tow SATURN ION 2007 Owners Manual

Seats and Restraint Systems
....................... 7
Front Seats
.............................................. 8
Rear Seats
............................................. 16
Safety Belts
............................................ 18
Child Restraints
...................................... 41
Airbag System
........................................ 68
Restraint System Check
......................... 84
Features and Controls
................................ 87
Keys
....................................................... 89
Doors and Locks
.................................... 94
Windows
............................................... 100
Theft-Deterrent Systems
....................... 103
Starting and Operating Your Vehicle
..... 104
Mirrors
.................................................. 122
OnStar
®System
................................... 129
Storage Areas
...................................... 133
Sunroof
................................................ 135Instrument Panel
....................................... 137
Instrument Panel Overview
................... 140
Climate Controls
................................... 155
Warning Lights, Gages, and
Indicators
.......................................... 163
Message Center
................................... 182
Audio System(s)
................................... 186
Driving Your Vehicle
................................. 217
Your Driving, the Road, and
Your Vehicle
..................................... 218
Towing
................................................. 256
Service and Appearance Care
.................. 267
Service
................................................. 270
Fuel
...................................................... 272
Checking Things Under the Hood
......... 278
Headlamp Aiming
................................. 318
Bulb Replacement
................................ 318
2007 Saturn ION Owner ManualM
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Pull the head restraint
up to raise it. To lower
the head restraint,
press the button,
located on the top of the
seatback, and push
the restraint down.
Passenger Folding Seatback
Your vehicle may have a passenger seat that
folds at.
{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 71andLoading Your Vehicle on
page 250.
{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.
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Notice:Folding a rear seat with the safety
belts still fastened may cause damage to the
seat or the safety belts. Always unbuckle
the safety belts and return them to their normal
stowed position before folding a rear seat.
2. Once the handle is pulled, the seatback can
be pushed open through the trunk, or pulled
open from the inside of the vehicle.
{CAUTION:
If the seatback is not locked, it could move
forward in a sudden stop or crash. That
could cause injury to the person sitting
there. Always pull forward on the top of the
seatback at the area of the latch to be sure
it is locked.
{CAUTION:
A safety belt that is improperly routed, not
properly attached, or twisted will not
provide the protection needed in a crash.
The person wearing the belt could be
seriously injured. After raising the rear
seatback, always check to be sure that the
safety belts are properly routed and
attached, and are not twisted.
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{CAUTION:
Never do this.
Here two children are wearing the same
belt. The belt cannot 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:If the child is sitting in a seat next to a
window, move the child toward the center of
the vehicle. Also seeRear Safety Belt
Comfort Guides on page 36. If the child is
sitting in the center rear seat passenger
position, move the child toward the safety belt
buckle. In either case, 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.
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{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.
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{CAUTION:
Children can be seriously injured or
strangled if a shoulder belt is wrapped
around their neck and the safety belt
continues to tighten. Secure any unused
safety belts behind the child restraint so
children cannot reach them. Pull the
shoulder belt all the way out of the
retractor to set the lock, if your vehicle
has one, after the child restraint has been
installed. Be sure to follow the
instructions of the child restraint
manufacturer.
Notice:Contact between the child restraint or
the LATCH attachment parts and the vehicle’s
safety belt assembly may cause damage to
these parts. Make sure when securing unused
safety belts behind the child restraint that
there is no contact between the child restraint
or the LATCH attachment parts and the
vehicle’s safety belt assembly.Folding an empty rear seat with the safety
belts secured may cause damage to the safety
belt or the seat. When removing the child
restraint, always remember to return the safety
belts to their normal, stowed position before
folding the rear seat.
1. Attach and tighten the lower attachments to
the lower anchors. If the child restraint does
not have lower attachments or the desired
seating position does not have lower anchors,
secure the child restraint with the top tether
and the safety belts. Refer to your child
restraint manufacturer instructions and the
instructions in this manual.
1.1. Find the lower anchors for the desired
seating position.
1.2. Put the child restraint on the seat.
1.3. Attach and tighten the lower
attachments on the child restraint to the
lower anchors.
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In any particular crash, no one can say whether
an airbag should have inated simply because
of the damage to a vehicle or because of what the
repair costs were. For frontal airbags, ination is
determined by what the vehicle hits, the angle
of the impact, and how quickly the vehicle slows
down. For roof-mounted side impact airbags,
ination is determined by the location and severity
of the impact.
What Makes an Airbag Inate?
In an impact of sufficient severity, the airbag
sensing system detects that the vehicle is
in a crash. The sensing system triggers a release
of gas from the inator, which inates the
airbag. The inator, airbag, and related hardware
are all part of the airbag modules inside the
steering wheel and in the instrument panel in front
of the right front passenger. For vehicles with
roof-mounted side impact airbags, there are also
airbag modules in the ceiling of the vehicle,
near the side windows.
How Does an Airbag Restrain?
In moderate to severe frontal or near frontal
collisions, even belted occupants can contact the
steering wheel or the instrument panel. In
moderate to severe side collisions, even belted
occupants can contact the inside of the vehicle.
Airbags supplement the protection provided
by safety belts. Airbags distribute the force of the
impact more evenly over the occupant’s upper
body, stopping the occupant more gradually. But
the frontal airbags would not help you in many
types of collisions, including rollovers, rear
impacts, and many side impacts, primarily because
an occupant’s motion is not toward the airbag.
Side impact airbags would not help you in many
types of collisions, including many frontal or
near frontal collisions, rollovers, and rear impacts.
Airbags should never be regarded as anything
more than a supplement to safety belts, and then
only in moderate to severe frontal or near-frontal
collisions for the driver’s and right front
passenger’s frontal airbags, and only in moderate
to severe side collisions for vehicles with side
impact airbags.
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A thick layer of additional material such as a
blanket, or aftermarket equipment such as seat
covers, seat heaters, and seat massagers,
can affect how well 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 right front
passenger position. You may want to consider not
using seat covers or other aftermarket equipment
if your vehicle has the passenger sensing
system. SeeAdding Equipment to Your
Airbag-Equipped Vehicle on page 83for more
information about modications that can affect how
the system operates.
The passenger sensing system may suppress the
airbag deployment when liquid is soaked into
the seat. If this happens, the off indicator in the
passenger airbag status indicator and the
airbag readiness light on the instrument panel will
be lit. The system should resume normal
operation after the seat is allowed to dry. If the
system operates incorrectly after the seat
has dried, have your retailer check the system.
{CAUTION:
Stowing of articles under the passenger’s
seat or between the passenger’s seat
cushion and seatback may interfere with
the proper operation of the passenger
sensing system.
Servicing Your Airbag-Equipped
Vehicle
Airbags affect how your vehicle should be
serviced. There are parts of the airbag system in
several places around your vehicle. You do
not want the system to inate while someone is
working on your vehicle. Your retailer and the
service manual have information about servicing
your vehicle and the airbag system. To purchase a
service manual, seeService Publications
Ordering Information on page 425.
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Doors and Locks
Door Locks
{CAUTION:
Unlocked doors can be dangerous.
Passengers, especially children, can
easily open the doors and fall out of a
moving vehicle. When a door is
locked, the handle will not open it.
You increase the chance of being
thrown out of the vehicle in a crash if
the doors are not locked. So, wear
safety belts properly and lock the
doors whenever you drive.
CAUTION: (Continued)
CAUTION: (Continued)

Young children who get into unlocked
vehicles may be unable to get out. A
child can be overcome by extreme
heat and can suffer permanent injuries
or even death from heat stroke.
Always lock your vehicle whenever
you leave it.
Outsiders can easily enter through an
unlocked door when you slow down
or stop your vehicle. Locking your
doors can help prevent this from
happening.
There are several ways to lock your vehicle.
To lock a door from the outside, turn the
key toward the front of the vehicle or use the
Remote Keyless Entry (RKE) transmitter, if your
vehicle has one.
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During normal
operation, the security
light will go off
approximately
three seconds after the
key is turned to the
RUN ignition position.
If the engine stalls and the security light ashes,
wait until the light stops ashing before trying
to restart the engine. Remember to release
the key from START as soon as the engine
starts.
If the engine is running and the security light
comes on, you will be able to restart the engine
if you turn the engine off. However, your Passlock
®
system is not working properly and must be
serviced by your retailer. Your vehicle is not
protected by Passlock
®at this time. You may
also want to check the fuses, seeFuses
and Circuit Breakers on page 375. See your
retailer for service.
Starting and Operating
Your Vehicle
New Vehicle Break-In
Notice:Your vehicle does not need an
elaborate break-in. But it will perform better in
the long run if you follow these guidelines:
Do not drive at any one constant speed,
fast or slow, for the rst 500 miles
(805 km). Do not make full-throttle starts.
Do not exceed 5,000 engine rpm. Avoid
downshifting to brake, or slow, the vehicle.
Avoid making hard stops for the rst
200 miles (322 km) or so. During this time
your new brake linings are not yet broken
in. Hard stops with new linings can mean
premature wear and earlier replacement.
Follow this breaking-in guideline every time
you get new brake linings.
Do not tow a trailer during the rst
1,000 miles (1 600 km). SeeTowing a Trailer
on page 259for the trailer towing capabilities
of your vehicle and more information.
Following break-in, engine speed and load can
be gradually increased.
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