PONTIAC BONNEVILLE 1994 Owner's Manual

Seats & Restraint Systems
t
Lap-Shoulder Belt (CONT.)
To unlatch the belt, just push the button
on the buckle. The belt should go back
out of the way.
Before you close the door, be sure the belt
is out of
the way. If you slam the door on
it,
you can damage both the belt and your
vehicle.
Supplemental
Inflatable Restraint
System (Air Bags)
This section explains the Supplemental
Inflatable Restraint (SIR), or “air bag,”
system. Your
Pontiac has an
air bag for both the
driver and the right-front passenger.
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Here are the most important things to
know:
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Seats & Restraint Systems
INFLATABLE
RESTRAINT
9ir Bag Readiness Light
’here is an air bag readiness light on the
xtrument panel, which shows
INFLATABLE RESTRAINT”. The
ystem checks for electrical malfunctions,
nd the light tells you
if there is a problem.
’ou will see this light flash for a few
xonds when
you turn your ignition to,
Run” or “Start”. Then the light should gc
ut, which means the system is ready.
.emember, if the air bag readiness light
oesn’t come on when you start your
ehicle, or stays on, or comes
on when
ou are driving, your air bag system may
ot work properly. Have your vehicle xviced right away.
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I
HOW The Air Bag System When is an air bag expected to inflate?
moderate to severe frontal or near-frontal
Works The air bag is designed to inflate in
Where is the air bag? crashes. The air bag will only inflate if the
The driver’s air bag is
in the middle of the
steering wheel. The right-front
passenger’s air bag is located
in the
instrument panel
on the passenger’s side. velocity
of the impact is above the
designed threshold level. When impacting straight into a wall that does not move or
deform, the threshold level for most GM
vehicles is between 9 and 15 mph
(14 and 23 km/h). However, this velocity
threshold depends on the vehicle design
and may be several miles-per-hour faster or slower. In addition, this threshold
velocity will be considerably higher
if the
vehicle strikes an object such as a parked
car which will move and deform on impact. The air bag is also not designed to
inflate
in rollovers, side impacts, or rear
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impacts where the inflation would provide
no occupant protection benefit.
It is possible that
in a crash, only one of
the two air bags in your Bonneville will
deploy. This is rare, but can happen
in a
crash just severe enough to make an air
bag inflate.
In any particular crash, the determination
of whether the air bag should have
inflated cannot be based solely on the
level
of damage on the vehicle(s).
Inflation is determined by the angle of the
impact and the vehicle’s deceleration, of
which vehicle damage is only one
indication. Repair cost is not a good
indicator of whether an air bag should
have deployed.
What makes an air bag inflate?
In a frontal or near-frontal impact of
sufficient severity, the air bag sensing
system detects that the vehicle
is suddenly
stopping as a result of a crash. The
sensing system triggers a chemical
reaction of the sodium azide sealed in the
inflator. The reaction produces nitrogen
gas, which inflates a cloth bag. The
inflator, cloth bag, and related hardware
are all part of the air bag inflator modules packed
inside the steering wheel and
in
the instrument panel in front of the
passenger.
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. The air bag
supplements 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 provide protection in many
types of collisions, including rollovers
and rear and side impacts, primarily
because an occupant’s motion is not
toward the air bag. Air bags should never
be regarded as anything more than a
supplement to safety belt protection
in
moderate to severe frontal and
near-frontal collisions.
What will you see after an air bag
inflation?
After the air bag has inflated, it will then
quickly deflate. This occurs
so quickly
that some people may not even realize
that 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
passenger’s bag may be hot for a short
time, but the portion of the bag that comes
into contact with you will not be hot to
the touch. There will be small amounts of
smoke and dust coming from vents in the
deflated air bags. The air bag will
not
impede the driver’s vision or ability to
steer the vehicle, nor will it hinder the
occupants from exiting the vehicle.
In many crashes severe enough to inflate
an air bag, windshields are broken by
vehicle deformation. Additional
windshield breakage may occur in
vehicles with passenger air bags because
the windshield acts as a reac’lion surface
for the inflating air bag.
The 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 anpther crash.
A new
system will include air bag modules
and possibly other parts. The service
manual has information about the
need to replace other parts.
C
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Seats & Restraint Systems
How The Air Bag System
Works (CONK)
e
e
Your vehicle is equipped with a
diagnostic module, which records
information about the air bag system.
The module records information about
the readiness of the system, when the
sensors are activated and whether the
driver’s safety belt was in use.
Let only qualified technicians work on
your air bag system. Improper service
can mean that your air bag system
won’t work properly. See your dealer
for service.
NOTICE:
If you damage the cover for the
driver’s or
the right-front
passenger’s air bag, they may not
work properly. You may have to
replace the air bag on the steering
wheel or both the air bag and the
instrument panel for the passenger’s
air bag.
Do not open or break the air
bag covers.
Is the smoke from an air bag inflation
harmful?
The particles emitted during air bag
inflation are not harmful to most people.
Some people with respiratory ailments
may experience difficulty breathing if they
stay
in the vehicle with the windows
closed after air bag inflation.
So, if your air
bag inflates,
you and any passengers
should exit the vehicle
if and when it is
safe to
do so. If you or your passengers
can’t get out of
the vehicle, try to get fresh
air by opening a window, turning on the
fan, or opening a door.
Servicing Your Air
Bag-Equipped Pontiac
Air bags affect how your Pontiac should
be serviced. There are parts of the air bag
system in several places around xour
vehicle. You don’t want the system to
inflate while someone is working on your
vehicle. Your Pontiac dealer and the
1994
Bonneville Service Manual have
information about servicing your vehicle
and the air bag system. The air bag
system does not need regular
maintenance.
Safety Belt Use During
Pregnancy
Safety belts work for everyone, including
pregnant women. Like all occupants, they
are more likely to be seriously injured if
they don’t wear safety belts.
A pregnant woman should wear a
lap-shoulder belt, and the lap portion should be worn as low as possible
throughout the pregnancy.
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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
The right front passenger’s safety belt
works the same way as the driver’s safety
belt. See “Driver Position,” earlier
in this
part.
When the lap portion of the belt is pulled
out all the way,
it will lock. If it does, let
it go back all the way and start again.
If your vehicle has a center passenger
position,
be sure to use the correct buckle
when buckling your lap-shoulder belt. If
you find that the latch plate
will not go
fully into the buckle, see if you are using
the buckle for the center passenger position
Center Passenger
Position
gp Belt
four vehicle has a front split seat and a
.r bench seat, someone can sit
in the
iter positions.
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Seats & Restraint Systems
i Certter Passenger
Position
(CONK)
When you sit in a center seating position,
you have a lap safety belt, which has no
retractor. To make the belt longer, tilt the
latch plate and pull
it along the belt.
To make the belt shorter, pull its free end
1s shown
until the belt is snug.
3uckle, position and release it the same
yay
as the lap part of a lap-shoulder belt.
f the belt isn’t long enough, see “Safety
3eit Extender” at the end of this section.
4ake sure the release button
on the
juckle
is positioned so you would be able
:o unbuckle the safety belt quickly if you
:ver had to.
i 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
iri 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.
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Seats & Restraint Systems
~ ~~
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 to slide under the
lap belt. If
you slid under
it, the belt 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. stop or a crash.
0 To
unlatch the belt, just push the
button on the buckle.
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Children
Everyone in a vehicle needs protection!
That includes infants and all children smaller than adult size.
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.
Smaller Children and Babies
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