rear-facing child restraint can be
seriously injured or killed if the right front
passenger’s airbag in ates. This is because
the back of the rear-facing child restraint
would be very close to the in ating airbag.
If your vehicle is a passenger van, always
secure a rear-facing child restraint in a rear
seat. If your vehicle is a cargo van with a right
front passenger airbag and an airbag off
switch, be sure to turn off the airbag before
using a rear-facing child restraint in the right
front seat position. If your vehicle is a cargo
van with a right front passenger airbag but
does not have an airbag off switch, do not use
a rear-facing child restraint in this vehicle.
CAUTION: (Continued)
CAUTION: (Continued)
Even though the airbag off switch is designed
to turn off the passenger’s frontal airbag, no
system is fail-safe and no one can guarantee
that an airbag will not deploy under some
unusual circumstance, even though it is turned
off. GM recommends 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 need to secure a forward-facing child
restraint in the right front passenger position,
always move the passenger seat as far back
as it will go.
A rear seat is a safer place to secure a forward-facing
child restraint. SeeWhere to Put the Restraint on
page 1-43.
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{CAUTION:
If the airbag readiness light ever comes on
when you have turned off the airbag, it means
that something may be wrong with the airbag
system. The right front passenger’s airbag
could in ate even though the switch is off.
If this ever happens, do not let anyone whom
the national government has identi ed as a
member of a passenger airbag risk group
sit in the right front passenger’s position
(for example, do not secure a rear-facing child
restraint in your vehicle) until you have your
vehicle serviced. SeeAirbag Off Switch on
page 1-69.If your child restraint does not have the LATCH system,
you will be using the lap-shoulder belt to secure the
child restraint in this position. Be sure to follow the
instructions that came with the child restraint.
Secure the child in the child restraint when and as the
instructions say.
1. If your vehicle has a passenger airbag and an
airbag off switch, and you are using a rear-facing
child restraint in this seat, make sure the airbag is
turned off. SeeAirbag Off Switch on page 1-69.
If your child restraint is forward-facing, always move
the seat as far back as it will go before securing
it in this seat. SeePower Seat on page 1-4or
Manual Seats on page 1-3.
2. Put the child restraint on the seat.
3. Pick up the latch plate, and run the lap and shoulder
portions of the vehicle’s safety belt through or
around the restraint. The child restraint instructions
will show you how.
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Page 66 of 384
6. To tighten the belt, pull the shoulder portion of the
belt to tighten the lap portion of the belt and feed
the shoulder belt back into the retractor. You may
nd it helpful to use your knee to push down on the
child restraint as you tighten the belt.
7. Push and pull the child restraint in different
directions to be sure it is secure.
To remove the child restraint, just unbuckle the vehicle’s
safety belt and let it go back all the way. The safety
belt will move freely again and be ready to work for an
adult or larger child passenger.If you were using a rear-facing child restraint in a
vehicle with an airbag off switch, turn on the right front
passenger’s airbag when you remove the rear-facing
child restraint from the vehicle unless the person
who will be sitting there is a member of a passenger
airbag risk group. SeeAirbag Off Switch on page 1-69.
{CAUTION:
If the right front passenger’s airbag is turned off
for a person who is not in a risk group identi ed
by the national government, that person will
not have the extra protection of an airbag.
In a crash, the airbag will not be able to in ate
and help protect the person sitting there.
Do not turn off the passenger’s airbag unless
the person sitting there is in a risk group
identi ed by the national government.
SeeAirbag Off Switch on page 1-69for more
on this, including important safety information.
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Airbag System
If it says AIR BAG on the middle part of the steering
wheel and AIR BAG on the instrument panel in front of
the right front passenger’s seat, your vehicle has
two airbags — one airbag for the driver and another
airbag for the right front passenger.If it says AIR BAG on the middle part of the steering
wheel but it does not say AIR BAG on the instrument
panel in front of the right front passenger’s seat,
your vehicle has an airbag for the driver only.
If it says AIR BAG on the middle part of the steering
wheel, but there is no right front passenger seat,
your vehicle has an airbag for the driver only.
Frontal airbags are designed to help reduce the risk of
injury from the force of an in ating airbag. But these
airbags must in ate very quickly to do their job
and comply with federal regulations.
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Here are the most important things to know about the
airbag system:
{CAUTION:
You can be severely injured or killed in a crash
if you are not wearing your safety belt — even
if you have airbags. Wearing your safety belt
during a crash helps reduce your chance of
hitting things inside the vehicle or being
ejected from it. Airbags are designed to work
with safety belts, but do not replace them.
Airbags are designed to deploy only in
moderate to severe frontal and near frontal
crashes. They are not designed to in ate in
rollover, rear or low-speed frontal crashes,
or in many side crashes. And, for some
unrestrained occupants, airbags may provide
less protection in frontal crashes than more
forceful airbags have provided in the past.
Everyone in your vehicle should wear a safety
belt properly — whether or not there is an
airbag for that person.
{CAUTION:
Airbags in ate with great force, faster than
the blink of an eye. If you are too close to an
in ating airbag, as you would be if you were
leaning forward, it could seriously injure you.
Safety belts help keep you in position before
and during a crash. Always wear your safety
belt, even with airbags. 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 airbag for the right front passenger
read this.
{CAUTION:
Anyone who is up against, or very close to,
any airbag when it in ates can be seriously
injured or killed. Airbags plus lap-shoulder
belts offer the best protection for adults, but
not for young children and infants. Neither the
vehicle’s safety belt system nor its airbag
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,
seeOlder Children on page 1-31andInfants
and Young Children on page 1-34.There is an airbag
readiness light on the
instrument panel, which
shows the airbag symbol.
The system checks the airbag electrical system for
malfunctions. The light tells you if there is an electrical
problem. SeeAirbag Readiness Light on page 3-26
for more information.
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Where Are the Airbags?
The driver’s airbag is in the middle of the steering wheel.If your vehicle has one, the right front passenger’s airbag
is in the instrument panel on the passenger’s side.
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{CAUTION:
If something is between an occupant and an
airbag, the bag might not in ate properly or it
might force the object into that person causing
severe injury or even death. The path of an
in ating airbag must be kept clear. Do not put
anything between an occupant and an airbag,
and do not attach or put anything on the
steering wheel hub or on or near any other
airbag covering.
When Should an Airbag In ate?
The driver’s and right front passenger’s frontal airbags
are designed to in ate in moderate to severe frontal
or near-frontal crashes. But they are designed to in ate
only if the impact exceeds a predetermined deployment
threshold. Deployment thresholds take into account
a variety of desired deployment and non-deployment
events and are used to predict how severe a crash
is likely to be in time for the airbags to in ate and help
restrain the occupants. Whether your frontal airbags
will or should deploy is not based on how fast your
vehicle is traveling. It depends largely on what you hit,
the direction of the impact and how quickly your
vehicle slows down.
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Airbags may in ate at different crash speeds.
For example:
If the vehicle hits a stationary object, the airbag
could in ate at a different crash speed than if
the object were moving.
If the object deforms, the airbag could in ate
at a different crash speed than if the object
does not deform.
If the vehicle hits a narrow object (like a pole) the
airbag could in ate at a different crash speed
than if the vehicle hits a wide object (like a wall).
If the vehicle goes into an object at an angle the
airbag could in ate at a different crash speed
than if the vehicle goes straight into the object.
The frontal airbags (driver and right front passenger)
are not intended to in ate during vehicle rollovers, rear
impacts, or in many side impacts because in ation
would not likely help the occupants.In any particular crash, no one can say whether an airbag
should have in ated simply because of the damage to a
vehicle or because of what the repair costs were. In ation
is determined by the angle of the impact and how quickly
the vehicle slows down in front or near-frontal impacts.
If the GVWR (Gross Vehicle Weight Rating) of your
vehicle is 8,500 lb (3 855 kg) or above, your vehicle has
single stage airbags. If the GVWR is below 8,500 lb
(3 855 kg) then your vehicle has dual stage airbags.
You can nd the GVWR on the certi cation label on the
rear edge of the driver’s door. SeeLoading Your
Vehicle on page 4-31for more information.Single Stage Airbags
If your vehicle has frontal airbags with single stage
deployment and your vehicle goes straight into a wall
that does not move or deform, the threshold level
is about 9 to 16 mph (14 to 26 km/h). (The threshold
level can vary, however, with speci c vehicle design,
so that it can be somewhat above or below this range.)
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Dual Stage Airbags
If your vehicle has frontal airbags with dual stage
deployment, the restraint will adjust according to the
crash severity. Your vehicle is equipped with electronic
frontal sensors which help the sensing system
distinguish between a moderate and a more severe
frontal impact. For moderate frontal impacts, these
airbags in ate at a level less than full deployment.
For more severe frontal impacts, full deployment occurs.
If the front of your vehicle goes straight into a wall
that does not move or deform, the threshold level for
the reduced deployment is about 12 to 16 mph
(19 to 26 km/h), and the threshold level for a full
deployment is about 16 to 25 mph (26 to 40 km/h).
(The threshold level can vary, however, with speci c
vehicle design, so that it can be somewhat above
or below this range.)
Vehicles with dual stage airbags are also equipped with
special sensors which enable the sensing system to
monitor the position of both the driver and passenger
front seats. The seat position sensors provide
information which is used to determine if the airbags
should deploy at a reduced level or at full deployment.
What Makes an Airbag In ate?
In an impact of sufficient severity, the airbag sensing
system detects that the vehicle is in a crash.
The sensing system triggers a release of gas from the
in ator, which in ates the airbag. The in ator, airbag,
and related hardware are all part of the airbag modules
inside the steering wheel and in the instrument panel
in front of the right front passenger.
How Does an Airbag Restrain?
In moderate to severe frontal or near-frontal collisions,
even belted occupants can contact the steering wheel or
the instrument panel. Airbags supplement the protection
provided by safety belts. Airbags distribute the force
of the impact more evenly over the occupant’s upper
body, stopping the occupant more gradually. But airbags
would not help you in many types of collisions,
including rollovers, rear impacts and many side impacts,
primarily because an occupant’s motion is not toward
those airbags. Airbags 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.
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