seats PONTIAC GRAND AM 1997 Owners Manual

7 The 1997 Pontiac Grand Am 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 comfort 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 and how to get service and owner publications.
It also gives you information on “Reporting Safety Defects” on page
8- 10.
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.
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Section 1 Seats and Restraint Systems
1-2 Seats and Seat Controls
1-7 Safety Belts: They’re for Everyone
1 - 12 Here Are Questions Many People Ask About
1-13 How to Wear Safety Belts Properly
1-20 Safety Belt Use During Pregnancy
Safety Belts
-- and
the Answers
1-13 Driver Position
1-21 Right Front Passenger Position
1-21 Supplemental Restraint System (SRS)
1-27 Rear Seat Passengers
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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1-35
1-37 1-45
1-48
1-48
1-48 Rear Safety Belt
Comfort Guides for Children
and Small Adults
Center Passenger Position
Children
Child Restraints
Larger Children Safety Belt Extender
Checking Your Restraint Systems
Replacing Restraint System Parts After
a Crash
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Seats and Seat Controls
This section tells you about the seats -- how to
adjust them
-- and also about reclining seatbacks and
head restraints.
Manual Seats
You can lose control of the vehicle if you try to
adjust
a manual driver’s seat while the vehicle is
moving. The sudden movement could startle and
confuse you, or make you push
a pedal when you
don’t want to. Adjust the driver’s seat only when
the vehicle is not moving. Move the control lever under the front
of the seat to
unlock
it. Slide the seat to where you want it. Then
release the lever and
try to move the seat with your
I body, to make sure the-seat is locked into place.
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Rear Seats
Folding the Rear Seat (If Equipped)
To open, pull forward on the seat tab.
To close, push the seatback up to its original position.
Push the seatback completely up against the back plate
to ensure that the latch will hook.
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.
A CAUTION:
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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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
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 25 years of safety belts in vehicles,
the facts are clear. In most crashes buckling up does
matter
... a lot!
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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. Pick up the latch plate and pull the belt across you.
4. Push the latch plate into the buckle until it clicks.
Don’t
let it get twisted.
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Securing a Child Restraint in the Right
Front Seat Position
Your vehicle has a right front passenger air bag. Never
put a rear-facing child restraint in this seat. Here’s why:
A CAUTION:
A child in a rear-facing child restraint can be
seriously injured if the right front passenger’s air
bag inflates. This is because the back of a
rear-facing child restraint would be very close to
the inflating air bag. Always secure a rear-facing
child restraint in the rear seat.
You’ll be using the lap-shoulder belt. See the earlier part
about the top strap
if the child restraint has one.
1. Because your vehicle has a right front passenger air
bag, always move the seat as
far back as it will go
before securing a forward-facing child restraint. (See
“Seats” in the Index.)
2. Put the restraint on the seat. Follow the instructions
for the child restraint.
3. Secure the child in the child restraint as the
instructions say.
4. Pick up the latch plate, and run the lap and shoulder
portions
of the vehicle’s safety belt through or
around the restraint.
The child restraint instructions
will show you how.
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Automatic Transaxle Operation
Your Pontiac may be equipped with a four-speed
automatic transaxle. The shift lever is located on the
console between the seats.
There are seven different
positions for the shift
lever
on the four-speed
N
[Dl
3
automatic transaxle.
PARK (P): This locks your front wheels. It’s the best
position
to use when you start your engine because your
vehicle can’t move easily.
A CAUTION:
It is dangerous to get out of your vehicle if the
shift lever is not fully in
PARK (P) with the
parking brake firmly set. Your vehicle can roll.
Don’t leave your vehicle when the engine
is
running unless you have to. If you have left the
engine running, the vehicle can move suddenly.
You or others could be injured. To be sure your
vehicle won’t move, even when you’re on fairly
level ground, always set your parking brake and
move the shift lever to
PARK (P).
See “Shifting Into PARK (P)” in the Index. If
you’re pulling a trailer, see “Towing a Trailer’’ in
the Index.
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Ventilation System
Use when outside temperatures are mild, and little
heating or cooling
is needed. Turn the right knob to
VENT. Airflow is directed through the instrument panel
outlets. Set the center knob to the temperature desired.
Your Pontiac’s flow-through ventilation system supplies
outside air into the vehicle when it is moving. Outside
air will also enter the vehicle when the heater or the air
conditioning fan is running.
Adjust the direction
of
airflow by moving the
louvered vents.
Ventilation Tips
0 Keep the hood and front air inlet free of ice, snow or
any other obstruction (such as leaves). The heater
and defroster will work far better, reducing the
chance of fogging the inside
of your windows.
When you enter a vehicle in cold weather, turn the
fan control knob to the highest position for a few
moments before driving
off. This helps clear the
intake ducts
of snow and moisture, and reduces the
chance
of fogging the inside of your windows.
Keep the air path under the front seats clear of objects.
This helps air to circulate throughout your vehicle.
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A CAUTION:
Do not load your vehicle any heavier than the
GVWR, or either the maximum front or rear
GAWR. If you do, parts on your vehicle can
break, or it can change the way your vehicle
handles. These could cause you to lose control.
Also, overloading can shorten the life of
your vehicle.
NOTICE:
Your warranty does not cover parts or
components
that fail because of overloading.
If you put things inside your vehicle- like suitcases,
tools, packages,
or anything else-they will go as fast as
the vehicle goes. If you stop or turn quickly, or
if there
is a crash, they’ll keep going. Things
you put inside your vehicle can strike and
injure people in
a sudden stop or turn, or in
a crash.
Put things in the trunk of your vehicle. In a
trunk, put them as far forward as you can.
Try to spread the weight evenly.
Never stack heavier things, like suitcases,
inside the vehicle
so that some of them are
above the tops
of the seats.
Don’t leave an unsecured child restraint in
your vehicle.
When you carry something inside the
vehicle, secure it whenever you can.
Don’t leave a seat folded down unless you
need
to.
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