ECU PONTIAC GRAND AM 2003 Owners Manual

These are some examples of vehicle symbols you may find on your vehicle:
POSSIBLE A
CAUTION
INJURY
PROTECT EYES BY
SHIELDING
CAUSTIC
BATTERY
4CID COULD CAUSE
BURNS
AVOID
SPARKS
OR
FLAMES
SPARK
OR
FLAME 'lb'
COULD
EXPLODE
-
BATTERY
1
I
LATCH BOTH LAP AND
SHOULDER BELTS TO
PROTECT OCCUPANT
4
DO NOT TWIST SAFETY
BELT WHEN ATTACHING
FASTEN SEAT
BELTS
MOVE SEAT FULLY
\!&
REARWARD+ /z
SECURE
CHILD SEAT
PULL BELT
COMPLETELY
-HEN SECURE
CHILD SEAT
?"!"!E?
WINDOW DO
NOT INSTALL
A REAR-FACING
CHILD RESTRAINT IN THIS SEATING
POSITION
DO NOT INSTALL A
FORWARD-FACING CHILD RESTRAINT IN THIS SEATING POSITION
DOOR LOCK UNLOCK LIGHTING
-
PARKING PC
LAMPS
FOG n LAMPS w
ENGINE
COOLANT TEMP
CHARGING
1-1
BAlTERY SYSTEM
COOLANT
a
ENGINE OIL
PRESSURE
Wb
ANTI-LOCK fm)
BRAKES \u/
FJ
ACCESS
ENGINE
COOLANT FAN
FUEL
OWNER'S MANUAL
SERVICE
SERVICE
iviAi\iuWi
V

Section 1 Seats and Restraint Sy
Front Seats ...................................................... 1.2
Manual Seats
................................................ 1.2
Reclining Seatbacks 1 -;j
Head Restraints ............................................. 1.5
Seatback Latches ........................................... 1-5
Easy Entry Seat ............................................. 1-6
Power Lift Seat
.............................................. 1-7
Rear Seats ....................................................... 1-8
Rear Seat Operation
....................................... 1.8
Safety Belts
..................................................... 1.9
Safety Belts: They Are for Everyone ................. 1-9
Questions and Answers About Safety Belts ...... 1-1 3
How
to Wear Safety Belts Properly ................. 1-14
Driver Position
.............................................. 1-1 4
Safety Belt Use During Pregnancy
.................. 1-22
Right Front Passenger Position ....................... 1-23
Rear Seat Passengers
.................................. 1.23
UGI 11G1 I IbUI I U~~~OILJUI VVI.~V. ...................... 1-27
Rear Safety Belt Comfort Guides for Children
and Small Adults
....................................... 1-29
Safety Belt Extender
..................................... 1-31
Child Restraints ............................................. 1.32
Older Children
.............................................. 1-32
Infants and Young Children
............................ 1-34
Child Restraint Systems ................................. 1-38
Six-Way Power Driver Seat
.............................. 1-3 ,-. ........................................
p-- +-v 0n-v Dnemnnnnr Dneitinn
Where to Put
the Restraint ............................. 1-41
Top Strap
.................................................... 1-42
Top Strap Anchor Location
............................. 1.43
Lower Anchorages and Top Tethers for
Children (LATCH System)
........................... 1 -44
Securing a Child Restraint Designed for the
LATCH System
......................................... 1-46
Securing a Child Restraint in a Rear Outside
Seat Position
............................................ 1-46
Securing a Child Restraint in a Center Rear
Seat Position
............................................ 1-48
Securing a Child Restraint in the Right Front
Seat Position
............................................ 1-50
System (SRS) ............................................. 1-53
When Should an Air Bag Inflate?
.................... 1-56
What Makes
an Air Bag Inflate? ..................... 1-57
What Will You See After an Air Bag Inflates? ... 1-58
Servicing Your Air Bag-Equipped Vehicle
......... 1-59
Restraint System Check
.................................. 1-60
Checking Your Restraint Systems
................... 1-60
Repiacing Resirzlint System Parts
After a Crash ............................................ 1-61
Supplemental Restraint
Where Are the Air Bags?
............................... 1-55
nuw Lues 5i-l Ail- Ea9 ECS~E~G? ..................... 157’
1-1

Rear Seats
Rear Seat Operation
Folding the Seatback
If your vehicle has this feature, do the following:
2. Fold the seatback down from the inside of the
vehicle.
To raise the seatback, push the seatback up
to return it
to its original position.
Push and pull on the seatback
to make sure it is latched
securely in the fully upright position.
1. Pull the release straps
located in the trunk.
The right strap operates
the passenger’s side
rear split seat. The left
strap operates the
driver’s side rear
split seat.
1-8

3. Pick up the latch plate and pull the belt across you.
Don’t let
it get twisted.
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.
Pull up on the latch plate to make sure
it is
secure. If the belt isn’t long enough, see Safety
Belt Extender on page 1-31.
Make sure the release button on the buckle is
positioned so you would be able to unbuckle the
safety belt quickly
if you ever had to.
1-15

If the belt stops before it reaches the buckle,
tilt the latch plate and keep pulling until you can
buckle it.
Puii up on lne iaicn piaie
io make sure ii is secure.
If the belt
is not long enough, see Safety Belt
Extender
on page 1-31. Make sure the release
button on the buckle is positioned
so you would be
able
to unbuckle the safety belt quickly if you
ever had io.
3. To make the lap part tight, pull down on the buckle
end of the belt as you pull up on the shoulder part.
1-25

Every time infants and young children ride in vehicles,
they should have the protection provided by appropriate
restraints. Young children should not use the vehicle's
adult safety belts alone, unless there is no other choice.
Instead, they need to use a child restraint.
People should never hold a baby
in their arms
while riding in a vehicle.
A baby doesn't weigh
much
-- until a crash. During a crash a baby
will become so heavy it is not possible to hold
it. For example, in a crash at only 25 mph
(40 km/h), a 12-lb.
(5.5 kg) baby will suddenly
become a 240-lb. (1
10 kg) force on a person's
arms.
A baby should be secured in an
appropriate restraint.
1-35

in a motor vehicle. If it is, the restraint will have a
label saying that it meets federal motor vehicle
safety standards.
The restraint manufacturer’s instructions that come
with the restraint, state the weight and height
limitations for a particular child restraint.
In addition,
there are many kinds
of restraints available for
children with special needs.
Newborn infants need complete support,
including support for the head and neck. This
is necessary because a newborn infant’s neck
is weak and its head weighs
so much
compared with
the rest of its body. In a crash,
an infant in
a rear-facing seat settles into the
restraint,
so the crash forces can be
distributed across the strongest part of an
infant’s body, the back and shoulders. Infants
always should be secured in appropriate infant restraints. The
body structure of a young ch
is quite
unlike that of an adult or older child, for whom
the safety belts are designed.
A young child’s
hip bones are still so small that the vehicle’s
regular safety belt may not remain low on the
hip bones, as
it should. Instead, it may settle
up around the child’s abdomen.
In a crash, the
belt would apply force on a body area that’s
unprotected by any bony structure. This alone
could cause serious or fatal injuries. Young
children always should be secured in
appropriate child restraints.
1-37

Q: How do child restraints work?
A: A child restraint system is any device designed for
use in a motor vehicle
to restrain, seat, or position
children. A built-in child restraint system is a
permanent part of the motor vehicle. An add-on
child restraint system is a portable one, which
is purchased by the vehicle’s owner.
For many years, add-on child restraints have used
the adult belt system in the vehicle. To help
reduce the chance of injury, the child also has to be
secured within the restraint. The vehicle’s belt
system secures the add-on child restraint in the
vehicle, and the add-on child restraint’s harness
system holds the child in place within the restraint.
One system, the three-point harness, has straps
that come down over each of the infant’s shoulders
and buckle together at the crotch. The five-point
harness system has two shoulder straps, two
hip straps and a crotch strap. A shield may take the
place of hip straps. A T-shaped shield has
shoulder straps that are attached to a flat pad
which rests low against the child’s body. A shelf-or
armrest-type shield has straps that are attached
to a wide, shelf-like shield that swings up or to
the side. 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. When securing an add-on child restraint, refer
to the instructions that come with the restraint which may
be on the restraint itself
or in a booklet, or both, and
to this manual. The child restraint instructions are
important,
so if they are not available, obtain a
replacement copy from the manufacturer.
1-40

Where to Put the Restraint
Accident statistics show that children are safer if they
are restrained in the rear rather than the front seat.
General Motors, therefore, recommends that child
restraints be secured in a rear seat, including an infant
riding in a rear-facing infant seat, a child riding in a
forward-facing child seat and an older child riding in a
booster seat.
Never put a rear-facing child restraint
in the front passenger seat. Here’s why:
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) 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.
1-41

In Canada, the law requires that forward-facing child
restraints have a top strap, and that the strap be
anchored. In the United States, some child restraints
also have a top strap. If your child restraint has a
top strap,
it should be anchored.
Anchor the top strap
to one of the following anchor
points.
Be sure to use an anchor point located on the
same side of the vehicle as the seating position
where the child restraint will be placed.
Once you have the top strap anchored, you’ll be ready
to secure the child restraint itself. Tighten the top
strap when and as the child restraint manufacturer’s
instructions say.
Top Strap Anchor Location
Your vehicle has top strap anchors already installed for
the rear seating positions. You’ll find them behind
the rear seat on the filler panel.
1-43