OLDSMOBILE BRAVADA 1997 Owner's Guide

Servicing Your Air Bag-Equipped
Oldsmobile
The air bag affects how your Oldsmobile should be
serviced. There are parts
of the air bag system in several
places around your vehicle. You don't want the system
to inflate while someone
is working on your vehicle.
Your Oldsmobile retailer and the Bravada Service
Manual have information about servicing your vehicle
and the air bag system.
To purchase a service manual,
see "Service and Owner Publications"
in the Index.
For up to
10 minutes after the ignition key is
turned off and the battery is disconnected, an air
bag can still inflate during improper service. You
can be in,jured if you are close to an air bag when
it inflates. Avoid wires wrapped with yellow tape,
or yellow connectors. They are probably part
of
the air bag system. Be sure to follow proper
service procedures, and make sure the person
performing work for you
is qualified to do so.
The air bag system does not need regular maintenance.
Adding Equipment to Your Air
Bag-Equipped Oldsmobile
Q.' If I add a push bumper or a bicycle rack to the
front of my vehicle,
will it keep the air bag from
working properly?
A: As long as the push bumper or bicycle rack is
attached to your vehicle so that the vehicle's basic
structure isn't changed, it's not likely to keep the
air bag from working properly
in a crash.
Is there anything I might add to the front of the
vehicle that could keep the
air bag from
working properly?
A: Yes. If you add things that change your vehicle's
frame, bumper system, front end sheet metal or height,
they lnay keep the air bag system from working
properly. Also, the air bag system may not work
properly
if you relocate any of the air- bag sensors. If
you have any question about this, you should contact
Customer Assistance before you modify your vehicle. (The phone numbers and addresses for Customer
Assistance are
in Step Two of the Customer
Satisfaction Procedure
in this manual. See "Customer
Satisfaction Procedure"
in the Index.)
1-23
ProCarManuals.com

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 don’t 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’s more
likely that the fetus won’t be hurt
in a crash. For
pregnant women, as for anyone, the key to making
safety belts effective is wearing them properly.
Right Front Passenger Position
The right front passenger’s safety belt works the same
way
as the driver3 safety belt. See “Driver Position’’
earlier
in this section.
When the shoulder belt
is pulled out all the way, it will
lock. If it does, let it go back all the way and start again.
Rear Seat Passengers
It’s very important for rear seat passengers to buckle up!
Accident statistics show that unbelted people
in the rear
seat are hurt more often
in crashes than those who are
wearing safety belts.
Rear passengers who aren’t safety belted can be thrown
out
of the vehicle in a crash. And they can strike others
in the vehicle who are wearing safety belts.
1-24
ProCarManuals.com

Rear Seat Outside Passenger Positions
Lap-Shoulder Belt
The positions next to the windows have lap-shoulder
belts. Here’s how to wear one properly.
1. Pick up the latch plate and pull the belt across you.
Don’t let it get twisted. The shoulder belt may lock if
you pull the belt across you very quickly. If this
happens, let the belt
go back slightly to unlock it.
Then pull the belt across you more slowly.
2. Push the latch plate into the buckle until it clicks.
Pull up on the latch plate to make sure it is secure.
When the shoulder belt is pulled out all the way,
it will
lock.
If it does, let it go back all the way and start again.
ProCarManuals.com

If the belt is not 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.
-. To make the lap part tight, pull down on the buckle
end of the belt as you pull up on the shoulder part. 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.
1-26
ProCarManuals.com

The safety belt locks if there’s a sudden stop
The safety belt
also locks if you pull the belt
quickly out of the retractor.
or a crash.
very
A
~~ ~
CAUTION:
You can be seriously hurt if your shoulder belt is
too loose. In a crash, you would move forward
too much, which could increase injury. The
shoulder belt should fit against your body.
To unlatch the belt, just push the button on the buckle.
1-27
ProCarManuals.com

Rear Safety Belt Comfort Guides for
Children and Small Adults
Rear shoulder belt comfort guides will provide added
safety belt comfort for children who have outgrown
child restraints and for small adults. When installed on a
shoulder belt, the comfort guide pulls the belt away
from the neck and head.
There
is one guide for each outside passenger position in
the rear seat.
To provide added safety belt comfort for
children who have outgrown child restraints and for
smaller adults, the comfort guides may be installed
on
the shoulder belts. Here’s how to install a comfort guide
and use the safety belt:
1. Pull the elastic cord out from between the edge of
the seatback and the interior body to remove the
guide from its storage clip.
1-28
ProCarManuals.com

2. Slide the guide under and past the belt. The elastic
cord must be under the belt. Then, place the guide
over the belt, and insert the two edges
of the belt into
the slots
of the guide.
3. Be sure that the belt is not twisted and it lies flat.
The elastic cord must be under the belt and the guide
on top.
ProCarManuals.com

4. Buckle, position and release the safety belt as
described in "Rear Seat Outside Passenger Positions"
earlier
in this section. Make sure that the shoulder
belt crosses the shoulder.
To remove and store the comfort guides, squeeze the belt
edges together
so that yo11 can take them out from the
guides.
Pull the guide upward to expose its storage clip,
and then slide the guide onto the clip. Rotate the guide and
clip inward and
in between the seatback and the interior
body, leaving only the
loop of elastic cord exposed.
Center Rear Passenger Position
ProCarManuals.com

Lap Belt
When you sit in the center rear seating position, you
have a lap safety belt which has a retractor.
1. Pick up the latch plate and pull the belt across you.
Don’t let it get twisted.
2. Push the latch plate into the buckle until it clicks.
Pull up on the latch plate to make sure it is secure.
4. Position and release it the same way as the lap part
of a lap-shoulder belt.
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.
3. Feed the lap belt into the retractor to tighten it.
ProCarManuals.com

Children
Everyone in a vehicle needs protection! That includes
infants and
all children smaller than adult size. 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.
Smaller Children and Babies
’
A CAUTION:
Smaller children and babies should always be
restrained in a child or infant restraint. The
instructions
for the restraint will say whether
it is the right type and size for your child.
CAUTION: (Continued)
r
A very young child’s hip bones are so small that a
regular belt might not stay low on the hips, as it
should. Instead, the belt will likely be over the
child’s abdomen. In a crash, the belt would apply
force right
on the child’s abdomen, which could
cause serious or fatal injuries.
So, be sure that
any child small enough for one is always properly
restrained
in a child or infant restraint.
1-32
ProCarManuals.com