OLDSMOBILE SILHOUETTE 2003 Repair 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. 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.
General Motors, therefore, recommends that child
restraints be secured in a rear seat, including an
infant riding in
a rear-facing infant seat, a child riding
in a forward-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.
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.
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
Some child restraints have a top strap, or "top tether".
It can help restrain the child restraint during a collision.
For it to work, a top strap must be properly anchored to
the vehicle. Some top strap-equipped child restraints are
designed for use with or without the top strap being
anchored. Others require the top strap always to be
anchored. Be sure to read and follow the instructions
for
your child restraint. If yours requires that the top strap be
anchored, don't use the restraint unless it is anchored
properly.
If the child restraint does not have a top strap, one
can be obtained, in kit form, for many child restraints.
Ask the child restraint manufacturer whether or not a kit
I
is available.
In Canada, the law requires that forward-facing child
restraints have a top strap, and that the strap be
anchored.
In the United States, some child restraints
top strap, it should be anchored.
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Don’t use a child restraint that requires a top strap in
the right front passenger’s position because there’s
no place to anchor the top strap.
Anchor the top strap to one
of the following anchor
points. Be sure to use an anchor point located on the
same side
of the vehicle as the seating position
where the child restraint will be placed.
If you have an adjustable head restraint, route the top
strap under it.
Once you have the top strap anchored, you’ll be ready
to secure the child restraint itself. Tighten the top
strap when and as the child restraint manufacturer’s
instructions say.
Top Strap Anchor Location
Second Row
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Third Row (50/50)
An anchor bar for a top strap is located at the rear of
the seat cushion for each second and third row outboard
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I
Third Row (Stowable Seat)
The anchor bar for the stowable bench seat is located
on the passenger's side of the crossbar. Use the center
convenience center
is in the vehicle, you must lift
the tray sill to use the anchor. See Convenience Center
on page
2-60 for more information.
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1-57

Lower Anchorages and Top Tethers
for Children
(LATCH System)
Your vehicle has the LATCH system. You'll find
anchors (A) in both second row captain's chairs.
To assist you
in locating the lower anchors for this child
restraint system, each seating position with the LATCH
system will have latches between the seatback and
cushion. In order
to use the system, you need either a
forward-facing child restraint that has attaching
points
(B) at its base and a top tether anchor (C), or a
rear-facing child restraint that has attaching points
(B),
as shown here.
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With this system, use the LATCH system instead of the
vehicle’s safety belts
to secure a child restraint. If a
LAT4-type child restraint isn’t attached to
its anchorage points, the restraint won’t be
able to protect
a child sitting there. In a crash,
the child could be seriously injured or killed. Make sure that a LATCH-type child restraint
is
properly installed using the anchorage points,
or use the vehicle’s safety belts to secure the
restraint. See “Securing a Child Restraint
Designed for the LATCH System’’ or “Securing
a Child Restraint
in a Rear Outside Seat
Position”
in the Index for information on how
to secure a child restraint
in your vehicle.
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Securing a Child Restraint Designed
for the LATCH System
1. Find the anchors for the seating position you want
to use, where the bottom of the seatback meets the
back of the seat cushion.
2. Put the child restraint on the seat.
3. Attach the anchor points on the child restraint to the
anchors in the vehicle. The child restraint instructions
will show you how.
4. If the child restraint is forward-facing, attach the top
strap to the top strap anchor. See
Top Strap on
page 1-55. Tighten the top strap according to
the child restraint instructions.
5. Push and pull the child restraint in different
directions to be sure it is secure.
To remove the child restraint, simply unhook the top
strap from the top tether anchor and then disconnect the
anchor points.
Securing a Child Restraint in a
Rear Outside Seat Position
1
I
If your child restraint is equipped with the LATCH
system, see
Lower Anchorages and Top Tethers for
Children
(LATCH System) on page 1-58.
3
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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.
2.
Put the restraint on the seat.
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.
In the third row, tilt the latch plate to adjust the belt
if needed.
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3. 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.
4. Pull the rest of the shoulder belt all the way out of
the retractor to set the lock.
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5.
6.
To tighten the belt, feed the shoulder belt back into
the retractor 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.
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.
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