child restraint PONTIAC FIREBIRD 2000 Owners Manual

Table of Contents
Keys and Door Locks
Remote Keyless Entry (RKE) System
Hatch
Automatic Transmission (If Equipped)
Manual Transmission Operation (If Equipped)
Parking Brake
Windows
Tilt Wheel
Turn Signal/Multifunction LeverWindshield Wipers
Cruise Control
Interior and Exterior Lamps
Mirrors
Storage Compartments
Cargo Cover
Accessory Power Outlet
Instrument Panel, Warning Lights and Gages Seats and Seat Controls
Safety BeltsAir Bag System
Child Restraints
Section
1
Section
2
Seats and Restraint Systems
Features and Controls
ii

1-
1-1
Section 1 Seats and Restraint Systems
Here you'll find information about the seats in your vehicle 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.
1
-2 Seats and Seat Controls
1
-7 Safety Belts: They're for Everyone
1
-12 Here Are Questions Many People Ask About
Safety Belts
-- and the Answers
1
-13 How to Wear Safety Belts Properly
1
-13 Driver Position
1
-20 Safety Belt Use During Pregnancy
1
-21 Right Front Passenger Position
1
-21 Supplemental Restraint System (SRS)1
-28 Rear Seat Passengers
1
-31 Children
1
-34 Child Restraints
1
-45 Larger Children
1
-48 Safety Belt Extender
1
-48 Checking Your Restraint Systems
1
-48 Replacing Restraint System Parts
After a Crash

1-13
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
vehicle, see the part of this manual called ªChildren.º
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 ªSeatsº in the Index)
so you can sit up straight.
3. 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.
4. Push the latch plate into the buckle until it clicks.

1-22
CAUTION:
Air bags inflate with great force, faster than the
blink of an eye. If you're too close to an inflating
air bag, as you would be if you were leaning
forward, it could seriously injure you. Safety
belts help keep you in position before and during
a crash. Always wear your safety belt, even with
air bags. The driver should sit as far back as
possible while still maintaining control of
the vehicle.
CAUTION:
Anyone who is up against, or very close to, any
air bag when it inflates can be seriously injured
or killed. Air bags plus lap
-shoulder belts offer
the best protection for adults, 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. To read how, see the part of this manual
called ªChildren.º

1-31
To unlatch the belt, just push the button on the buckle.
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
CAUTION:
Children who are up against, or very close to, any
air bag when it inflates can be seriously injured or
killed. Air bags plus lap
-shoulder belts offer the
best protection for adults, 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.

1-32
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 frontal 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.

1-34
Child Restraints
Every time infants and young children ride in
vehicles, they should have protection provided by
appropriate restraints.
Q:What are the different types of add-on
child restraints?
A:Add-on child restraints are available in four basic
types. When selecting a child restraint, take into
consideration not only the child's weight and size,
but also whether or not the restraint will be
compatible with the motor vehicle in which it
will be used.
An infant car bed (A) is a special bed made for use
in a motor vehicle. It's an infant restraint system
designed to restrain or position a child on a
continuous flat surface. With an infant car bed,
make sure that the infant's head rests toward the
center of the vehicle.

1-36
A forward-facing child restraint (C-E) positions
a child upright to face forward in the vehicle.
These forward
-facing restraints are designed to
help protect children who are from 20 to 40 lbs.
(9 to 18 kg) and about 26 to 40 inches
(66 to 102 cm) in height, or up to around four
years of age. One type, a convertible restraint, is
designed to be used either as a rear
-facing infant
seat or a forward
-facing child seat.

1-37
A booster seat (F) is designed for children who
are about 40 to 60 lbs., or even up to 80 lbs.
(18 to 27 kg, or even up to 36 kg), and about four
to eight years of age. A booster seat is designed to
improve the fit of the vehicle's safety belt system.
Booster seats with shields use lap
-only belts;
however, booster seats without shields use
lap
-shoulder belts. Booster seats can also help a
child to see out the window.When choosing a child restraint, be sure the child
restraint is designed to be used in a vehicle. If it is, it
will have a label saying that it meets federal motor
vehicle safety standards.
Then follow the instructions for the restraint. You may
find these instructions on the restraint itself or in a
booklet, or both. These restraints use the belt system in
your vehicle, but the child also has to be secured within
the restraint to help reduce the chance of personal injury.
The instructions that come with the infant or child
restraint will show you how to do that. Both the owner's
manual and the child restraint instructions are important,
so if either one of these is not available, obtain a
replacement copy from the manufacturer.

1-38 Where to Put the Restraint
Accident statistics show that children are safer if they
are restrained in the rear rather than the front seat. We at
General Motors therefore recommend that you put your
child restraint in the rear seat. Never put a rear
-facing
child restraint in the front passenger seat. Here's why:
CAUTION:
A child in a rear-facing child restraint can be
seriously injured or killed if the right front
passenger's air bag inflates. This is because the
back of the rear
-facing child restraint would be
very close to the inflating air bag. Always secure
a rear
-facing child restraint in a rear seat.
CAUTION: (Continued)
CAUTION: (Continued)
You may secure a forward-facing child restraint
in the right front seat, but before you do, always
move the front passenger seat as far back as it
will go. It's better to secure the child restraint in
a rear seat.
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.