belt PONTIAC FIREBIRD 1995 User Guide

@' What's wrong with this?
A: The belt is buckled in the wrong place.
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&.' What's wrong with this?
.,.'
A: The shoulder belt is worn under the arm. It should
be worn over the shoulder at all times.
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A: The belt is twisted across the body.
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To unlatch the belt, just push the button on the buckle.
The belt should go back oubof 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
(SIR) Air Bag System
This part explains the Supplemental Inflatable Restraint
(SIR), or akj bag,' system.
Your Pontiac has two
&r bags -- one air bag for the
driver
and another &r bag for the right front passenger.
Here are the most important things to
know about the air
bag system: ;.'j ...
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impacts, or rear impacts, because inflation would not
help the occupant.
It is possible that in a crash only one of the two air ,bags
in your Pontiac will deploy. This ishare, but
can happen
in a crash just severe enough to make an air bag inflate.
,, _.. . .> . .~
In any particular crash, no one can say whether an air
bag should have inflated simply because of the damage
to a vehicle or because
of what the repair costs were.
Inflation is determined by the angle of the impact and
the vehicle’s deceleration. Vehicle damage is only one
indication of this.
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 the air bag. The inflator, air bag, and
related hardware are all part of the air bag modules
packed inside the steering wheel and in the instrument
panel in front of the right front passenger.
How does an air bag restrain?
In moderate to severe frontal or near-frontal collisions,
,‘.\.,, evep . belted occqymts 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 gradhdly. But
air bags would not help you in many types
of kollisions,
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 anythingmore
than a supplement to safety belts, and then
od$ in
moderate to severe frontal or near-frontal colliiions.
What will you see after an air bag inflates?:.: 1 i
After the air bag inflates, it quickly deflates. &is occurs
so quickly that some people may not even realize 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 right front passenger’s bag, will
be hot for a short time, but the part
of the bag that comes
into contact with you will not be hot to the touch. There
will be some smoke and dust corning from vents in the
deflated air bags. Air bag inflation will not prevent the
driver from seeing
or from being able to steer the
vehicle, nor will it stop people from leaving the vehicle.
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In many crashes severe enough to inflate an air bag,
windshields
are broken by vehicle deformation.
Additional windshield breakage may also occur from the
right front passenger 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 another crash.
A new system will include air bag modules and
possibly other parts. The service manual for your
vehicle covers the need
to replace other parts.
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
driver’s safety
belt usage at deployment.
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 module in the steering wheel or both the air
bag module and the instrument panel for the
right front passenger’s air bag.
Do not open or
break the air bag covers.
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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 your vehicle. You don’t want the system to
inflate while someone is working on your vehicle. Your
Pontiac dealer and the
1995 Service Manual have
information about servicing your vehicle and the air bag
system.
To purchase a service manual, see “Service
Publications”
in the Index.
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.
The air bag system does not need regular maintenance.
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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 PQsition
The right front passenger’s safety belt works the same
way as the driver’s safety belt. See “Driver Position,”
earlier in this section.
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
out of the vehicle in a crash. And they can strike
in the vehicle who are wearing safety belts. thrown
~ others
Lap-Shoulder Belt
The rear seats have lap-shoulder belts. Here’s how to
wear one properly.
1. Pick uu the latch plate and pull the belt across you.
Don’t let it get twisted.
On convertible models, the shoulder belt may lock if
you pull the belt across you very quickly. If this
happens, let the belt go back slightly to unlock it.
Then pull the belt across you more slowly.
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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.
3. To make the
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,
On convertible m&dels, the safety belt also locks
if you
pull the belt very quickly out of the retractor.
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