PONTIAC BONNEVILLE 1997 Service Manual

I A CAUTION:
A child in a child restraint in the center front seat
can be badly injured by the right front passenger
air bag if it inflates. Never secure a child restraint
in the center front seat. It’s always better to
secure a child restraint in the rear seat.
You may,
however, secure a forward-facing child restraint
in the right front passenger seat, but only with
the seat moved
all the way back.
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.
Top Strap
If your child restraint has a top strap, it should be
anchored.
If you need to have an anchor installed, you
can ask your Pontiac dealer to put
it in for you. If you
want
to install an anchor yourself, your dealer can tell
you how to do it.
Canadian law requires that child restraints have a top
strap, and that the strap be anchored.
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If your child restraint has a top strap, your dealer can
obtain a kit with anchor hardware and installation
instructions specifically designed for this vehicle. The
dealer can then install the anchor for you. In Canada,
this work will be done for you free of charge. Or, you
may install the anchor yourself using the instructions
provided in the kit.
Securing a Child Restraint in a Rear
Outside Seat Position
1. Put the restraint on the seat. Follow the instructions
for the child restraint.
2. Secure the child in the child restraint as the
instructions say.
3. 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.
You’ll be using the lap-shoulder belt. See the earlier part
about the top strap if the child restraint has one.
4. Tilt the latch plate to adjust the belt if needed.
If the shoulder belt goes in front of the child’s face or
neck, put
it behind the child restraint.
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5. 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.
6. To tighten the belt, pull up on the shoulder belt while
you push down on the child restraint.
7. Push and pull the child restraint in different
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. directions to
be sure it is secure.
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Securing a Child Restraint in the Center
Rear Seat Position
You’ll be using the lap belt.
I
A child in a child restraint in the center front seat
can be badly injured by the right front passenger
air bag if it inflates. Never secure
a child restraint
in the center front seat.
It’s always better to
secure
a child restraint in the rear seat. You may,
however, secure
a forward-facing child restraint
in the right front passenger seat, but only with
the seat moved
all the way back.
See the earlier
part about the top strap if the child
restraint has one.
1. Make the belt as long as possible by tilting the latch
plate and pulling
it along the belt.
2. Put the restraint on the seat. Follow the instructions
for the child restraint.
3. Secure the child in the child restraint as the
instructions say.
4. Run the vehicle’s safety belt through or around the
restraint. The child restraint instructions will show
you
how.
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5. 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.
6. To tighten the belt, pull its free end while you push
down on the child restraint.
7. Push and pull the child restraint in different
directions to be sure
it is secure. If it isn’t, secure the
restraint in a different place in the vehicle and
contact the child restraint maker for their advice
about how to attach the child restraint properly.
To remove the child restraint, just unbuckle the vehicle’s
safety belt. It will be ready to work for an adult or larger
child passenger.
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Securing a Child Restraint in the Right
Front Seat Position
n
Your vehicle has a right front passenger air bag. Never
put a rear-facing child restraint in this seat. Here’s why:
U
A child in a rear-facing child restraint can be
seriously injured if the right front passenger’s air
bag inflates. This is because the back
of a
rear-facing child restraint would be very close
to
the inflating air bag. Always secure a rear-facing
child restraint in the rear seat.
You’ll be using the lap-shoulder belt. See the earlier part
about the top strap if the child restraint has one.
1. Because your vehicle has a right front passenger air
bag, always move the seat as far back as it will
go
before securing a forward-facing child restraint. (See
“Seats” in the Index.)
2. ht the restraint on the seat. Follow the instructions
for the child restraint.
3. Secure the child in the child restraint as the
instructions say.
4. 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.
If the shoulder belt goes in front of the child’s face or
neck, put it behind the child restraint.
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5. 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.
6. Pull the rest of the lap belt all the way out of the
retractor to set
the lock.
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7. To tighten the belt, feed the lap belt back into the
retractor while you push down on the child restraint.
8. Push and pull the child restraint in different
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.
directions
to be sure it is secure.
Larger Children
Children who have outgrown child restraints 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.
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Accident statistics show that children are safer if they
are restrained in the rear seat. But they need to use the
safety belts properly.
0 Children who aren’t buckled up can be thrown out in
a crash.
Children who aren’t buckled up can strike other
people who
are.
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.
A:
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?
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” in the Index. 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 the center seat position,
the one that has only a lap belt.
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A CAUTION:
Never do this.
Here
a child is sitting in a seat that has a
lap-shoulder belt, but the shoulder part is behinc
the child.
If the child wears the belt in this way, il
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.
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