ECU OLDSMOBILE SILHOUETTE 2003 Owners Manual

I 'hese are some examples of vehicle symbols you may find on your vehicle:
POSSIBLE A
CAUTION
INJURY
PROTECT
EYES BY
SHIELDING
CAUSTIC
BATTERY
4CID COULD
CAUSE
BURNS
AVO1 D
SPARKS
OR
FLAMES
SPARK
OR
FLAME '\I/'
COULD
EXPLODE
---I
BATERY 1
LATCH BOTH LAP AND SHOULDER BELTS TO
PROTECT OCCUPANT MASTER ENGINE
DO NOT TWIST SAFETY
TEMP
BELT WHEN ATACHING
FASTEN SEAT
BELTS
MOVE SEAT FULLY
\!$k=
REARWARD+ /z
SECURE
CHILD
SEAT
PULL BELT
COMPLETELY
THEN SECURE
CHILD SEAT AIR BAG
DO NOT INSTALL A REAR-FACING
CHILD RESTRAINT IN THIS SEATING
POSITION DO NOT INSTALLA n I
TURN
SIGNALS
PARKING LAMPS
HAZARD
WARNING FLASHER
pf
COOLANT
l.fJ
ACCESS
ENGINE
COOLANT FAN
OWNERS MANUAL
SERVICE
SERVICE
a MANUAL
V

1 Seats and Restraint Systems
Front Seats ............................... ......... 1.2
Manual Seats
............................ ............. 1 -2
Six-Way Power Seats
..................................... 1-3
Eight-Way Power Seats
................................... 1-3
Heated Seats
................................................. 1-4
Reclining Seatbacks
........................................ 1-4
Head Restraints
............................................. 1-6
Rear Seats
....................................................... 1-7
Flip and Fold Feature ..................................... 1-7
Split Bench Seats
........................................... 1-8
Captain Chairs
............................................. 1-1 3
Stowable Seat ............................................. -1 -1 8
Safety Belts: They Are for Everyone
................ 1-22
Questions and Answers About Safety Belts
...... 1-26
How
to Wear Safety Belts Properly ................. 1-27
Driver Position
.............................................. 1-28
Satety Beit use During Pregnancy
.................. 1-36
Rear Seat Operation ....................................... 1-7
Safety Belts
................................................... 1-22
Right Front Passenger Position
....................... 1-37
Center Passenger Position
............................. 1-37
Rear Seat Passengers
.................................. 1-39
Rear Safety Belt Comfort Guides for
Children and Small Adults
.......................... 1-42
Safety Belt Extender
..................................... 1-44
Safety Belt Pretensioners
..... ................... 1 -44 Child Restraints
............................................. 1-45
Older Children
.............................................. 1-45
Infants and Young Children
............................ 1-48
Child Restraint Systems
................................. 1-51
Where to Put the Restraint ............................. 1-54
Top Strap
.................................................... 1-55
Top Strap Anchor Location ............................. 1-56
Lower Anchorages and Top Tethers for
Securing a Child Restraint Designed for the
Securing a Child Restraint in a
Securing a Child Restraint in a Center
Securing a Child Restraint in the Right
Children (LATCH
System)
........................... 1-58
LATCH System
......................................... 1-60
Rear Outside Seat Position
......................... 1-60
Seat Position
............................................ 1-64
Front Seat Position
.................................... 1-66
Air
Bag Systems ............................................ 1-69
When Should an Air Bag Inflate? ................ 1-73
What Makes an Air Bag Inflate?
..................... 1-74
How Does an Air Bag Restrain?
..................... 1-74
What Will You See After an Air Bag Inflates?
....... 1-74
Servicing Your Air Bag-Equipped Vehicle
......... 1-76
Restraint System Check
.................................. 1-77
Where Are
the Air Bags?
........................... 1-71
Checking
Your Restraint Systems 1 -I 1 477 ...................
Replacing Restraint System Parts
After a Crash
............................................ 1-77
1-1

4. Push the latch plate into the buckle until it clicks.
Pull up on the latch plate to make sure it is secure.
If the belt isn't long enough, see Safety Belt
Extender on page
1-44.
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.
5. To make the lap part tight, pull down on the buckle
end of the belt as you pull up on the shoulder belt. 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
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.
?c! s!ide nnder the !2p he!!. !f y!n slid Llnder I?, ?he he!?
The safety belt locks if there's a sudden stop or crash,
or
if you pull the belt very quickly out of the retractor.
1-29

2. Push the latch plate into the buckle until it clicks.
In the third row, if the belt stops before it reaches
the buckle, tilt the latch plate and keep pulling
until you can buckle it.
If the belt is not long enough, see Safety Belt
Extender on page
1-44.
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.
Third
Row Outside Passenger Position
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.
3. To make the lap part tight, pull down on the buckle
end of the belt as you pull up on the shoulder part.
1 -40

For example, in a crast t only 25 mph
(40 km/h), a 12-lb. (5.5 kg) baby will suddenly
become
a 240-lb. (1 10 kg) force on a person’s
arms.
A baby should be secured in an
appropriate restraint. 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.
1 -49

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 support,
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.
1-50

Child Restraint Systems
The body structure of a young child is ,,ite
unlike that of an adult or older child, for whom
the safety belts are designed.
A young child’s
hip bones are still
so small that the vehicle’s
regular safety belt may not remain low on the
hip bones, as
it should. Instead, it may settle
up around the child’s abdomen.
In a crash,
the belt would apply force
on a body area
that’s unprotected by any bony structure.
This alone could cause serious or fatal injuries. Young children always should be
secured in appropriate child restraints.
An infant car bed (A), a special bed made for use in a
to restrain or position a child on a contmuous flat
surface. Make sure that the infant’s head rests toward
the center of the vehicle.
mdc- \/shic!s, is 21 infb~t mc,t-eint c
ctam dacinnd ‘:“” ---* J”--
1-51

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,
harness.
A booster seat can also help a child to see out
the window.
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n 2 filie-nnint ut IU V.J.,IV I "y' I VUVI. UVVV.... ---I.. ..U" - I""""
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 sirieici rnay iake ihe piace oi 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
S?..,l!?cJS up or io the side.
1-53

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.
1-54

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
1-56