ECU GMC SAVANA 2008 Owner's Manual

Front Seats......................................................1-2
Manual Seats................................................1-2
Power Seat...................................................1-3
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
How to Wear Safety Belts Properly.................1-15
Lap-Shoulder Belt.........................................1-22
Safety Belt Use During Pregnancy..................1-28
Safety Belt Extender.....................................1-28
Child Restraints.............................................1-29
Older Children..............................................1-29
Infants and Young Children............................1-32
Child Restraint Systems.................................1-35
Where to Put the Restraint.............................1-38
Lower Anchors and Tethers
for Children (LATCH).................................1-39
Securing a Child Restraint in a
Rear Seat Position....................................1-46Securing a Child Restraint in the
Right Front Seat Position
(With Passenger Sensing System)...............1-48
Securing a Child Restraint in the Right Front
Seat Position (With Airbag Off Switch)..........1-52
Airbag System...............................................1-57
Where Are the Airbags?................................1-60
When Should an Airbag Inflate?.....................1-62
What Makes an Airbag Inflate?.......................1-64
How Does an Airbag Restrain?.......................1-64
What Will You See After an Airbag Inflates?.....1-64
Airbag Off Switch..........................................1-66
Passenger Sensing System............................1-69
Servicing Your Airbag-Equipped Vehicle...........1-73
Adding Equipment to Your Airbag-Equipped
Vehicle....................................................1-74
Restraint System Check..................................1-75
Checking the Restraint Systems......................1-75
Replacing Restraint System Parts
After a Crash............................................1-76
Section 1 Seats and Restraint Systems
1-1

If you ever pull the shoulder portion of a passenger
belt out all the way, you may engage the child
restraint locking feature. If this happens, just let
the belt go back all the way and start again.
3. 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 is not long enough, seeSafety Belt
Extender on page 1-28.
Make sure the release button on the buckle is
positioned so you would be able to unbuckle the
safety belt quickly if necessary.4. If equipped with a shoulder belt height adjuster,
move it to the height that is right for you. Improper
shoulder belt height adjustment could reduce
the effectiveness of the safety belt in a crash.
See “Shoulder Belt Height Adjustment” later
in this section.
5. To make the lap part tight, pull up on the
shoulder belt.
It may be necessary to pull stitching on the
safety belt through the latch plate to fully tighten
the lap belt on smaller occupants.
1-23

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 do not 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 is more
likely that the fetus will not be hurt in a crash. For
pregnant women, as for anyone, the key to making
safety belts effective is wearing them properly.
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/retailer will order you an extender. 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 fit.
The extender has been designed for adults. Never
use it for securing child seats. To wear it, attach it
to the regular safety belt. For more information,
see the instruction sheet that comes with the
extender.
1-28

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.
{CAUTION:
Children can be seriously injured or strangled
if a shoulder belt is wrapped around their neck
and the safety belt continues to tighten. Never
leave children unattended in a vehicle and never
allow children to play with the safety belts.Every time infants and young children ride in vehicles,
they should have the protection provided by appropriate
restraints. Children who are not restrained properly can
strike other people, or can be thrown out of the vehicle.
In addition, young children should not use the vehicle’s
adult safety belts alone; they need to use a child restraint.
{CAUTION:
People should never hold an infant in their
arms while riding in a vehicle. An infant does
not weigh much — until a crash. During a
crash an infant 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) infant
will suddenly become a 240 lb (110 kg) force
on a person’s arms. An infant should be
secured in an appropriate restraint.
1-32

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 should always be secured in
appropriate infant restraints.
1-34

{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 should always be
secured in appropriate child restraints.
Child Restraint Systems
A rear-facing infant
seat (A) 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 (B) provides
restraint for the
child’s body with
the harness.
1-35

A booster seat (C-D) is a child restraint designed to
improve the fit of the vehicle’s safety belt system.
A booster seat can also help a child to see out
the window.
Securing an Add-On Child Restraint
in the Vehicle
{CAUTION:
A child can be seriously injured or killed in
a crash if the child restraint is not properly
secured in the vehicle. Make sure the child
restraint is properly installed in the vehicle
using the vehicle’s safety belt or LATCH
system, following the instructions that came
with that restraint, and also the instructions
in this manual.
1-36

To help reduce the chance of injury, the child restraint
must be secured in the vehicle. Child restraint systems
must be secured in vehicle seats by lap belts or the
lap belt portion of a lap-shoulder belt, or by the LATCH
system. SeeLower Anchors and Tethers for Children
(LATCH) on page 1-39for more information. A child
can be endangered in a crash if the child restraint is
not properly secured in the vehicle.
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.
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.Securing the Child Within the
Child Restraint
{CAUTION:
A child can be seriously injured or killed in
a crash if the child is not properly secured
in the child restraint. Because there are
different systems, it is important to refer to
the instructions that come with the restraint.
Make sure the child is properly secured,
following the instructions that came with
that restraint.
1-37

Where to Put the Restraint
Accident statistics show that children are safer if they
are restrained in the rear rather than the front seat.
We recommend that children and child restraints
be secured in a rear seat, including: an infant or
a child riding in a rear-facing child restraint; a child
riding in a forward-facing child seat; an older child
riding in a booster seat; and children, who are
large enough, using safety belts.
A label on your sun visor says, “Never put a
rear-facing child seat in the front.” This is because
the risk to the rear-facing child is so great, if the
airbag deploys.
{CAUTION:
A child in a rear-facing child restraint can be
seriously injured or killed if the right front
passenger’s airbag inates. This is because
the back of the rear-facing child restraint
would be very close to the inating airbag.
CAUTION: (Continued)
CAUTION: (Continued)
Even though the passenger sensing system
or the airbag off switch is designed to turn
off the right front passenger’s frontal airbag
if the system detects a rear-facing child
restraint, 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. We recommend that
rear-facing child restraints be secured in
a rear seat, even if the airbag is off.
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.
When securing a child restraint in a rear seating
position, study the instructions that came with
your child restraint to make sure it is compatible
with this vehicle.
1-38

If your vehicle does not have a rear seat that will
accommodate a rear-facing child restraint, we
recommend that rear-facing child restraints not be
transported in your vehicle, even if the airbag is off.
Wherever you install a child restraint, 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.
Lower Anchors and Tethers for
Children (LATCH)
The LATCH system holds a child restraint during
driving or in a crash. This system is designed to make
installation of a child restraint easier. The LATCH
system uses anchors in the vehicle and attachments
on the child restraint that are made for use with
the LATCH system.Make sure that a LATCH-compatible child restraint
is properly installed using the anchors, or use the
vehicle’s safety belts to secure the restraint, following
the instructions that came with that restraint, and
also the instructions in this manual. When installing
a child restraint with a top tether, you must also
use either the lower anchors or the safety belts to
properly secure the child restraint. A child restraint
must never be installed using only the top tether
strap and anchor.
In order to use the LATCH system in your vehicle,
you need a child restraint that has LATCH attachments.
The child restraint manufacturer will provide you with
instructions on how to use the child restraint and
its attachments. The following explains how to attach
a child restraint with these attachments in your vehicle.
Not all vehicle seating positions or child restraints
have lower anchors and attachments or top tether
anchors and attachments.
1-39