tow OLDSMOBILE SILHOUETTE 1997 Owners Manual

Section 1 Seats and Restraint Systems
Here you’ll find information about the seats in your Oldsmobile 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.
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1-30 Seats
and Controls
Manual Seats
Power Seats
Folding Driver’s Seatback
Reclining Front Seatbacks
Manual Lumbar Control
Head Restraints
Rear Seats Second Row Safety Belt Stowage
Dump and Stow Feature
Solid Bench Seats
Split Bench Seats
Captain Chairs
Why Safety Belts Work 1-33
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1-80 Questions
Many People Ask About
Safety Belts
How to Wear Safety Belts Properly
Safety Belt Use During Pregnancy
Questions and Answers About Air Bags
Reat Seat Passengers
Rear Safety Belt Comfort Guides
Important for Buckling Children
in
Child Restraints
Using the Built-In Child Restraint
How to Use Child Restraints
Child Restraint Top Straps
How to Obtain a Safety Belt Extender
Checking Your Restraint Systems
Replacing Parts After
a Crash
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Second Row Safety Belt Stowage
If your vehicle has seats in the third row, there is a
sleeve on the second row outside safety belt to store the
safety belt while entering and exiting the third row of
the vehicle.
If your vehicle has a bench seat
in the second row,
follow this procedure:
Pull the belt out and slide the sleeve along the belt
until it reaches the patch of Velcro@ on the roof.
Simply press the sleeve against the Velcro patch to
secure it in place.
Do not have the second row outside safety belt stored if
someone
is sitting in the second row outside position. The
safety belt would not protect
the passenger correctly.
To release the second row outside safety belt, just pull
the sleeve away from the Velcro patch and use the safety
belt as usual. The sleeve should slide freely when not
in use.
~nere is
also a clip on the safety belt used to secure the
belt after it is disconnected from the mini-buckle. When
removing the second row bench seat, secure the loose end of the safety belt
in this clip. This will keep the safety belt
from dangling and possible striking something.
Dump and Stow Feature
The rear seats in your vehicle, except the Captain’s
chairs, can be folded forward. Use this feature for
exiting and entering third row seats.
Push adjustable head restraints
fully down. Fold the
seatback
flat on the seat. If the seat adjusts, slide it all the
way back. Release the rear set of hooks from the floor
pins; hang on to the straps as the seat folds forward.
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5. Remove the seat by
rocking it slightly
towards the rear of
the vehicle and then
pulling it out. This
should be done in
one motion. 1. Place the front hooks of
the bench seat onto the
front two floor pins.
To
do this, the seat will
need to be angled
so that
the front hooks clear
the
floor pins.
Replacing the Second Row Solid Bench Seat
2. With the seat still folded forward, roll down the gray
handle underneath the seat to lock the front latches.
Don’t put the bench seat in
so it faces backward because
it won’t latch that way.
The solid benches have seat position labels, located on
the back of the seat, showing where the seat
must go.
Follow that diagram. Use the
A, C and E sets of floor
cups. See “Seat Controls” in the beginning of this
section for more details. The seat must be placed in the
proper location for the legs to attach correctly.
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There are two levers to adjust the seat forward or
rearward. They are below the center position of
the
bench, one in front and one in back of the seat.
Lift up either lever and slide the seat forward to allow
for extra storage behind the seat,
or slide the seat back to
allow extra room for third row passengers. Release the
lever. Push and pull on
the seat to be sure it is locked
into place.
Removing the Third Row Solid Bench Seat
1. Pull the nylon strap on the back of the seat to fold
the seatback forward.
2. Slide the seat all the way back by either lifting the
front adjuster bar and pushing back, or by lifting the
handle on the back of the seat and pulling
the seat
towards the rear
of the vehicle.
3. From behind the bench seat, pull the nylon straps at
the base
of the seat to release the rear latches from
the floor pins.
4. Do not let go of the straps until the seat is folded all
the way forward.
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5. Unhook the front latches by rolling up the gray
handle under the seat until the handle locks. 6. Remove the seat by
rocking
it slightly
towards the rear
of the
vehicle and then
pulling
it out. This should be
done
in one motion.
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Replacing the Third Row Solid Bench Seat
Don’t put the bench seat in so it faces backward because
it won’t latch that way. If you want more storage room
behind the seat, adjust the seat
by sliding it forward.
The solid benches have seat position labels, located on
the back
of the seat, showing where the seat must go.
Follow that diagram. Use all of the sets of floor cups
in
the third TOW, G, H, I and J sets of floor cups. See “Seat
Controls’’
in the beginning of this section for more
details. The seat must be placed
in the proper location
for the legs to attach correctly.
Make sure the seat
is in the full rear position before
beginning this procedure.
Place the front hooks
of the bench seat onto
the front two floor pins
in the third row. To do
this, the seat
will need to
be angled
so that the
front hooks clear the
floor pins.
2. With the seat still folded forward, roll down the gray
handle underneath the seat
to lock the front latches.
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3. From behind the bench seat, pull the nylon strap at
the base
of the seat to release the rear latches from
the floor pins.
5. To unlatch the front latches, squeeze the angled latch
release bar towards the straight crossbar.
4. Do not let go of the straps until the seat is folded all
the way forward.
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6. Kemove the seat by
rocking
it slightly
towards the rear
of
the vehicle and then
pulling
it out.
Repeat Steps 1 through 5 for the other section of the
split bench
seat.
Replacing the Split Bench Sections
Don‘t put the sections of the bench seat in so they face
backward because they won’t latch that
way. If you want
more storage room behind the seat, adjust each section
by sliding
it forward.
The split benches have seat position labels, located
on
the back of each seat, showing where the seat must go.
Follow that diagram.
The left (40) section of the 40/60 split bench uses the
A and B sets of floor cups.
0 The right (60) section of the 40/60 split bench uses
0 The left section of the 50/50 split bench uses the G
the C and D sets of floor cups.
and
H sets of floor cups.
The right section of the 50/50 split bench uses the I
See “Seat Controls” in the beginning of this section
for more details. The seat must be placed in the proper
location for the legs to attach correctly.
Make sure the seat is
in the full rear position before
beginning this procedure. and
J sets of floor cups.
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I. Squeeze the angled gray bar towards the solid gray
crossbar while placing the front hooks
of the bench
seat onto the front two
floor pins.
2. To do this, the bench
seat will need to be
angled
so that the
front hooks clear the
floor pins.
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How does an air bag restrain?
In moderate to severe frontal or near-frontal collisions,
even belted occupants can contact the steering wheel or the
instrument panel. Air bags supplement the protection
provided by safety belts. Air bags distribute the force
of
the impact more evenly over the occupant’s upper body,
stopping the occupant more gradually. But air bags would
not help you in many types of collisions, including
rollovers, rear impacts and side impacts, primarily because
an occupant’s motion is not toward those air bags. Air
bags 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 air bag inflates?
After an air bag inflates, it quickly deflates, so quickly
that some people may not even realize the air bag
inflated. Some components of the air bag module in the
steering wheel hub for the driver’s air bag, or
the
instrument panel for the right front passenger’s bag, will
be hot for a short time. The parts of the bag that come
into contact with you may be warm, but not too hot
to
touch. There will be some smoke and dust coming from
vents in the deflated air bags. Air bag inflation doesn’t
prevent the driver from seeing or from being able to
steer the vehicle, nor does
it stop people from leaving
the vehicle.
When an air bag inflates, there is dust in the air.
This dust could cause breathing problems for
people with a history
of asthma or other
breathing trouble.
To avoid this, everyone in the
vehicle should get out as soon
as it is safe to do so.
If you have breathing problems but can’t get out
of the vehicle after an air bag inflates, then get
fresh air by opening a window or door.
In many crashes severe enough to inflate an air bag,
windshields are broken by vehicle deformation.
Additional windshield breakage may also occur from the
right front passenger air bag.
0 Air bags are designed to inflate only once. After they
inflate, you’ll need some new parts for your air bag
system.
If you don’t get them, the air bag system
won’t be there to help protect
you in another crash.
A new system will include air bag modules and
possibly other parts. The service manual for your
vehicle covers the need to replace other parts.
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