child seat Oldsmobile Bravada 2003 Owner's Manuals

These are some examples of vehicle symbols you may find on your vehicle:
POSSIBLE A
CAUTION INJURY
PROTECT EYES BY
SHIELDING
CAUSTIC
4ClD COULD BAlTERY
CAUSE
BURNS
AVOID
SPARKS
OR
FLAMES
SPARK OR COULD FLAME
'\I/'
EXPLODE
BAlTERY LATCH BOTH LAP AND
SHOULDER BELTS TO
PROTECT OCCUPANT
48: @
DO NOT TWIST SAFETY
BELT WHEN AlTACHlNG
MOVE SEAT FULLY
\$!!
REARWARD* /z
SECURE
CHILD SEAT
PULL BELT
COMPLETELY
THEN SECURE CHILD SEAT
n
DO NOT INSTALL
A REAR-FACING
CHILD RESTRAINT IN THIS SEATING
POSITION
DO NOT INSTALL A
FORWARD-FACING CHILD RESTRAINT IN THIS SEATING
POSITION
DOOR LOCK UNLOCK
-
I
1
L
LIGHTING - MASTER SWITCH 8- / ,
SIGNALS @a
TURN
LAMPS
PC
DAYTIME . -n
RUNNING ''Z;
LAMPS
LAMPS
#O
ENGINE
COOLANT TEMP
CHARGING
fl
BAlTERY SYSTEM
BRAKE
(@)
COOLANT d
ENGINE OIL
PRESSURE
Wb
ANTI-LOCK (@)
BRAKES
l.fJ
ACCESS
ENGINE
COOLANT FAN
OWNERS MANUAL
SERVICE
MANUAL
V

Section 1 Seats and Restraint Systems
Front Seats ...................................................... 1-2
Power Seats
.............................................. 1.2
Power Lumbar
........................................... 1-2
Heated Seats
................................................. 1-3
Power Reclining Seatbacks
.............................. 1-4
Head Restraints
............................................. 1-5
Rear Seats ....................................................... 1-6
Rear Seat Operation
....................................... 1-6
Safety Belts ..................................................... 1-8
Safety Belts: They Are for Everyone
................. 1-8
Questions and Answers About Safety Belts
...... 1-12
How to Wear Safety Belts Properly
................. 1-13
Driver Position
.............................................. 1-1 3
Safety Belt Use During Pregnancy
............... 1-20
Right Front Passenger Position
.................... 1-21
Rear Seat Passengers
.................................. 1-21
Rear Safety Belt Comfort Guides
for
Children and Small Adults .......................... 1-24
Safety Belt Extender
..................................... 1-26
Child Restraints ............................................. 1-27
Older Children
.............................................. 1-27
Infants and Young Children
............................ 1-29
Child Restraint Systems
................................. 1-32 Where
to Put the Restraint
............................. 1.35
Top Strap
.................................................... 1-36
Top Strap Anchor Location
............................. 1-37
Lower Anchorages and Top Tethers for
Children (LATCH System)
....................... 1-38
Securing a Child Restraint Designed
for the LATCH System
............................... 1-40
Securing a Child Restraint in a Rear
Outside Seat Position
................................ 1-40
Securing a Child Restraint in the Right
Front Seat Position
.................................... 1-42
Center Seat Position
..................................... 1-45
Air Bag Systems ............................................ 1-46
Where Are the Air Bags?
............................ 1-49
When Should an Air Bag Inflate?
... ...... 1-51
What Makes an Air Bag Inflate?
..................... 1-52
How Does an Air Bag Restrain?
..................... 1-52
What Will
You See After an Air Bag Inflates? ... 1-53
Servicing Your Air Bag-Equipped Vehicle
......... 1-55
Restraint System Check .................................. 1-56
Checking Your Restraint Systems
................... 1-56
Replacing Restraint System Parts
After a Crash
............................................ 1-56
1-1

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
To learn how to wear the right front passenger’s safety
belt properly, see
Driver Position on page 1-13.
The right front passenger’s safety belt works the same
way as the driver’s safety belt
- except for one
thing. If you ever
pull the shoulder portion of the belt out
all the way, you will engage the child restraint locking
feature. If this happens, just let the belt 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.
Rear Seat Passenger Positions
1-21

To unlatch the belt, just push the button on the buckle.
Rear Safety Belt Comfort Guides for
Children and Small Adults
Your vehicle may already have this feature. If not, you
can get it from your
GM dealer.
Rear shoulder belt comfort guides provide added safety
belt comfort for older children who have outgrown
booster seats and for small adults. When attached to a
shoulder belt, the comfort guide better positions the
belt away from the neck and head.
There is one guide available for each of the rear outside
passenger positions. Here’s how to attach the comfort
guide to the shoulder belt.
1-24

Child Restraints
Older Children
Q: What is the proper way to wear safety belts?
A: If possible, an older child should wear a
lap-shoulder belt and get the additional restraint
a
shoulder belt can provide. The shoulder belt
should not cross the face or neck. The lap belt
should fit snugly below the hips, just touching the
top of the thighs.
It should never be worn over
the abdomen, which could cause severe even fatal
internal injuries in
a crash.
Accident statistics show that children are safer
if they
are restrained in the rear seat.
In a crash, children who are not buckled up can strike
other people who are buckled up, or can be thrown
out of the vehicle. Older children need
to use safety
belts properly.
Older children who have outgrown booster seats should
wear the vehicle's safety belts.
1-27

f ~ ~ :es 1 a crash, the two chi1 en can be
crushed together and seriously injured.
A belt
must be used by only one person at a time.
Q: What if a child is wearing a lap-shoulder belt,
but is so small that the shoulder belt is very
close to
the child’s face or neck?
S.
1 I
Here two children are wearing the same belt.
The belt can’t properly spread the impact
CAUTION: (Continued)
I I
A: If the child is sitting in a seat next to a window,
move the child toward the center
of the vehicle.
If the child is sitting in the center rear seat
passenger position, move the child toward the
safety belt buckle. In either case, 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 the belts provide.
If the child
is sitting in the rear seat outside position,
see
Rear Safety Belt Comfort Guides for Children
and Small Adults
on page 1-24.
1-28

Never do this.
Here
a child is sitting in a seat that has a
lap-shoulder belt, but the shoulder part is
I
CAUTION: (Continued)
I
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.
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.
Every time infants and young children ride in vehicles,
they should have the protection provided by appropriate restraints. Young children should not use the vehicle’s
adult safety belts alone, unless there is no other choice.
Instead, they need to use a child restraint.
1-29

Children who are up against, or very close to,
any air bag when
it inflates can be seriously
injured or killed. Air bags plus lap-shoulder
belts offer outstanding protection for adults
and older children, but not for young children
and infants. Neither the vehicle’s safety belt
system nor its air bag system
is designed for
them. Young children and infants need the
protection that a child restraint system can
provide.
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.
Newborn infants need complete sum ort,
~ 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
always should be secured in appropriate infant restraints.
1-31

A booster seat (F-G) is a child restraint designed to
improve the fit of the vehicle’s safety belt system. Some
booster seats have a shoulder belt positioner, and
some high-back booster seats have a five-point harness.
A booster seat can also help a child to see out the window.
Q: How do child restraints work?
A: A child restraint system is any device designed for
use in a motor vehicle to restrain, seat, or position
children. A built-in child restraint system is a
permanent part of the motor vehicle. An add-on
child restraint system is a portable one, which
is purchased by the vehicle’s owner.
For many years, add-on child restraints have used
the adult belt system in the vehicle. To help
reduce the chance of injury, the child also has
to be
secured within the restraint. The vehicle’s belt
system secures the add-on child restraint in the
vehicle, and the add-on child restraint’s harness
system holds the child in place within the restraint.
One system, the three-point harness, has straps that
come down over each of the infant’s shoulders and
buckle together at the crotch. The five-point harness
system has two shoulder straps, two hip straps and a
crotch strap. A shield may take the place of hip
straps. A T-shaped shield has shoulder straps that
are attached
to a flat pad which rests low against the
child’s body. A shelf- or armrest-type shield has
straps that are attached
to a wide, shelf-like shield
that swings up or
to the side.
1 -34

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. 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.
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,
therefore, recommend that child restraints be secured
in a rear outside seat position including an infant
riding in a rear-facing infant seat, a child riding in a
fonvard-facing child seat and an older child riding in a
booster seat.
Never put a rear-facing child restraint
in the front passenger seat. Here's why:
A child in a rear-facing child restraint can be
seriously injured or killed if the right front
passenger's air bag inflates. This
is because
the back of the rear-facing child restraint
would be very close to the inflating air bag.
Always secure a rear-facing child restraint in
a
rear seat outside position.
You may secure a forward-facing child restraint in the right front seat, but before you
do, always move the front passenger seat as
far back as
it will go. It's better to secure the
child restraint
in a rear seat outside position.
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.
1 -35