PONTIAC BONNEVILLE 1998 Owner's Guide

If your vehicle ever gets into a lot of water -- such as
water up to the carpeting or higher
-- or if water enters
your vehicle and soaks the carpet, the air bag controller
can be soaked and ruined. If this ever happens, and then
you
start your vehicle, the damage could make the air
bags inflate, even if there’s no crash. You would have to
replace the air bags
as well as the sensors and related
parts.
If your vehicle is ever in a flood, or if it’s exposed
to water that
soaks the carpet, you can avoid needless
repair costs by turning
off the vehicle immediately.
Don’t let anyone start the vehicle, even to tow it, unless
the battery cables are first disconnected.
Servicing Your Air Bag-Equipped Vehicle
Air bags affect how your vehicle should be serviced.
There are
parts of the air bag system in several places
around your vehicle. You don’t want the system to
inflate while someone
is working on your vehicle. Your
dealer and the Bonneville Service Manual have
information about servicing
your vehicle and the air bag
system.
To purchase a service manual, see “Service and
Owner Publications” in the Index.
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For up to 10 minutes after the ignition key is
turned
off and the battery is disconnected, an air
bag can still inflate during improper service. You
can be injured
if you are close to an air bag when
it inflates. Avoid yellow connectors. They are
probably part
of the air bag system. Be sure to
follow proper service procedures, and make sure
the person performing work for you
is qualified
to do so.
The air bag system does not need regular maintenance.
Center Passenger Position
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Lap Belt
If your vehicle has front and rear bench seats, someone
can sit in the center positions.
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 as shown until
the belt is snug.
Buckle, position and release it the same way as the lap
part of a lap-shoulder belt. If the belt isn’t long enough,
see “Safety Belt Extender” at the end of this section.
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.

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 in 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.
Lap-Shoulder Belt
The positions next to
the windows have lap-shoulder
belts. Here’s how to wear one DroDerly.
Rear Seat Outside Passenger Positions
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1. Pick up the latch plate and pull the belt across you.
Don’t let it get twisted.
2. Push the latch plate into the buckle until it clicks.
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If the belt stops before it reaches the buckle, tilt the
latch plate and keep pulling until you can buckle
it.
Pull up on the latch plate to make sure it is secure.
If the belt is not long enough, see “Safety Belt
Extender” at the end of
this section. 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.
b
3. To make the lap part tight, pull down on the buckle
end of the belt as you pull up on the shoulder
part.
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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.
The safety belt locks if there’s a sudden stop or a crash.
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You can be seriously hurt if your shoulder belt is
too loose. In a crash, you would move forward
too much, which could increase injury. The
shoulder
belt should fit against your body.
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To unlatch the belt, just push the button on the buckle.
Rear Safety Belt Comfort Guides for
Children and Small Adults
Rear shoulder belt comfort guides will provide added
safety belt comfort for children who have outgrown
child restraints and for small adults. When installed on a
shoulder belt, the comfort guide pulls the belt away
from the neck and head. There is one guide for each outside passenger position
in
the rear seat.
To provide added safety belt comfort for
children who have outgrown child restraints and
for
smaller adults, the comfort guides may be installed on
the shoulder belts. Here’s how to install a comfort guide
and use the safety belt:
1. Pull the elastic cord out from between the edge of
the seatback and the interior body to remove the
guide from its storage clip.

2. Slide the guide under and past the belt. The elastic
cord must be under the belt. Then, place the guide
over the belt, and insert the two edges
of the belt into
the slots
of the guide.
3. Be sure that the belt is not twisted and it lies flat. The
elastic cord must
be under the belt and the guide
on top.
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4. Buckle, position and release the safety belt as
described in “Rear Seat Outside Passenger Positions’’
earlier in this section. Make sure that the shoulder
belt crosses the shoulder.
To remove and store the comfort guides, squeeze the belt
edges together so that you can take them out Erom the
guides.
Pull the guide upward to expose its storage clip,
and
then slide the guide onto the clip. Rotate the guide and
clip inward and in between
the seatback and the interior
body, leaving only the loop of elastic cord exposed.
Children
Everyone in a vehicle needs protection! That includes
infants and all children smaller than adult size. 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.
Smaller Children and Babies
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A CAUTION:
- -
Children who are up against, or very close to, any
air bag when it inflates can be seriously injured or
killed. This is true even though your vehicle has
reduced-force fmntal
air bags. Air bags plus
lap-shoulder belts offer the best 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.
Always secure children properly in your vehicle.
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’ A CAUTION:
Smaller children and babies should always be restrained
in a child or infant restraint. The
instructions for the restraint
will say whether it is
the right type and size for your child.
A very
young child’s
hip bones are so small that a
regular belt might not stay low on the hips, as it
should. Instead, the belt
will likely be over the
child’s abdomen.
In a crash, the belt would apply
force right on the child’s abdomen,
which could
cause serious or fatal injuries. So, be sure that
any child small enough for one is always properly
restrained
in a child or infant restraint.
Infants need complete support, including support for the
head and neck.
This is necessary because an 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 restraint settles into the restraint,
so the crash
forces can be distributed across the strongest part of the
infant’s body, the back
and shoulders. A baby should be
secured in an appropriate infant restraint. This is so
important that many hospitals today won’t release a
newborn infant to its parents unless there is
an infant
restraint available
for the baby’s first trip in a
motor vehicle.
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Never hold a baby in your arms while riding in a
vehicle. A baby doesn’t weigh much -- until a
crash. During a crash a baby will become so
heavy you can’t hold it. For example, in a crash
CAUTION: (Continued) at
only 25 mph
(40 km/h), a 12-1b. (5.5 kg) baby
will suddenly become a 2404b. (110 kg) force on
your arms. The baby would be almost impossible
to hold.
Secure the baby in an infant restraint.
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