belt PONTIAC FIREBIRD 1997 Owners Manual

The 1997 Pontiac Firebird Owner’s Manual
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Seats and Restraint Systems
This section tells you how to use your seats and safety belts\
properly. It also explains the “SRS” system.
Features and Controls
This section explains how to start and operate your Pontiac.
Comfort Controls and Audio Systems
This section tells you how to adjust the ventilation and comfo\
rt controls and how to operate your audio system.
Your Driving and the Road
Here you’ll find helpful information and tips about the road\
and how to drive under different conditions.
Problems on the Road
This section tells what to do if you have a problem while driving, such as a flat tire or overheated engine, etc.
Service and Appearance Care
Here the manual tells you how to keep your Pontiac running properly and\
looking good.
Maintenance Schedule
This section tells you when to perform vehicle maintenance and \
what fluids and lubricants to use.
Customer Assistance Information
This section tells you how to contact Pontiac for assistance a\
nd how to get service and owner publications.
It also gives you information
on “Reporting Safety Defects” on page 8-10.
9-1 Index
Here’s an alphabetical listing of almost every subject in this manual. You can use it to quickly find
something
you want to read.

Vehicle Symbols
These are some of the symbols you may find on your vehicle.
For example,
these symbols
are used on an
original battery:
POSSIBLE A
CAUTION
INJURY
PROTECT EYES BY
SHIELDING
CAUSTIC
ACID COULD BATTERY
CAUSE
BURNS
AVOID
SPARKS
OR
FLAMES
FLAME
EXPLODE BATTERY
These symbols are important
for you and
your passengers
whenever your
vehicle
is
driven:
DOOR LOCK
UNLOCK
FASTEN SEAT
BELTS
.i)
AIR BAG p
These symbols
have to do with
your lamps:
SIGNALS 6
TURN
PARKING
PC LAMPS
FOG LAMPS
$0
These symbols
are on some
of
your controls:
WINDSHIELD
DEFROSTER
WINDOW
DEFOGGER
VENTILATING FAN
These symbols are used on
warning and
indicator lights:
COOLANT -
TEMP -
CHARGING BATTERY
SYSTEM
BRAKE
(0)
COOLANT a
ENGINE OIL w,
PRESSURE
ANTI-LOCK
(@)
BRAKES
Here are some
other symbols
you
may see:
FUSE
LIGHTER
1
HORN )cT
SPEAKER
b
FUEL p3

v Section 1 Seats and Restraint Systems
Here you’ll find information about the seats in your Pontiac and how to use your safety belts properly. You can also
learn about some things you should not do with air bags and safety belts.
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Seats and Seat Controls
Safety Belts: They’re for Everyone
Here Are Questions Many People
Ask
About Safety Belts -- and the Answers
How to Wear Safety Belts Properly
Driver Position
Safety Belt Use During Pregnancy
Right Front Passenger Position
Supplemental Restraint System (SRS) 1-27 Rear Seat Passengers
1-30 Children
1-32 Child Restraints 1-38 Larger Children
1-41 Safety Belt Extender
1-41 Checking Your Restraint Systems
1-41 Replacing Restraint System Parts After a
Crash

r
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up, your safety belts can’t do their job when
you’re reclined like this.
The shoulder belt can’t do
its job. In a crash you
could
go into it, receiving neck or other injuries.
The lap belt can’t
do its job either. In a crash the
belt could
go up over your abdomen. The belt
forces would be there, not at your pelvic bones.
This could
cause serious internal injuries.
For proper protection when the vehicle is in
motion, have
the seatback upright. Then sit well
back in the seat and
wear your safety belt properly.
Head Restraints
Slide the head restraint up or down so that the top of the
restraint is closest to the
top of your ears. This position
reduces
the chance of a neck injury in a crash.
On some models, the head restraints tilt forward and
rearward also.
Front Seatback Latches
The front seatbacks fold
forward to let people get
into the back seat, To fold a
seatback forward, lift the
latch located on the lower
backside of the seatback.
Then
the seatback will
fold forward.
When you return the seatback to its original position,
make ,sure the seatback
is locked. The latch must be
down for the seat to work properly,
If the seatback isnlt locked, it could move
forward in a sudden stop
or crash. That could
cause injury to the person sitting there.
Always
press rearward on the seatback to be sure it
is locked.
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Folding Rear Seatback
The rear seatback in your Pontiac folds down to provide more storage space.
To fold the seatback down:
1. Pull forward on both levers.
2. Fold the seatback down.
To raise the seatback:
1. Pull it up to the locked, upright position.
2. Be sure both latches hold the seatback in place. Have
them fixed if they don’t.
Safety Belts: They’re for Everyone
This part of the manual tells you how to use safety belts
properly. It also tells you some things
you should not do
with safety belts.
And it explains the Supplemental Restraint System (SRS),
or air bag system.
Don’t let anyone ride where he or she can’t wear
a safety belt properly. If you are in a crash and
you’re not wearing a safety belt, your injuries
can be much worse.
You can hit things inside the
vehicle or be ejected from
it. You can be seriously
injured or killed.
In the same crash, you might
not be
if you are buckled up. Always fasten your
safety belt, and check that your passengers’ belts
are fastened properly too.
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I
It is extremely dangerous to ride in a cargo area,
inside or outside of a vehicle. In a collision,
people riding in these areas are more likely to
be
seriously injured or killed. Do not allow people to
ride in any area of your vehicle that is not
equipped with seats and safety belts, Be sure
everyone in your vehicle is in
a seat and using a
safety belt properly.
I comes on as a reminder to
buckle up.
(See “Safety
Belt Reminder Light” in
the Index.) In
most states and Canadian provinces, the law says to
I wear safety belts. Here’s why: They work.
You never know if you’ll be in a crash. If you do have a
crash, you don’t know if it will be a bad one.
A few crashes are mild, and some crashes can be so
serious that even buckled up a person wouldn’t survive.
But most crashes are in between. In many
of them,
people who buckle up can survive and sometimes walk
away. Without belts they could have been badly hurt
or killed.
After more
than 25 yt;ars of safety belts in vehicles,
the facts are clear. In most crashes buckling up does
matter
... a lot!
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Why Safety Belts Work
When you ride in or on mydung, you go as fast as it goes.
Take the simplest vehicle. Suppose it’s just a seat on wheels.
I
Put someone on it.
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or the instrument Dane1 ... or the safety belts!
With safety belts,
you slow down as the vehicle does.
You get more time to stop. You stop over more distance,
and your strongest bones take the
forces. That’s why
safety belts make
such good sense.
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Here Are Questions Many People Ask
About Safety Belts -- and the Answers
QZ Won’t I be trapped in the vehicle after an
accident if
I’m wearing a safety belt?
A: You could be -- whether you’re wearing a safety
belt or not. But you can unbuckle a safety belt,
even
if you’re upside down. And your chance of
being conscious during and after an accident, so
you can unbuckle and get out, is much greater if
you are belted.
If my vehicle has air bags, why should I have to
wear safety belts?
A: Air bags are in many vehicles today and will be in
most of them in the future. But they are
supplemental systems only;
so they work with
safety belts -- not instead of them. Every air bag
system ever offered for sale has required the use of
safety belts.
Even if you’re in a vehicle that has air
bags, you still have to buckle up to get the most
protection. That’s true not only in frontal collisions,
but esp’ecially in side and other collisions.
If I’m a good driver, and I never drive far from
home, why should I wear safety belts?
A: You may be an excellent driver, but if you’re in an
accident
-- even one that isn’t your fault -- you and
your passengers
can be hurt. Being a good driver
doesn’t protect you
from things beyond your
control, such
as bad drivers.
Most accidents occur within
25 miles (40 km) of
home. And the greatest number of serious injuries
and deaths occur at speeds
of less than 40 mph
(65 km/h).
Safety belts are for everyone.
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How to Wear Safety Belts Properly
Adults
This part is only for people of adult size.
Be aware that there are special things to know about safety
belts and children. And there are different rules for smaller
children and babies.
If a child will be riding in your
Pontiac, see
the part of this manual called “Children.”
Follow
those rules for everyone’s protection.
First, you’ll want to know which restraint systems your
vehicle has.
We’ll start with the driver position.
Driver Position
This part describes the driver’s restraint system.
Lap-Shoulder Belt
The driver has a lap-shoulder belt. Here’s how to wear
it properly.
1. Close and lock the door.
2. Adjust the seat (to see how, see “Seats” in the Index)
so you can sit up straight.
3.
4.
Pick up 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.
Push
the latch plate into the buckle until it clicks.
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