airbag GMC SIERRA CLASSIC 2007 Owner's Manual

If your vehicle has a rear seat, there is no top
tether anchor at the right front seating position. Do
not secure a child seat in this position if a
national or local law requires that the top tether be
anchored or if the instructions that come with
the child restraint say that the top tether must be
anchored. SeeLower Anchors and Tethers for
Children (LATCH) on page 58if the child restraint
has a top tether.
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. Your vehicle has a right front passenger’s
frontal airbag. SeePassenger Sensing
System on page 103. We recommend that
rear-facing child restraints be secured in a rear
seat, even if the airbag is off. If your child
restraint is forward-facing, move the seat as
far back as it will go before securing the
child restraint in this seat. SeePower Seats
on page 10orManual Seats on page 9.
When the passenger sensing system has
turned off the right front passenger’s frontal
airbag, the off indicator in the passenger airbagstatus indicator should light and stay lit when
you turn the ignition to RUN or START.
SeePassenger Airbag Status Indicator on
page 250.
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.
4. Buckle the belt. Make sure the release button
is positioned so you would be able to unbuckle
the safety belt quickly if you ever had to.
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7. If your child restraint manufacturer
recommends using a top tether, and the
position you are using has a top tether anchor,
attach and tighten the top tether to the top
tether anchor. Refer to the instructions
that came with the child restraint and toLower
Anchors and Tethers for Children (LATCH)
on page 58.
8. Push and pull the child restraint in different
directions to be sure it is secure.
9. If your vehicle has a passenger sensing
system and the airbag is off, the off indicator in
the inside rearview mirror will be lit and stay
lit when the key is turned to RUN or START.
If a child restraint has been installed and the on
indicator is lit, turn the vehicle off. Remove
the child restraint from the vehicle and reinstall the
child restraint.If after reinstalling the child restraint and restarting
the vehicle, the on indicator is still lit, check to make
sure that the vehicle’s seatback is not pressing the
child restraint into the seat cushion. If this happens,
slightly recline the vehicle’s seatback and adjust the
seat cushion if possible. Also make sure the child
restraint is not trapped under the vehicle head
restraint. If this happens, adjust the head restraint.
If the on indicator is still lit, secure the child in the
child restraint in a rear seat position in the vehicle if
one is available and check with your dealer.
To remove the child restraint, if the top tether is
attached to the top tether anchor, disconnect
it. 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.
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Airbag System
Your vehicle has an airbag for the driver and an
airbag for the right front passenger.
Frontal airbags are designed to help reduce the
risk of injury from the force of an inating
frontal airbag. But these airbags must inate very
quickly to do their job and comply with federal
regulations.
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.
CAUTION: (Continued)
CAUTION: (Continued)
Airbags are “supplemental restraints” to
the safety belts. All airbags are designed to
work with safety belts, but do not replace
them. Airbags are designed to deploy in
moderate to severe frontal and near frontal
crashes. They are not designed to inate in
rollover, rear 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.
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{CAUTION:
Airbags inate with great force, faster
than the blink of an eye. If you are too
close to an inating 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.
{CAUTION:
Anyone who is up against, or very close
to, any airbag when it inates 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 44andInfants and Young Children
on page 47.
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There is an airbag
readiness light on the
instrument panel cluster,
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 247for more information.Where Are the Airbags?
The driver’s airbag is in the middle of the steering
wheel.
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The right front passenger’s airbag is in the
instrument panel on the passenger’s side.
{CAUTION:
If something is between an occupant and
an airbag, the bag might not inate
properly or it might force the object into
that person causing severe injury or even
death. The path of an inating 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.
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When Should an Airbag Inate?
The driver’s and right front passenger’s frontal
airbags are designed to inate in moderate to
severe frontal or near-frontal crashes. But they are
designed to inate 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 inate 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.Frontal airbags may inate at different crash
speeds. For example:If the vehicle hits a stationary object, the
airbags could inate at a different crash speed
than if the vehicle hits a moving object.
If the vehicle hits an object that deforms, the
airbags could inate at a different crash
speed than if the vehicle hits an object that
does not deform.
If the vehicle hits a narrow object (like a pole),
the airbags could inate 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 airbags could inate 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 inate during
vehicle rollovers, rear impacts, or in many side
impacts.
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In any particular crash, no one can say whether
an airbag should have inated simply because
of the damage to a vehicle or because of what the
repair costs were. Ination is determined by
what the vehicle hits, the angle of the impact, and
how quickly the vehicle slows down.
The airbag system is designed to work properly
under a wide range of conditions, including off-road
usage. Observe safe driving speeds, especially
on rough terrain. As always, wear your safety belt.
SeeOff-Road Driving on page 372for more tips
on off-road driving.Single Stage vs. Dual Stage Airbags
Depending on the weight of your vehicle, you will
have either “Single Stage Airbags” or “Dual
Stage Airbags.” Vehicles that have a passenger
sensing system also have dual stage airbags.
If the rearview mirror in your vehicle has a
passenger airbag status indicator, your vehicle
has the passenger sensing system and therefore,
it has dual stage airbags. If the rearview mirror
in your vehicle does not have a passenger airbag
status indicator, then your vehicle does not
have the passenger sensing system and it has
single stage airbags. SeePassenger Airbag Status
Indicator on page 250orPassenger Sensing
System on page 103.
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 13 to 16 mph (20 to 25 km/h). The
threshold level can vary, however, with specic
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 amount of restraint will adjust
according to crash severity. Your vehicle has
electronic frontal sensors which help the sensing
system distinguish between a moderate and a
more severe frontal impact. For moderate frontal
impacts, these airbags inate 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 10 to 16 mph
(16 to 25 km/h), and the threshold level for a full
deployment is about 20 to 30 mph (32 to 48 km/h).
The threshold level can vary, however, with
specic vehicle design, so that it can be somewhat
above or below this range.Vehicle’s with dual stage airbags also have
special sensors which enable the sensing system
to monitor the position of both the driver and
passenger front seats. The seat position sensor
provides information which is used to determine if
the airbags should deploy at a reduced level or
at full deployment.
What Makes an Airbag Inate?
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 inator, which inates the airbag. The
inator, 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.
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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. The airbag
supplements 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.
What Will You See After an Airbag
Inates?
After an airbag inates, it quickly deates, so
quickly that some people may not even realize the
airbag inated. Some components of the airbag
module — the steering wheel hub for the driver’s
airbag or the instrument panel for the right
front passenger’s bag — may be hot for a short
time. The parts of the airbag that come into contact
with you may be warm, but not too hot to touch.
There will be some smoke and dust coming
from the vents in the deated airbags. Airbag
ination does not prevent the driver from seeing
out of the windshield or being able to steer
the vehicle, nor does it stop people from leaving
the vehicle.
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