PONTIAC GRAND PRIX 2007 Repair Manual

CAUTION: (Continued)
Even though the passenger sensing
system is designed to turn off the right
front passenger’s frontal airbag if the
system detects a rear-facing child restraint,
no system is fail-safe, and no one can
guarantee that an airbag will not deploy
under some unusual circumstance, even
though it is turned off. We recommend that
rear-facing child restraints be secured in
the rear seat, even if the airbag is off.
If you need to secure a forward-facing child
restraint in the right front seat, always
move the front passenger seat as far back
as it will go. It is better to secure the child
restraint in a rear seat.If you need to secure a forward-facing child
restraint in the right front seat position, move
the seat as far back as it will go before securing
the forward-facing child restraint. SeeManual
Passenger Seat on page 8.
If your child restraint has the LATCH system,
seeLower Anchors and Tethers for Children
(LATCH) on page 51.
There is no top tether anchor at the right front
seating position. Do not secure a child seat in this
position if a national or local law requires that the
top tether be anchored or if the instructions that
come with the child restraint say that the top tether
must be anchored. SeeLower Anchors and Tethers
for Children (LATCH) on page 51if the child
restraint has a top tether.
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You will be using the lap-shoulder belt to secure
the child restraint in this position. Be sure to follow
the instructions that came with the child restraint.
Secure the child in the child restraint when and as
the instructions say.
1. Your vehicle has a right front passenger’s
frontal airbag. SeePassenger Sensing System
on page 74. We recommend that rear-facing
child restraints be secured in a rear seat, even
if the airbag is off. If your child restraint is
forward-facing, move the seat as far back as it
will go before securing the child restraint in this
seat. SeeManual Passenger Seat on page 8.
When the passenger sensing system has
turned off the right front passenger’s frontal
airbag, the off indicator in the passenger airbag
status indicator should light and stay lit
when you turn the ignition to RUN or START.
SeePassenger Airbag Status Indicator
on page 173.
2. Put the child restraint on the seat.
3. 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.4. Buckle the belt. Make sure the release button
is positioned so you would be able to unbuckle
the safety belt quickly if you ever had to.
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5. Pull the rest of the shoulder belt all the way
out of the retractor to set the lock.6. To tighten the belt, push down on the child
restraint, pull the shoulder portion of the belt to
tighten the lap portion of the belt and feed the
shoulder belt back into the retractor. If you are
using a forward-facing child restraint, you may
nd it helpful to use your knee to push down on
the child restraint as you tighten the belt. You
should not be able to pull more of the belt from
the retractor once the lock has been set.
7. Push and pull the child restraint in different
directions to be sure it is secure.
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8. If the airbag is off, the off indicator on the
instrument panel will be lit and stay lit
when the key is turned to RUN or START.
If a child restraint has been installed and the on
indicator is lit, turn the vehicle off. Remove
the child restraint from the vehicle and reinstall the
child restraint.
If, after reinstalling the child restraint and restarting
the vehicle, the on indicator is still lit, check to
make sure that the vehicle’s seatback is not
pressing the child restraint into the seat cushion.
If this happens, slightly recline the vehicle’s
seatback and adjust the seat cushion if possible.
Also make sure the child restraint is not trapped
under the vehicle head restraint. If this happens,
adjust the head restraint.
If the on indicator is still lit, secure the child in
the child restraint in a rear seat position in
the vehicle and check with your dealer.
To remove the child restraint, just unbuckle the
vehicle’s safety belt and let it go back all the way.
The safety belt will move freely again and be
ready to work for an adult or larger child
passenger.Airbag System
Your vehicle has a frontal airbag for the driver and
a frontal airbag for the right front passenger.
Your vehicle may also have roof-mounted side
impact airbags. Roof-mounted side impact airbags
are available for the driver and the passenger
seated directly behind the driver and for the right
front passenger and the passenger seated
directly behind that passenger.
If your vehicle has roof-mounted side impact
airbags, the word AIRBAG will appear on
the airbag covering on the headliner near the
driver’s and right front passenger’s window.
Airbags are designed to supplement the protection
provided by safety belts. Even though today’s
airbags are also designed to help reduce the risk
of injury from the force of an inating bag, all
airbags must inate very quickly to do their job.
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Here are the most important things to know about
the airbag system:
{CAUTION:
You can be severely injured or killed in a
crash if you are not wearing your safety
belt — even if you have airbags. Wearing
your safety belt during a crash helps
reduce your chance of hitting things
inside the vehicle or being ejected from it.
Airbags are “supplemental restraints” to
the safety belts. All airbags are designed
to work with safety belts, but do not
replace them.
{CAUTION:
Frontal airbags for the driver and right
front passenger are designed to deploy in
moderate to severe frontal and near frontal
crashes. They are not designed to inate in
rollover, rear crashes, or in many side
crashes. And, for some unrestrained
occupants, frontal airbags may provide
less protection in frontal crashes than
more forceful airbags have provided in
the past.
Roof-mounted side impact airbags are
designed to inate in moderate to severe
crashes where something hits the side of
your vehicle. They are not designed to
inate in frontal, in rollover, or in rear
crashes.
Everyone in your vehicle should wear a
safety belt properly — whether or not there
is an airbag for that person.
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{CAUTION:
Both frontal and side impact airbags
inate with great force, faster than the
blink of an eye. If you are too close to an
inating airbag, as you would be if you
were leaning forward, it could seriously
injure you. Safety belts help keep you in
position for airbag ination before and
during a crash. Always wear your safety
belt even with frontal airbags. The driver
should sit as far back as possible while
still maintaining control of the vehicle.
Occupants should not lean on or sleep
against the door.
{CAUTION:
Anyone who is up against, or very close
to, any airbag when it inates can be
seriously injured or killed. Airbags 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 airbag 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, seeOlder Children on
page 39orInfants and Young Children
on page 42.
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There is an airbag
readiness light on the
instrument panel cluster,
which shows the
airbag symbol.
The system checks the airbag electrical system for
malfunctions. The light tells you if there is an
electrical problem. SeeAirbag Readiness Light on
page 172for more information.Where Are the Airbags?
The driver’s frontal airbag is in the middle of the
steering wheel.
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The right front passenger’s frontal airbag is in the
instrument panel on the passenger’s side.The roof-mounted side impact airbag for the driver
and the person seated directly behind the driver
is in the ceiling above the side windows.
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The roof-mounted side impact airbag for the right
front passenger and the person seated directly
behind that passenger is in the ceiling above the
side windows.
{CAUTION:
If something is between an occupant and
an airbag, the bag might not inate
properly or it might force the object into
that person causing severe injury or even
death. The path of an inating airbag must
be kept clear. Do not put anything
between an occupant and an airbag, and
do not attach or put anything on the
steering wheel hub or on or near any
other airbag covering. And, if your vehicle
has roof-mounted side impact airbags,
never secure anything to the roof of your
vehicle by routing the rope or tie down
through any door or window opening.
If you do, the path of an inating side
impact airbag will be blocked. The path of
an inating airbag must be kept clear.
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When Should an Airbag Inate?
The driver’s and right front passenger’s frontal
airbags are designed to inate in moderate to
severe frontal or near-frontal crashes. But they are
designed to inate only if the impact exceeds a
predetermined deployment threshold. Deployment
thresholds take into account a variety of desired
deployment and non-deployment events and are
used to predict how severe a crash is likely to be in
time for the airbags to inate and help restrain the
occupants. Whether your frontal airbags will or
should deploy is not based on how fast your vehicle
is traveling. It depends largely on what you hit, the
direction of the impact, and how quickly your
vehicle slows down.
In addition, your vehicle has “dual-stage” frontal
airbags, which adjust the restraint according to
crash severity. Your vehicle has electronic frontal
sensors which helps the sensing system distinguish
between a moderate frontal impact and a more
severe frontal impact. For moderate frontal
impacts, these airbags inate at a level
less than full deployment. For more severe
frontal impacts, full deployment occurs.If the front of your vehicle goes straight into a wall
that does not move or deform, the threshold level
for the reduced deployment is about 12 to 16 mph
(19 to 26 km/h), and the threshold level for a
full deployment is about 18 to 24 mph
(29 to 38.5 km/h). The threshold level can vary,
however, with specic vehicle design, so that it can
be somewhat above or below this range.
Frontal airbags may inate at different crash
speeds. For example:
If the vehicle hits a stationary object, the
airbags could inate at a different crash speed
than if the vehicle hits a moving object.
If the vehicle hits an object that deforms, the
airbags could inate at a different crash
speed than if the vehicle hits an object that
does not deform.
If the vehicle hits a narrow object (like a pole),
the airbags could inate at a different crash
speed than if the vehicle hits a wide object
(like a wall).
If the vehicle goes into an object at an angle,
the airbags could inate at a different crash
speed than if the vehicle goes straight into the
object.
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