PONTIAC GRAND-AM 1993 User Guide

Seats & Safety 6elts
Manual Reclining Seatback
To adjust the seatback, lift the lever on
the outer side
of the seat and move the
seatback where
you want it. Release the
lever to lock the seatback.
Pull
up on the lever and the seat will go
to an upright position.
Don’t have a seatback reclined,
however, if
your vehicle is moving.
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Sitting in a reclined position when your vehicle is in motion can be
- b 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 because it won’t be against your body.
Instead, it will be in front
of you. In a crash you could go into it, receiving
neck
or other injuries.
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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.
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Head Restraints
Head restraints are fixed on some
vehicles and adjustable on others. Slide
an adjustable 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
(2-DOOR MODELS)
The front seatback folds forward to let
people get into the back seat. Your
seatback will move back and forth
freely, unless you come to a sudden
stop, Then it will lock into place.
There's one time the
front seats may not
fold without some help from you. That's
if your vehicle is parked facing down a
fairly steep hill.
To fold a front seatback forward, push
the seatback toward the rear seat as you
lift this latch. Then the seatback will
fold forward. The latcH must be down
for the seat to work properly.
Easy-Entry Seat
(2-DOOR MODELS)
The right front seat of your vehicle
makes it easy to get in and out of the
rear seat.
When you tilt the right front seatback
fully forward, the whole seat will slide
forward.
After someone gets into the rear seat
area, move the right front seatback to
its original position. Then move the
seat rearward until it
locks.
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Seats & Safety 6elts
Easy-Entry Seat (CONT.)
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If an easy-entry right fronl
seat isn’t locked,
it can move.
In a sudden stop or crash, the
person sitting there could be
injured. After you’ve used it, be
sure to push rearward
on an easy-
entry seat
to be sure it is locked.
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To get out, again tilt the seatback fully
forward.
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Split Fold-Down Rear Seat
(OPTION)
To Open:
Pull forward on the seat tab.
To Close:
Push the seatback up to its original
position.
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Push the seatback solidly up against the
back plate to ensure inertial latch will
hook and lock securely during sudden
stops.
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.
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Don’t let anyone ride where
they 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. This figure lights up when
you
turn the
key to
Run or Start when your safety
belt isn’t buckled, and you’ll hear a
chime, too. It’s the reminder to buckle
up. In many 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 very mild. In them,
you won’t get hurt even if you’re not
buckled up.
And some crashes can be so
serious, like being hit by a train, 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 be
badly hurt or killed.
After
25 years of safety belts in vehicles,
the facts are clear. In most crashes
buckling up does matter.
. . a lot!
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Seats & Safety 6elts
I4
Why Safety Belts Work
When you ride in or on anything, you
go as fast as it goes.
1. For example, if the bike is going
10 mph (16 km/h), so is the child.
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2. When the bike hits the block, it
stops.
But the child keeps going!
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3. Take the simplest “car.” Suppose
it’s just a seat
on wheels.
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4. Put someone on it.
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5. Get it up to speed. Then stop the
“car.” The rider doesn’t stop.
7. or the instrument panel.. . I 8. or the safety belts!
6. The person keeps going until
stopped
by something. In a real
vehicle,
it could be the
windshield..
.
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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Seats & Safety 6elts
Here Are Questions Many People
Ask About Safety Belts-
and the Answers
Q: Won’t I be trapped in the vehicle
after
an accident if I’m wearing a
safety belt?
wearing a safety belt or not. But you
can easily 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.
A: You could be-whether you’re
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Q: Why don’t they just put in air
bags
so people won’t have to wear
safety belts?
Inflatable Restraint systems, are in
some vehicles today and will be in
more 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.
A: ‘Air bags,” or Supplemental
Q: If I’m a good driver, and I never
drive far from home, why should
I
wear safety belts?
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.
A: You may be an excellent driver, but
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Safety Belt Warning Llght
When the key is turned to Run or Start,
a chime will come on for about eight
seconds to remind people to fasten their
safety belts, unless the driver’s safety
belt is buckled. The safety belt light
will
also come on and stay on for about a
minute. If the driver’s belt
is buckled,
neither the chime nor the light
will
come on.
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If your s&ty belt light ever
comes on or stays on after the
hnt doors are closed and the
driver‘s belt is buckled, We your
vehicle €ked.
If you don’t, you might not have
the protection you’d need in a
crash.
I How to Wear Safety Belts
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T
si
Properly-Adults
~~
his section is only for people of adult
ze.
i There are special things to
1 how about safety belts and
children, And there are different
des for babies and smaller
children, If a child will be riding
in your Pontiac, see the Idex
under Children aptd Sufety Belts.
Eollow 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.
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Seats & Safety 6elts
1
Vehicles First Sold in Canada
Was your Pontiac first sold, when new,
in Canada? (If it was, a sticker on the
driver’s door will say “conforms to
all
applicable Canada motor vehicle. . . ’7
etc.) If so, then the rest of Part 1 does
not apply to your vehicle.
To learn how to use your safety belts,
please read the
Owner’s Manual
Safety Belt Supplement.
It comes with
every new Pontiac first sold in Canada.
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Driver Position
This section describes the driver’s
restraint system.
Automatic Lap-Shoulder Belt
This safety belt is called “automatic”
because you don’t have to buckle up
when you get into your vehicle.
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And you don’t have to unbuckle when
you get out.
Just get into your vehicle. Then close and lock the door. Adjust the seat (to see
how, see the
Index under Seat Controls)
so you can sit up straight. The lap
belt should be worn as low on
the hips as possible. 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. It’s
possible that an automatic belt could
keep you from fully opening a door.
That can happen
if the door was
slammed shut very hard. Just close the
door all the way, then slowly open it. If
that doesn’t
fix it, then your Pontiac
needs service.
We hope you will always keep your
automatic belt buckled. However,
you
may need to unbuckle it in an
emergency.
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