PONTIAC SOLSTICE 2006 Owner's Guide

A booster seat (F-G) is a child restraint designed to
improve the t of the vehicle’s safety belt system. Some
booster seats have a shoulder belt positioner, and some
high-back booster seats have a ve-point harness.
A booster seat can also help a child to see out the
window.
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 ve-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 at 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.
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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 nd
these instructions on the restraint itself or in a booklet, or
both. These restraints use the belt system or the LATCH
(Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children) 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.
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.Lower Anchors and Tethers for
Children (LATCH)
Some child restraints have a LATCH system. As part of
the LATCH system, your child restraint may have lower
attachments and/or a top tether. The LATCH system can
help hold the child restraint in place during driving or in a
crash. Some vehicles have lower and/or top tether
anchors designed to secure a child restraint with lower
attachments and/or a top tether.
Some child restraints with a top tether are designed to be
used whether the top tether is anchored or not. Other
child restraints require that the top tether be anchored.
A national or local law may require that the top tether
be anchored.
In Canada, the law requires that forward-facing child
restraints have a top tether, and that the tether be
attached.
Your vehicle does not have lower anchors or top tether
anchors to secure a child restraint with the LATCH
system. If a national or local law requires that your top
tether be anchored, do not use a child restraint in this
vehicle because a top tether cannot be properly
anchored. You must use the safety belts to secure your
child restraint in this vehicle, unless a national or local
law requires that the top tether be anchored. Refer to
your child restraint instructions and instructions in this
manual for securing a child restraint using the vehicle’s
safety belts.
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Securing a Child Restraint in the
Passenger Seat Position
Your vehicle has a passenger’s airbag. A rear seat is a
safer place to secure a forward-facing child restraint.
In addition, your vehicle has the passenger sensing
system. The passenger sensing system is designed to
turn off the passenger’s frontal airbag when an infant in a
rear-facing infant seat or a small child in a forward-facing
child restraint or booster seat is detected. SeePassenger
Sensing System on page 1-37andPassenger Airbag
Status Indicator on page 3-25for more information on this
including important safety information.
{CAUTION:
A child in a rear-facing child restraint can be
seriously injured or killed if the right front
passenger’s airbag inates. This is because the
back of the rear facing child restraint would be
very close to the inating airbag. Be sure the
airbag is off before using a rear-facing child
restraint in the right front seat position.
Even though the passenger sensing system is
designed to turn off the passenger’s frontal
airbag under certain conditions, 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.
General Motors recommends that rear-facing
child restraints be transported in vehicles with
a rear seat that will accommodate a rear-facing
child restraint, whenever possible.
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There is no top strap anchor in your vehicle. Do not
secure a child seat in your vehicle if a national or local
law requires that the top strap be anchored, or if the
instructions that come with the child restraint say that the
top strap must be anchored. SeeLower Anchors and
Tethers for Children (LATCH) on page 1-26for more
information.
If you need to secure a forward-facing child restraint in
the passenger’s position, move the seat as far back as it
will go before securing the forward-facing child restraint.
SeeManual Seats on page 1-2.
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 passenger’s frontal airbag. See
Passenger Sensing System on page 1-37. General
Motors recommends 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 Seats on page 1-2.
When the passenger sensing system has turned off
the passenger’s frontal airbag, the off indicator in the
passenger airbag status indicator should light and
stay lit when the vehicle is started. SeePassenger
Airbag Status Indicator on page 3-25.2. 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.
8. If the airbag is off, the off indicator on the instrument
panel will be lit and stay lit when the vehicle is
started.
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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.
A thick layer of additional material such as a blanket, or
aftermarket equipment such as seat covers, seat heaters
and seat massagers, located between the seat cushion
and the child restraint or small occupant, can affect how
the passenger sensing system operates. Remove any
additional material from the seat cushion before
reinstalling or securing the child restraint and before
a small occupant, including a small adult, sits in the
passenger position.
If the on indicator is still lit, do not install a child restraint
in this 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 an airbag for the driver and an airbag
for the right front passenger.
Frontal airbags are designed to help reduce the risk of
injury from the force of an inating frontal airbag.
But these airbags must inate very quickly to do their
job and comply with federal regulations.
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 designed to work
with safety belts, but do not replace them.
Airbags are designed to deploy in moderate
to severe frontal and near frontal crashes.
CAUTION: (Continued)
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CAUTION: (Continued)
They are not designed to inate in rollover,
rear crashes, or in many side crashes. And, for
some unrestrained occupants, airbags may
provide less protection in frontal crashes than
more forceful airbags have provided in the
past. Everyone in your vehicle should wear a
safety belt properly — whether or not there is
an airbag for that person.
{CAUTION:
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 before
and during a crash. Always wear your safety
belt, even with airbags. 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
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 1-18andInfants and Young Children on
page 1-20.
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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 3-24
for more information.Where Are the Airbags?
The driver’s airbag is in the middle of the steering wheel.
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The right front passenger’s airbag is in the instrument
panel on the passenger’s side.
{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.
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When Should an Airbag Inate?
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 is equipped with electronic frontal sensors,
which help 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 22 mph (28.9 to 35.4 km/h). (The threshold level
can vary, however, with specic vehicle design, so that it
can be somewhat above or below this range.)
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