belt Oldsmobile Aurora 1997 Owner's Manuals

@ The 1997 Aurora Owner’s Manual
1-1
2-1
3-1 4-1
5-1
6- 1
7-1
8- 1
9-1
Seats and Restraint Systems
This section tells you how to use your seats and safety belts properly. It also explains the “SRS” system,
Features and Controls
This section explains how to start and operate your Aurora.
Comfort Controls and Audio Systems
This section tells you how to adjust the ventilation and comfort controls and how to operate your audio system.
Your Driving and the Road
Here you’ll find helpful information and tips about the road and how to drive under different conditions.
Problems on the Road
This section tells what to do if you have a problem while driving, such as a flat tire or overheated engine, etc.
Service and Appearance Care
Here the manual tells you how to keep your Aurora running properly and looking good.
Maintenance Schedule
This section tells you when to perform vehicle maintenance and what fluids and lubricants to use.
Customer Assistance Information
This section tells you how to contact Oldsmobile for assistance and how to get service and owner publications.
It also gives you information on “Reporting Safety Defects” on page
8-8.
Index
Here’s an alphabetical listing of almost every subject in this manual. You can use it to quickly find
something you want to read.
i

Vehicle Symbols
These are some of the symbols you may find on your vehicle.
For example, these symbols are used on
an
original battery:
POSSIBLE A
CAUTION
INJURY
PROTECT EYES BY
SHIELDING
CAUSTIC
BURNS
SPARK OR
,\I/,
COULD FLAME
EXPLODE BATTERY
These symbols are important
for you and
your passengers
whenever your
vehicle
is
driven:
DOOR LOCK
UNLOCK
FASTEN SEAT
BELTS
These symbols have to
do with
your lamps:
SIGNALS e e
TURN
WARNING
A
HAZARD
FLASHER
RUNNING
* 0
DAYTIME - a
LAMPS .**
FOG LAMPS # 0
These symbols
are on some
of
your controls:
WINDSHIELD
DEFROSTER
VENTILATING FAN
(
These symbols are used on
warning and
indicator lights:
ENGINE t
COOLANT - t-
TEMP -
CHARGING BATTERY
SYSTEM
BRAKE
(a)
COOLANT a
ENGINE OIL w,
PRESSURE
ANTI-LOCK
(@)
BRAKES
Here are some other symbols
you may see:
FUSE
P
LIGHTER n
HORN )tr
SPEAKER
b
FUEL m

@ Section 1 Seats and Restraint Systems
Here you’ll find information about the seats in your Aurora and how to use your safety belts properly. You can also
learn about some things you should
not do with air bags and safety belts.
1-2
1-6
1-10
1-11
1-1 1
1-18
1-19
1-19
1-25 Seats and
Seat Controls
Safety Belts: They’re for Everyone
Here Are Questions Many People Ask About
Safety Belts
-- and the Answers
How to Wear Safety Belts Properly
Driver Position Safety Belt Use During Pregnancy
Right Front Passenger Position Supplemental Restraint System
(SRS)
Rear Seat Passengers
1-29
1-31
1-33
1-35
1-43
1-46
1-46
1-47 Rear Safety Belt Comfort Guides
for Children
and Small Adults
Center Passenger Position
Children
Child Restraints
Larger Children Safety Belt Extender
Checking Your Restraint Systems
Replacing Restraint System Parts After
a Crash
1-1

Reclining Front Seatbacks
The vertical control described previously in this section
reclines the front seatbacks.
But don’t have a seatback reclined if
your vehicle
is moving. Sitting in a reclined position when your
vehicle is
in motion can be dangerous. Even if you buckle
up, your safety belts can’t do their job when
you’re reclined like this.
The shoulder belt can’t do
its job because it
won’t be against your body. Instead, it will be in
front of you. In
a crash you could go into it,
receiving neck or other injuries.
The lap belt can’t do its job either. In
a crash the
belt could
go up over your abdomen. The belt
forces would be there, not
at your pelvic bones.
This could cause serious internal injuries.
For proper protection when the vehicle is in
motion, have the seatback upright. Then sit well
back in the
seat and wear your safety belt properly.
1-5

Head Restraints
Slide the head restraint up or down so that the top of the
restraint
is closest to the top of your ears. This position
reduces the chance of a neck injury in a crash.
The head restraints tilt forward and rearward also.
There are four different positions. Just grasp the top of
the restraint and move it forward
the way you want it to
go until you hear a click. It will then be locked into that
position until you need to move it again. Pulling it
forward past the last position will allow the headrest to
return
to its full rear position.
Safety Belts: They’re for Everyone
This part of the manual tells you how t6 u3e safety belts
properly. It also tells you some things
you should not do
with safety belts.
And it explains the Supplemental Restraint System
(SRS), or air bag system.
A CAUTION:
Don’t let anyone ride where he or she can’t wear
a safety belt properly. If you are in a crash and
you’re not wearing
a safety belt, your injuries
can be much worse.
You can hit things inside the
vehicle or be ejected from it.
You can be seriously
injured or killed. In the same crash, you might
not be
if you are buckled up. Always fasten your
safety belt, and check that your passengers’ belts
are fastened properly too.
It
is extremely dangerous to ride in a cargo area,
inside or outside of a vehicle. In
a collision,
people riding in these areas are more likely to be
seriously injured or killed. Do not allow people to
ride in
any area of your vehicle that is not
equipped with seats and safety belts. Be sure
everyone
in your vehicle is in a seat and using a
safety belt properly.
1-6

1
Your vehicle has a light that
comes on as a reminder to
buckle up. (See “Safety Belt
Reminder Light” in the
Index.)
In most states and Canadian provinces, the law says to
wear safety belts. Here’s why:
They work.
You never know if you’ll be in a crash. If you do have a
crash, you don’t know if it will be a bad one.
A few crashes are mild, and some crashes can be so
serious that even buckled up a person wouldn’t survive.
But most crashes are in between.
In many of them,
people who buckle up can survive and sometimes walk
away. Without belts they could have been badly hurt
or killed.
After more than
25 years of safety belts in vehicles,
the facts are clear. In most crashes buckling up does
matter
... a lot!
Why Safety Belts Work
When you ride in or on anything, you go as fast as
it goes.
.. .
Take the simplest vehicle. Suppose it’s just a seat
on wheels.
1-7

or the safety belts!
With safety belts, you slow down as the vehicle does.
You get more time to stop. You stop over more distance,
and your strongest bones take the
forces. That’s why
safety belts make such good sense.
Here Are Questions Many People Ask
About Safety Belts
-- and the Answers
@ Won’t I be trapped in the vehicle after an
accident
if I’m wearing a safety belt?
A: You could be -- whether you’re wearing a safety
belt or not. But
you can unbuckle a safety belt,
even if you’re upside down. And your chance of
being conscious during and after an accident,
so
you can unbuckle and get out, is much greater if
you are belted.
@ If my vehicle has air bags, why should I have to
wear safety belts?
A: Air bags are in many vehicles today and will be in
most
of them in the future. But they are
supplemental systems only;
so they work with
safety belts -- not instead of them. Every air bag
system ever offered for sale has required the use of
safety belts. Even if you’re
in a vehicle that has air
bags,
you still have to buckle up to get the most
protection. That’s true not only in frontal collisions,
but especially
in side and other collisions.
1-10

If I’m a good driver, and I never drive far from
home, why should I wear safety belts?
A: You may be an excellent driver, but if you’re in an
accident
-- even one that isn’t your fault -- you and
your passengers can be hurt. Being a good driver
doesn’t protect you from things beyond your
control, such as bad drivers.
Most accidents occur within
25 miles (40 km) of
home. And the greatest number
of serious injuries
and deaths occur at speeds of less than
40 mph
(65 km/h).
Safety belts are for everyone.
How to Wear Safety Belts Properly
Adults
This part is only for people of adult size.
Be aware that there are special things
to know about safety
belts and children. And there are different
rules for smaller
children and babies, If a child will be riding
in your
Aurora, see the part of
this manual called “Children.”
Follow those rules for everyone’s protection. First,
you’ll want to know which restraint systems your
vehicle has.
We’ll start with the driver position.
Driver Position
This part describes the driver’s restraint system.
Lap-Shoulder Belt
The driver has a lap-shoulder belt. The shoulder portion
of the belt has an energy management loop. It is
designed
to open and help protect you in certain crashes.
If it opens, you will see a label on the safety belt that
says to replace the belt. Be sure to do
so. If you don’t,
the safety belt won’t work properly and won’t protect
you in another crash.
For more information on replacing
safety belts after a crash, see “Replacing Safety Belts’’ in
the Index.
Here’s how to wear the lap-shoulder belt properly.
1. Close and lock the door.
2. Adjust the seat (to see how, see “Seats” in the Index)
so you can sit up straight.

~ 3. Pick up
the latch plate and pull the belt across you.
4. Push the latch plate into the buckle until it clicks.
Don’t
let it get twisted.
Pull up on the latch plate to make sure it is secure.
If
the belt isn’t long enough, see “Safety Belt
Extender” at the end of this section.
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. The
lap part of the belt should be worn low and snug on
the hips, just touching the thighs.
In a crash, this applies
force to
the strong pelvic bones. And you’d be less likely
to slide under the lap belt.
If you slid under it, the belt
would apply force at your abdomen.
This could cause
serious or even fatal injuries. The shoulder belt should go
over the shoulder and across the chest. These parts of the
body are best able to take belt restraining forces.
The safety belt locks if there’s a sudden stop or crash.

Shoulder Belt Tightness Adjustment
Your car has a shoulder belt tightness adjustment
feature. If the shoulder belt seems too tight, adjust it
before you begin to drive.
1. Sit well back in the seat.
2. Start pulling the shoulder belt out.
-
3. Just before it reaches the end, give it a quick pull.
4. Let the belt go back all the way. You should hear a
slight clicking sound. If you don't, the adjustment
feature won't set, and you'll have to start again.
5.
I . . ..
Now you can add a small amount of slack. Lean
forward slightly, then sit back.
If you've added more
than
1 inch (25 mm) of slack, pull the shoulder belt
out as you did before and start again.
If you move around in the vehicle enough, or if you pull
out the shoulder belt, the belt will become tight again. If
this happens, you can reset it.