Oldsmobile Achieva 1998 s Workshop Manual

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
find these instructions on the restraint itself or in a
booklet, or both. These restraints use the belt system
in
your vehicle, but the child also has to be secured within
the restraint to help reduce the chance
of personal injury.
The instructions that come with the infant or child
restraint will show you how to do that. Both the owner’s
manual and the child restraint instructions are important,
so if either one of these is not available, obtain a
replacement copy from the manufacturer.
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 at
General Motors therefore recommend that you put your
child restraint in the rear seat.
Never put a rear-facing
child restraint in the front passenger seat. Here’s why:
’4 CAUTION:
A child in a rear-facing child restraint can be
seriously injured if the right front passenger’s air
bag inflates. This is because the back of
a
rear-facing child restraint would be very close to
the inflating air bag. Always secure a rear-facing
child restraint in the rear seat.
You may, however, secure
a forward-facing child
restraint in the right front seat. Before you secure
a forward-facing child restraint, always move the
front passenger seat as
far back as it will go. Or,
secure the child restraint in the 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.
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Top Strap
If your child restraint has a top strap, it should be
anchored. If you need to have an anchor installed, you
can ask your Oldsmobile retailer to put it in for you.
If
you want to install an anchor yourself, your retailer can
tell you how
to do it.
Canadian law requires that child restraints have a top
strap, and that the strap be anchored. If
your child restraint has
a top strap, your retailer can
obtain
a kit with anchor hardware and installation
instructions specifically designed for
this vehicle. The
retailer can then install the anchor for you. In Canada,
this work will be done for you free
of charge. Or, you
may install the anchor yourself using the instructions
provided in the kit.
Securing a Child Restraint in a Rear
Outside Seat Position
U
You’ll be using the lap-shoulder belt. See the earlier part
about the top strap if the child restraint has one. 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. Put the restraint on the seat.
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2. 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.
3. Tilt the latch plate to adjust the belt if needed.
If the shoulder belt goes in front of the child’s face or
neck, put it behind the child restraint.
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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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.
Securing a Child Restraint in the Center
Rear Seat Position
5. To tighten the belt, pull up on the shoulder belt while
you push down on the child restraint.
If you’re using
a forward-facing child restraint, you may find it
helpful to use your knee to push down
on the child
restraint as you tighten the belt.
6. Push and pull the child restraint in different
directions to be sure it
is secure. You’ll
be using the lap belt. 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.
See the earlier part about the top strap if the child
restraint has one.
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I
1.
2.
3.
Make the belt as long as possible by tilting the latch
plate and pulling it along the belt.
Put the restraint on the seat.
Run the vehicle’s safety belt through or around the
restraint. The child restraint instructions will show
you how. 4.
5.
6.
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.
To tighten the belt, pull its free end while you push
down on the child restraint.
If you’re using a
forward-facing child restraint, you may find it
helpful to use your knee to push down on the child
restraint as you tighten the belt.
Push and pull the child restraint in different
directions to be sure it is secure.
4 AI 1 -4‘/

To remove the child restraint, just unbuckle the vehicle’s
safety belt. It will
be ready to work for an adult or larger
child passenger.
Securing a Child Restraint in the Right
Front Seat Position
u
Your vehicle has a right front passenger air bag. Never
put a rear-facing child restraint in this seat. Here’s why:
A CAUT )N:
0
A child in a rear-facing child restraint can be
seriously injured if the right front passenger’s air bag inflates. This is because the back
of a
rearfacing child restraint would be very close
to
the inflating air bag. Always secure a rear-facing
child restraint in the rear seat.
You’ll be using the lap-shoulder belt. See the earlier part
about the top strap if the child restraint has one. 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. Because your vehicle has a right front passenger air
bag, always move the seat as far back as it will go
before securing a forward-facing child restraint.
(See “Seats” in the Index.)
2. Put the 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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Tilt the latch plate to adjust the belt if needed.
If the shoulder belt goes
in front of the child’s face or
neck, put it behind the child restraint.
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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helpful to use your knee to push down on the child
Children who have outgrown child restraints should
restraint as you tighten the belt.
wear the vehicle's safety belts.
directions to be sure it is secure.
window
so the child can wear a lap-shoulder belt and
6. Push and pull the child restraint in different If you have the choice, a child should sit next to a
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. get the additional restraint a shoulder belt can provide.
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Accident statistics show that children are safer if they
are restrained in the rear seat. But they need to use the
safety belts properly.
Children who aren’t buckled up can be thrown out in
a crash.
Children who aren’t buckled up can strike other
people who are.
A
..B
Never do this.
Here two children are wearing the same belt. The
belt can’t properly spread the impact forces. In a
crash, the two children can be crushed together
and seriously injured.
A belt must be used by
only one person at a time.
What if a child
is wearing a lap-shoulder belt,
but the child is
so small that the shoulder belt is
very close to the child’s face or neck?
A: Move the child toward the center of the vehicle, but
be sure that the shoulder belt still is on the child’s
shoulder,
so that in a crash the child’s upper body
would have the restraint that belts provide.
If the
child
is sitting in a rear seat outside position, see
“Rear Safety Belt Comfort Guides” in the Index.
If the child
is so small that the shoulder belt is still
very close to the child’s face or neck, you might
want to place the child in the center seat position,
the one that has only a lap belt.
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I
/1 CAUTION:
Never do this.
Here a child is sitting in a seat that has a
lap-shoulder belt, but the shoulder part is behind
the child.
If the child wears the belt in this way, in
a crash the child might slide under the belt. The
belt’s force
would then be applied right on the
child’s abdomen. That could cause serious or
fatal injuries.
Wherever the child sits, the lap portion of the belt
should be
worn low and snug on the hips, just touching
the child’s thighs.
This applies belt force to the child’s
pelvic bones in
a crash.
I
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