child restraint PONTIAC SOLSTICE 2007 Owners Manual

Seats and Restraint Systems
....................... 7
Front Seats
.............................................. 8
Safety Belts
............................................ 12
Child Restraints
...................................... 27
Airbag System
........................................ 42
Restraint System Check
......................... 56
Features and Controls
................................ 59
Keys
....................................................... 60
Doors and Locks
.................................... 65
Windows
................................................ 70
Theft-Deterrent Systems
......................... 72
Starting and Operating Your Vehicle
....... 76
Mirrors
.................................................... 93
OnStar
®System
..................................... 94Storage Areas
........................................ 98
Convertible Top
...................................... 99
Instrument Panel
....................................... 105
Instrument Panel Overview
................... 108
Climate Controls
................................... 122
Warning Lights, Gages, and
Indicators
.......................................... 127
Driver Information Center (DIC)
............ 145
Audio System(s)
................................... 157
Driving Your Vehicle
................................. 189
Your Driving, the Road, and
Your Vehicle
..................................... 190
Towing
................................................. 231
2007 Pontiac Solstice Owner ManualM
1

Front Seats..................................................... 8
Manual Seats................................................ 8
Reclining Seatbacks...................................... 9
Seatback Latches........................................ 11
Power Lift Seat........................................... 12
Safety Belts.................................................. 12
Safety Belts: They Are for Everyone........... 12
Questions and Answers About
Safety Belts............................................. 17
How to Wear Safety Belts Properly............. 18
Driver Position............................................. 18
Safety Belt Use During Pregnancy.............. 25
Passenger Position...................................... 26
Safety Belt Pretensioners............................ 26
Safety Belt Extender................................... 26
Child Restraints............................................ 27
Older Children............................................. 27
Infants and Young Children......................... 30
Child Restraint Systems.............................. 33Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children
(LATCH).................................................. 37
Securing a Child Restraint in the
Passenger Seat Position.......................... 38
Airbag System.............................................. 42
Where Are the Airbags?.............................. 45
When Should an Airbag Inate?.................. 47
What Makes an Airbag Inate?................... 48
How Does an Airbag Restrain?................... 48
What Will You See After an
Airbag Inates?........................................ 48
Passenger Sensing System......................... 50
Servicing Your Airbag-Equipped Vehicle...... 54
Adding Equipment to Your
Airbag-Equipped Vehicle.......................... 55
Restraint System Check............................... 56
Checking the Restraint Systems.................. 56
Replacing Restraint System Parts After
a Crash................................................... 57
Section 1 Seats and Restraint Systems
7

How to Wear Safety Belts Properly
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 vehicle, see
Older Children on page 27orInfants and Young
Children on page 30. Follow those rules for
everyone’s protection.
First, you will want to know which restraint
systems your vehicle has.
We will start with the driver position.
Driver Position
Lap-Shoulder Belt
The driver has a lap-shoulder belt. Here is how
to wear it properly.
1. Close and lock the door.
2. Adjust the seat so you can sit up straight.
To see how, see “Seats” in the Index.3. Pick up the latch plate and pull the belt across
you. Do not let it get twisted.
The lap-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.
18

Passenger Position
To learn how to wear the passenger’s safety belt
properly, seeDriver Position on page 18.
The passenger’s safety belt works the same way
as the driver’s safety belt — except for one
thing. If you ever pull the shoulder portion of the
belt out all the way, you will engage the child
restraint locking feature. If this happens, just let
the belt go back all the way and start again.
Safety Belt Pretensioners
Your vehicle has safety belt pretensioners for the
driver and right front passenger. Although you
cannot see them, they are part of the safety belt
assembly. They help tighten the safety belts during
the early stages of a moderate to severe frontal
or near frontal crash if the threshold conditions for
pretensioner activation are met.
Pretensioners work only once. If they activate in
a crash, you will need to get new ones, and
probably other new parts for your safety belt
system. SeeReplacing Restraint System Parts
After a Crash on page 57.
Safety Belt Extender
If the vehicle’s safety belt will fasten around you,
you should use it.
But if a safety belt is not long enough, your dealer
will order you an extender. When you go in to
order it, take the heaviest coat you will wear,
so the extender will be long enough for you.
To help avoid personal injury, do not let someone
else use it, and use it only for the seat it is
made to t. The extender has been designed
for adults. Never use it for securing child seats.
To wear it, just attach it to the regular safety belt.
For more information see the instruction sheet
that comes with the extender.
26

Child Restraints
Older Children
Older children who have outgrown booster seats
should wear the vehicle’s safety belts.
Q:What is the proper way to wear safety belts?
A:If possible, an older child should wear a
lap-shoulder belt and get the additional
restraint a shoulder belt can provide. The
shoulder belt should not cross the face
or neck. The lap belt should t snugly below
the hips, just touching the top of the thighs.
It should never be worn over the abdomen,
which could cause severe or even fatal internal
injuries in a crash.
According to accident statistics, children are safer
when properly restrained in the rear seating
positions than in the front seating positions.
In a crash, children who are not buckled up can
strike other people who are buckled up, or can be
thrown out of the vehicle. Older children need
to use safety belts properly.
27

{CAUTION:
Never do this.
Here two children are wearing the same
belt. The belt can not properly spread the
impact forces. In a crash, the two children
can be crushed together and seriously
injured. A belt must be used by only
one person at a time.
Q:What if a child is wearing a lap-shoulder
belt, but the child is so small that the
shoulder belt is very close to the child’s
face or neck?
A:Move the child toward the center of the
vehicle, but be sure that the shoulder belt still
is on the child’s shoulder, so that in a crash
the child’s upper body would have the restraint
that belts provide.
28

Infants and Young Children
Everyone in a vehicle needs protection! This
includes infants and all other children. Neither the
distance traveled nor the age and size of the
traveler changes the need, for everyone, to use
safety restraints. In fact, the law in every state
in the United States and in every Canadian
province says children up to some age must be
restrained while in a vehicle.
{CAUTION:
Children can be seriously injured or
strangled if a shoulder belt is wrapped
around their neck and the safety belt
continues to tighten. Never leave children
unattended in a vehicle and never allow
children to play with the safety belts.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.
{CAUTION:
People should never hold a baby in their
arms while riding in a vehicle. A baby
does not 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 (110 kg) force
on a person’s arms. A baby should be
secured in an appropriate restraint.
30

{CAUTION:
Children who are up against, or very close
to, any airbag when it inates can be
seriously injured or killed. Airbags plus
lap-shoulder belts offer protection for
adults and older children, 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.
31

Q:What are the different types of add-on
child restraints?
A:Add-on child restraints, which are purchased by
the vehicle’s owner, are available in four basic
types. Selection of a particular restraint should
take into consideration not only the child’s
weight, height, and age but also whether or not
the restraint will be compatible with the motor
vehicle in which it will be used.
For most basic types of child restraints, there
are many different models available. When
purchasing a child restraint, be sure it is
designed to be used 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.
{CAUTION:
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.
32

{CAUTION:
The body structure of a young child 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
is unprotected by any bony structure.
This alone could cause serious or fatal
injuries. Young children always should be
secured in appropriate child restraints.
Child Restraint Systems
An infant car bed (A), a special bed made for use
in a motor vehicle, is an infant restraint system
designed to restrain or position a child on a
continuous at surface. Make sure that the infant’s
head rests toward the center of the vehicle.
33