Oldsmobile Silhouette 2004 s Workshop Manual

Safety Belt Pretensioners
Your vehicle has safety belt pretensioners. You'll ®nd
them on the buckle end of the safety belts for the driver
and right front passenger. They help the safety belts
reduce a person's forward movement in a moderate to
severe crash in which the front of the vehicle hits
something.
Pretensioners work only once. If they activate in a
crash, you'll need to get new ones, and probably other
new parts for your safety belt system. See
Replacing
Restraint System Parts After a Crash on page 1-79.
Safety Belt Extender
If the vehicle's safety belt will fasten around you, you
should use it.
But if a safety belt isn't long enough to fasten, your
dealer will order you an extender. It's free. When you
go in to order it, take the heaviest coat you will wear,
so the extender will be long enough for you. The
extender will be just for you, and just for the seat in
your vehicle that you choose. Don't let someone else
use it, and use it only for the seat it is made to ®t.
To wear it, just attach it to the regular safety belt.
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Child Restraints
Older Children
Older children who have outgrown booster seats should
wear the vehicle's safety belts.If you have the choice, a child should sit next to a
window so the child can wear a lap-shoulder belt and
get the additional restraint a shoulder belt can provide.
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 ®t snugly below the hips, just touching
the top of the thighs. It should never be worn
over the abdomen, which could cause severe or
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.
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{CAUTION:
Never do this.
Here two children are wearing the same belt.
The belt can't properly spread the impact
forces. In a crash, the two children 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 the child is so small that the shoulder belt
is very close to the child's face or neck?
A:Move the child toward the center of the vehicle, but
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 belts provide. If the
child is sitting in a rear seat outside position, see
Rear Safety Belt Comfort Guides for Children and
Small Adults on page 1-42
. If the child is so small
that the shoulder belt is still very close to the child's
face or neck, you might want to place the child in a
seat that has a lap belt, if your vehicle has one.
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{CAUTION:
Never do this.
Here a child is sitting in a seat that has a
lap-shoulder belt, but the shoulder part is
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.
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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.
{CAUTION:
People should never hold a baby in their arms
while riding in a vehicle. A baby doesn't
weigh much -- until a crash. During a crash a
baby will become so heavy it is not possible
to hold it. For example, in a crash at only
25 mph (40 km/h), a 12-lb. (5.5 kg) baby will
suddenly become a 240-lb. (110 kg) force on
a person's arms. A baby should be secured in
an appropriate restraint.
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{CAUTION:
Children who are up against, or very close to,
any air bag when it in¯ates 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.
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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.
{CAUTION:
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
CAUTION: (Continued)
CAUTION: (Continued)
the strongest part of an infant's body, the back
and shoulders. Infants always should be
secured in appropriate infant restraints.
{CAUTION:
The body structure of a young child is quite
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.
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Child Restraint Systems
An infant car bed (A), a special bed made for use in
a motor vehicle, is an infant restraint system designed to
restrain or position a child on a continuous ¯at surface.
Make sure that the infant's head rests toward the
center of the vehicle.A rear-facing infant seat (B) provides restraint with
the seating surface against the back of the infant.
The harness system holds the infant in place and,
in a crash, acts to keep the infant positioned in
the restraint.
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A forward-facing child seat (C-E) provides restraint for
the child's body with the harness and also sometimes
with surfaces such as T-shaped or shelf-like shields.A booster seat (F-G) is a child restraint designed to
improve the ®t of the vehicle's safety belt system.
Some booster seats have a shoulder belt positioner,
and some high-back booster seats have a ®ve-point
harness. A booster seat can also help a child to
see out the window.
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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 ®ve-point harness
system has two shoulder straps, two hip straps and
a crotch strap. A shield may take the place of hipstraps. A T-shaped shield has shoulder straps that
are attached to a ¯at 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.
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
®nd these instructions on the restraint itself or in a
booklet, or both. These restraints use the belt system or
the LATCH 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.
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