PONTIAC FIREBIRD 1998 User Guide

Fully Articulating Sport Seat (If Equipped)
If your vehicle has these seats, the driver’s seat has the
four-way manual seat adjuster. See “4-Way Manual
Seat” earlier
in this part. The passenger seat has the
two-way manual seat adjuster. See “Manual Front Seat”
earlier
in this part.
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The switch pads on the outer side of the seats “inflate”
and “deflate” parts
of your seatback. The two buttons that have “dots” inflate and deflate the \
side bolster
of the seatback. To inflate, press the raised
button.
To deflate, press the indented button.
The two buttons without dots inflate and deflate the
lumbar (lower back area
of the seatback) support. To
inflate, press the raised button. To deflate, press the
indented button.
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Reclining Front Seatbacks
To adjust the seatback, lift the lever on the outer side of
the seat. Release the lever to lock the seatback where
you want it. Pull up on the lever and the seat will go to
its original upright position. If
you have fully articulating sport seats, your recliner
lever looks like this.
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But don't have a seatback reclined if your vehicle
is moving.
I A CAUTION:
Sitting in a reclined position when your vehicle is
in motion can
be dangerous. Even if you buckle
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 seatback folds
forward to let people get
into the back seat.
To fold a
seatback
forward, push the
seatback toward the rear as
you lift this latch. 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.
' A CAUTION:
If the seatback isn't 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 vehicle 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.
I A CAUTION:
A
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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 A CAUTION:
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.
Your vehicle has a light
that comes on as a reminder
to buckle up. (See “Safety
Belt Reminder Light” in
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the Index.) In most states and
Canadian provinces, the law says
to
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
30 years of safety belts in vehicles,
the facts are clear. In most crashes buckling up does
matter
... a lot!

Why Safety Belts Work
When you ride in or on anything, you go as fast as
it goes.
Take the simplest vehicle. Suppose it’s just a seat
on wheels.
Put someone on it.
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Get it up to speed. Then stop the vehicle. The rider
doesn’t stop. The
person keeps going until stopped by something.
In
a real vehicle, it could be the windshield ...
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or the instrument panel . . . 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
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
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 especially in side and other collisions.
wear safety belts?
@ 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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