airbag PONTIAC TORRENT 2009 Owners Manual

Seats and Restraint System............................. 1-1
Front Seats
............................................... 1-2
Rear Seats
..............................................1-10
Safety Belts
.............................................1-12
Child Restraints
.......................................1-31
Airbag System
.........................................1-55
Restraint System Check
............................1-70
Features and Controls..................................... 2-1
Keys
........................................................ 2-3
Doors and Locks
......................................2-10
Windows
.................................................2-14
Theft-Deterrent Systems
............................2-16
Starting and Operating Your Vehicle
...........2-19
Mirrors
....................................................2-36
OnStar
®System
......................................2-38
Storage Areas
.........................................2-42
Sunroof
..................................................2-47
Instrument Panel............................................. 3-1
Instrument Panel Overview
.......................... 3-4
Climate Controls
......................................3-19
Warning Lights, Gages, and Indicators
........3-24
Driver Information Center (DIC)
..................3-42
Audio System(s)
.......................................3-64Driving Your Vehicle....................................... 4-1
Your Driving, the Road, and the Vehicle
....... 4-2
Towing
...................................................4-26
Service and Appearance Care.......................... 5-1
Service
..................................................... 5-3
Fuel
......................................................... 5-5
Checking Things Under the Hood
...............5-10
All-Wheel Drive
........................................5-41
Headlamp Aiming
.....................................5-43
Bulb Replacement
....................................5-43
Windshield Wiper Blade Replacement
.........5-47
Tires
......................................................5-48
Appearance Care
.....................................5-82
Vehicle Identication
.................................5-90
Electrical System
......................................5-91
Capacities and Specications
.....................5-97
Maintenance Schedule..................................... 6-1
Maintenance Schedule
................................ 6-2
Customer Assistance Information.................... 7-1
Customer Assistance and Information
........... 7-2
Reporting Safety Defects
...........................7-15
Vehicle Data Recording and Privacy
...........7-17
Index................................................................ 1
2009 Pontiac Torrent Owner ManualM

Vehicle Symbol Chart
Here are some additional symbols that may be found on
the vehicle and what they mean. For more information
on the symbol, refer to the index.
9:Airbag Readiness Light
#:Air Conditioning
!:Antilock Brake System (ABS)
g:Audio Steering Wheel Controls or OnStar®
$:Brake System Warning Light
":Charging System
I:Cruise Control
B:Engine Coolant Temperature
O:Exterior Lamps
#:Fog Lamps
.:Fuel Gage
+:Fuses
i:Headlamp High/Low-Beam Changer
j:LATCH System Child Restraints
*:Malfunction Indicator Lamp
::Oil Pressure
}:Power
/:Remote Vehicle Start
>:Safety Belt Reminders
7:Tire Pressure Monitor
F:Traction Control
M:Windshield Washer Fluid
iv

Front Seats......................................................1-2
Manual Seats................................................1-2
Seat Height Adjuster.......................................1-3
Power Seat...................................................1-3
Manual Lumbar..............................................1-4
Heated Seats.................................................1-4
Manual Reclining Seatbacks.............................1-5
Head Restraints.............................................1-7
Passenger Folding Seatback............................1-8
Rear Seats.....................................................1-10
Split Folding Rear Seat.................................1-10
Safety Belts...................................................1-12
Safety Belts: They Are for Everyone................1-12
How to Wear Safety Belts Properly.................1-17
Lap-Shoulder Belt.........................................1-25
Safety Belt Use During Pregnancy..................1-30
Safety Belt Extender.....................................1-30
Child Restraints.............................................1-31
Older Children..............................................1-31
Infants and Young Children............................1-34
Child Restraint Systems.................................1-37Where to Put the Restraint.............................1-40
Lower Anchors and Tethers for
Children (LATCH)......................................1-42
Securing a Child Restraint in a Rear
Seat Position............................................1-49
Securing a Child Restraint in the Right Front
Seat Position............................................1-52
Airbag System...............................................1-55
Where Are the Airbags?................................1-58
When Should an Airbag Inate?.....................1-60
What Makes an Airbag Inate?.......................1-61
How Does an Airbag Restrain?.......................1-61
What Will You See After an Airbag Inates?.....1-62
Passenger Sensing System............................1-63
Servicing Your Airbag-Equipped Vehicle..........
.1-68
Adding Equipment to Your Airbag-Equipped
Vehicle....................................................1-68
Restraint System Check..................................1-70
Checking the Restraint Systems......................1-70
Replacing Restraint System Parts
After a Crash............................................1-71
Section 1 Seats and Restraint System
1-1

Passenger Folding Seatback
{CAUTION:
If you fold the seatback forward to carry longer
objects, such as skis, be sure any such cargo is
not near an airbag. In a crash, an inating airbag
might force that object toward a person. This could
cause severe injury or even death. Secure objects
away from the area in which an airbag would
inate. For more information, seeWhere Are the
Airbags? on page 1-58andLoading the Vehicle
on page 4-20.
{CAUTION:
Things you put on this seatback can strike and
injure people in a sudden stop or turn, or in a
crash. Remove or secure all items before driving.On vehicles with this feature, to fold the seatback:
1. Lower the head restraint all the way.
2. Lift the bar under the front of the seat to unlock it.
Slide the seat as far back as it will go and release
the bar. Try to move the seat back and forth to
make sure it is locked into place.
3. Lift up fully on the recliner lever, located on the
outboard side of the seat, and fold the seatback
forward until it disengages.
1-8

Questions and Answers About Safety
Belts
Q:Will I be trapped in the vehicle after a crash if I
am wearing a safety belt?
A:Youcouldbe — whether you are wearing a safety
belt or not. But your chance of being conscious
during and after an accident, so youcanunbuckle
and get out, ismuchgreater if you are belted.
And you can unbuckle a safety belt, even if you
are upside down.
Q:If my vehicle has airbags, why should I have to
wear safety belts?
A:Airbags are supplemental systems only; so they
workwithsafety belts — not instead of them.
Whether or not an airbag is provided, all occupants
still have to buckle up to get the most protection.
That is true not only in frontal collisions, but
especially in side and other collisions.
Q:If I am a good driver, and I never drive far from
home, why should I wear safety belts?
A:You may be an excellent driver, but if you are in a
crash — even one that is not your fault — you and
your passenger(s) can be hurt. Being a good driver
does not protect you from things beyond your
control, such as bad drivers.
Most accidents occur within 25 miles (40 km)
of home. And the greatest number of serious
injuries and deaths occur at speeds of less than
40 mph (65 km/h).
Safety belts are for everyone.
1-16

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.
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 airbagsystem is designed for them. Every time infants and
young children ride in vehicles, they should have the
protection provided by appropriate child restraints.
Children who are not restrained properly can strike other
people, or can be thrown out of the vehicle.
{CAUTION:
Never do this.
Never hold an infant or a child while riding in a
vehicle. Due to crash forces, an infant or a child
will become so heavy it is not possible to hold it
during a crash. For example, in a crash at only
40 km/h (25 mph), a 5.5 kg (12 lb) infant will
suddenly become a 110 kg (240 lb) force on a
person’s arms. An infant should be secured in an
appropriate restraint.
1-34

{CAUTION:
Never do this.
Children who are up against, or very close to, any
airbag when it inates can be seriously injured
or killed. Never put a rear-facing child restraint in
the right front seat. Secure a rear-facing child
CAUTION: (Continued)
CAUTION: (Continued)
restraint in a rear seat. It is also better to secure a
forward-facing child restraint in a rear seat. If you
must secure a forward-facing child restraint in the
right front seat, always move the front passenger
seat as far back as it will go.
1-35

Where to Put the Restraint
Accident statistics show that children are safer if they
are restrained in the rear rather than the front seat.
We recommend that children and child restraints
be secured in a rear seat, including: an infant or a child
riding in a rear-facing child restraint; a child riding in
a forward-facing child seat; an older child riding in
a booster seat; and children, who are large enough,
using safety belts.
A label on your sun visor says, “Never put a rear-facing
child seat in the front.” This is because the risk to the
rear-facing child is so great, if the airbag deploys.
{CAUTION:
A child in a rear-facing child restraint can be
seriously injured or killed if the right front passenger
airbag inates. This is because the back of the
rear-facing child restraint would be very close to the
CAUTION: (Continued)
CAUTION: (Continued)
inating airbag. A child in a forward-facing child
restraint can be seriously injured or killed if the
right front passenger airbag inates and the
passenger seat is in a forward position.
Even if the passenger sensing system has turned
off the right front passenger frontal airbag, no
system is fail-safe. No one can guarantee that
an airbag will not deploy under some unusual
circumstance, even though it is turned off.
Secure rear-facing child restraints in a rear
seat, even if the airbag is off. If you 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.
SeePassenger Sensing System on page 1-63for
additional information.
1-40

When securing a child restraint in a rear seating
position, study the instructions that came with your child
restraint to make sure it is compatible with this vehicle.
If your vehicle does not have a rear seat that will
accommodate a rear-facing child restraint, we
recommend that rear-facing child restraints not be
transported in your vehicle, even if the airbag is off.
Wherever you install a child restraint, 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.
If you need to secure more than one child restraint in the
rear seat, review the following illustrations. Depending on
where you place the child restraint or the size of the child
restraint, you may not be able to access certain safety
belt assemblies or LATCH anchors for additional
passengers or child restraints.Congurations for Use of Child
Restraints
A. Child restraint using
LATCH
B. Occupant prohibited
A. Occupant prohibited
B. Child restraint using
LATCH
1-41

Securing a Child Restraint in the
Right Front Seat Position
This vehicle has airbags. A rear seat is a safer place to
secure a forward-facing child restraint. SeeWhere to
Put the Restraint on page 1-40.
In addition, the vehicle has a passenger sensing system
which is designed to turn off the right front passenger
frontal airbag under certain conditions. SeePassenger
Sensing System on page 1-63andPassenger Airbag
Status Indicator on page 3-29for more information,
including important safety information.
A label on the sun visor says, “Never put a rear-facing
child seat in the front.” This is because the risk to
the rear-facing child is so great, if the airbag deploys.
{CAUTION:
A child in a rear-facing child restraint can be
seriously injured or killed if the right front passenger
airbag inates. This is because the back of the
rear-facing child restraint would be very close to
the inating airbag. A child in a forward-facing child
restraint can be seriously injured or killed if the right
front passenger airbag inates and the passenger
seat is in a forward position.
Even if the passenger sensing system has turned
off the right front passenger frontal airbag, no
system is fail-safe. No one can guarantee that
an airbag will not deploy under some unusual
circumstance, even though it is turned off.
Secure rear-facing child restraints in a rear
seat, even if the airbag is off. If you 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.
SeePassenger Sensing System on page 1-63for
additional information.
1-52