2007 Chevrolet Impala Owners Manual

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2007 Chevrolet Impala Owner Manual M Seats and Restraint Systems ........................ 7 Front Seats .............................................. 9 Rear Seats ............................................. 16 Safety Belts ............................................ 20 Child Restraints ...................................... 43 Airbag System ........................................ 69 Restraint System Check ......................... 86 Features and Controls ................................. 89 Keys ....................................................... 91 Doors and Locks .................................. 100 Windows ............................................... 105 Theft-Deterrent Systems ....................... 107 Starting and Operating Your Vehicle ..... 111 Mirrors .................................................. 126 OnStar® System ................................... 128 Universal Home Remote System .......... 132 Storage Areas ...................................... 142 Sunroof ................................................ 144 Instrument Panel Overview Climate Controls Warning Lights, Gages, and Indicators Driver Information Center (DIC) Audio System(s) Instrument Panel ........................................ 145 ................... 148 ................................... 166 .... 172 ............ 188 ................................... 213 Driving Your Vehicle .................................. 247 Your Driving, the Road, and Towing Your Vehicle ..................................... 248 ................................................. 284 Service and Appearance Care ................... 295 ................................................. 297 ...................................................... 299 ......... 306 ................................. 346 ................................ 346 .... 352 Service Fuel Checking Things Under the Hood Headlamp Aiming Bulb Replacement Windshield Wiper Blade Replacement Maintenance Schedule Maintenance Schedule ............................... 407 .......................... 408 Customer Assistance Information ............. 427 ..... 428 ...................... 446 Index ........................................................... 449 Customer Assistance and Information Reporting Safety Defects Tires ..................................................... 354 Appearance Care .................................. 390 Vehicle Identiﬁcation ............................. 399 Electrical System .................................. 400 Capacities and Speciﬁcations ................ 405 This manual describes features that may be available in this model, but your vehicle may not have all of them. For example, more than one entertainment system may be offered or your vehicle may have been ordered without a front passenger or rear seats. Keep this manual in the vehicle, so it will be there if it is needed while you are on the road. If the vehicle is sold, leave this manual in the vehicle. Canadian Owners A French language copy of this manual can be obtained from your dealer or from: Helm, Incorporated P.O. Box 07130 Detroit, MI 48207 GENERAL MOTORS, GM, the GM Emblem, CHEVROLET, the CHEVROLET Emblem, the IMPALA Emblem, and the name IMPALA are registered trademarks of General Motors Corporation. This manual includes the latest information at the time it was printed. We reserve the right to make changes after that time without further notice. For vehicles ﬁrst sold in Canada, substitute the name “General Motors of Canada Limited” for Chevrolet Motor Division whenever it appears in this manual. Litho in U.S.A. Part No. 15863014 A First Printing ©2006 General Motors Corporation. All Rights Reserved. How to Use This Manual Many people read the owner manual from beginning to end when they ﬁrst receive their new vehicle. If this is done, it can help you learn about the features and controls for the vehicle. Pictures and words work together in the owner manual to explain things. Index A good place to quickly locate information about the vehicle is the Index in the back of the manual. It is an alphabetical list of what is in the manual and the page number where it can be found. Safety Warnings and Symbols There are a number of safety cautions in this book. We use a box and the word CAUTION to tell about things that could hurt you if you were to ignore the warning. {CAUTION: These mean there is something that could hurt you or other people. In the caution area, we tell you what the hazard is. Then we tell you what to do to help avoid or reduce the hazard. Please read these cautions. If you do not, you or others could be hurt. You will also ﬁnd a circle with a slash through it in this book. This safety symbol means “Do Not,” “Do Not do this” or “Do Not let this happen.” Vehicle Damage Warnings Also, in this manual you will ﬁnd these notices: Notice: These mean there is something that could damage your vehicle. A notice tells about something that can damage the vehicle. Many times, this damage would not be covered by your vehicle’s warranty, and it could be costly. But the notice will tell what to do to help avoid the damage. When you read other manuals, you might see CAUTION and NOTICE warnings in different colors or in different words. There are also warning labels on the vehicle. They use the same words, CAUTION or NOTICE. Vehicle Symbols The vehicle has components and labels that use symbols instead of text. Symbols are shown along with the text describing the operation or information relating to a speciﬁc component, control, message, gage, or indicator. If you need help ﬁguring out a speciﬁc name of a component, gage, or indicator, reference the following topics: (cid:127) Seats and Restraint Systems in Section 1 (cid:127) Features and Controls in Section 2 (cid:127) (cid:127) Climate Controls in Section 3 (cid:127) Warning Lights, Gages, and Indicators in Instrument Panel Overview in Section 3 Section 3 (cid:127) Audio System(s) in Section 3 (cid:127) Engine Compartment Overview in Section 5 These are some examples of symbols that may be found on the vehicle: Section 1 Seats and Restraint Systems Front Seats ..................................................... 9 Manual Passenger Seat ................................ 9 Power Seats ............................................... 10 Manual Lumbar ........................................... 11 Heated Seats .............................................. 11 Reclining Seatbacks .................................... 12 Head Restraints .......................................... 15 Center Seat ................................................ 16 Rear Seats .................................................... 16 Split Folding Rear Seat ............................... 16 Safety Belts .................................................. 20 Safety Belts: They Are for Everyone ........... 20 Questions and Answers About Safety Belts ............................................. 24 How to Wear Safety Belts Properly ............. 25 Driver Position ............................................. 25 Shoulder Belt Height Adjustment ................. 34 Safety Belt Use During Pregnancy .............. 35 Right Front Passenger Position ................... 35 Center Front Passenger Position ................. 36 Rear Seat Passengers ................................ 37 Rear Safety Belt Comfort Guides ................ 39 Safety Belt Pretensioners ............................ 42 Safety Belt Extender ................................... 42 Child Restraints ............................................ 43 Older Children ............................................. 43 Infants and Young Children ......................... 46 Child Restraint Systems .............................. 50 Where to Put the Restraint .......................... 54 Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children (LATCH) .................................... 55 Securing a Child Restraint in a Rear Seat Position ................................... 62 Securing a Child Restraint in the Center Front Seat Position ....................... 64 Securing a Child Restraint in the Right Front Seat Position ......................... 65 Section 1 Seats and Restraint Systems Servicing Your Airbag-Equipped Vehicle ...... 84 Adding Equipment to Your Airbag-Equipped Vehicle .......................... 85 Restraint System Check ............................... 86 Checking the Restraint Systems .................. 86 Replacing Restraint System Parts After a Crash ........................................... 87 Airbag System .............................................. 69 Where Are the Airbags? .............................. 72 When Should an Airbag Inﬂate? .................. 75 What Makes an Airbag Inﬂate? ................... 77 How Does an Airbag Restrain? ................... 77 What Will You See After an Airbag Inﬂates? ........................................ 78 Passenger Sensing System ......................... 79 Front Seats Manual Passenger Seat Your vehicle may have a manual passenger seat. Lift the bar located under the front of the seat to unlock it. Slide the seat to where you want it and release the bar. Try to move the seat with your body to be sure the seat is locked in place. If the vehicle has power seats, the controls used to operate them are located on the outboard side of the seats. To adjust the seat, do any of the following: (cid:127) Move the seat forward or rearward by sliding the control forward or rearward. (cid:127) Raise or lower the front part of the seat cushion by moving the front of the control up or down. (cid:127) Raise or lower the rear part of the seat cushion by moving the rear of the control up or down. Your driver’s seat may have power reclining seatbacks. See “Power Reclining Seatbacks” under Reclining Seatbacks on page 12 for more information. Power Seats Driver’s Seat with Manual Lumbar, Power Seat Control, and Power Recline shown 10 Manual Lumbar Heated Seats If your vehicle has this feature, the buttons that control temperature for the driver’s and front passenger’s seats are located on the climate control panel. See Climate Control System on page 166. Driver’s Seat with Manual Lumbar and 8-way Power Controls shown If your vehicle has manual lumbar, the lever is located on the outboard side of the driver’s seat near the front of the seat cushion. Lift up on the lever repeatedly to increase lumbar support. Push down on the lever repeatedly to decrease lumbar support. Press the button once to warm the seat to a high temperature. Both lights below the heated seat symbol will come on. Press the button a second time to reduce the seat to a lower temperature. The bottom light will be lit. Press the button a third time to turn the heated seat off. The heated seat feature will need to be turned on each time the ignition is turned off and back on again. 11 Reclining Seatbacks Manual Reclining Seatbacks The vehicle may have a manual recline on the front passenger’s seat. There may be manual recline on the driver’s seat. {CAUTION: You can lose control of the vehicle if you try to adjust a manual driver’s seat while the vehicle is moving. The sudden movement could startle and confuse you, or make you push a pedal when you do not want to. Adjust the driver’s seat only when the vehicle is not moving. {CAUTION: Passenger’s Seat with Manual Recline and Power Seat Control shown 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 push and pull on the seatback to be sure it is locked. 12 To recline the seatback, do the following: 1. Lift the recline lever. 2. Move the seatback to the desired position, then release the lever to lock the seatback in place. 3. Push and pull on the seatback to make sure it is locked. To return the seatback to an upright position, do the following: 1. Lift the lever fully without applying pressure to the seatback and the seatback will return to the upright position. 2. Push and pull on the seatback to make sure it is locked. Power Reclining Seatback Driver’s Seat with Manual Lumbar, Power Seat Control, and Power Recline shown The driver’s seat may have a power reclining seatback. The control used to operate it is located on the outboard side of the seat cushion rear of the horizontal power seat control. (cid:127) Press the control rearward to recline the seatback. (cid:127) Press the control forward to raise the seatback. 13 {CAUTION: Sitting in a reclined position when your vehicle is in motion can be dangerous. Even if you buckle up, your safety belts cannot do their job when you are reclined like this. The shoulder belt cannot do its job because it will not be against your body. Instead, it will be in front of you. In a crash, you could go into it, receiving neck or other injuries. The lap belt cannot do its job either. In a crash, the belt could go up over your abdomen. The belt forces would be there, not at your pelvic bones. This could cause serious internal injuries. For proper protection when the vehicle is in motion, have the seatback upright. Then sit well back in the seat and wear your safety belt properly. Do not have a seatback reclined if your vehicle is moving. 14 Head Restraints 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. Adjust the head restraint so that the top of the restraint is at the same height as the top of the occupant’s head. This position reduces the chance of a neck injury in a crash. 15 Center Seat Rear Seats Split Folding Rear Seat Flip and Fold Feature If your vehicle has this feature, you can ﬂip the bottom seat cushion(s) forward and fold the seatback(s) down for an extended ﬂat cargo area. To use this feature, do the following: 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. Your vehicle may have a front center seat. There are cupholders on the underside of the seat cushion. To use them, ﬂip the seat cushion forward. This seat can also be used as a storage area by lowering the seatback. See Center Console Storage Area on page 143. The seatback doubles as an armrest for the driver or front passenger when the center seat is unoccupied. For information on safety belts for this position, see Center Front Passenger Position on page 36. 16 1. Disconnect the rear center safety belt latch from the mini buckle, if your vehicle has this, by using an object such as a car key. Insert the key into the slot in the mini buckle and press the release button. 2. Flip the bottom seat cushion forward by pulling up on the tab located in the center of the seat cushion where the seatback meets the seat cushion. There is a tab on both rear seats. Make sure the front seats are not reclined. If they are, the seat cushion will not ﬂip forward completely. 17 3. Lower the seatback(s) by pulling forward on the tab located on the outboard side of the seatback(s). Make sure the front seats are not reclined. If they are, the rear seatbacks will not fold down all the way. To return the seats to the normal position, do the following: {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 push and pull on the seatback to be sure it is locked. 1. Raise the seatback up and make sure it latches. {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. 18 2. Ensure that the safety belts are properly stowed over the seatback in all three positions. 3. Reconnect the rear center safety belt latch plate to the mini buckle, if your vehicle has this. Make sure the safety belt label is facing the same direction as the release button of the mini buckle. Make sure the belt is not twisted. Push and pull on the latch plate to be sure it is secure. 4. Flip the bottom seat cushion back into place. Push ﬁrmly on the seat cushion to make sure it is secure. When the seat is not in use, the seatback should be placed in upright, locked position, and the seat cushion should be in the down position. Under Seat Storage Your vehicle has under seat storage. To get to the storage area, lift up on the tab located in the center of the bottom seat cushion where the seat cushion meets the seatback. See Rear Storage Area on page 143 for more information. 19 {CAUTION: It is extremely dangerous to ride in a cargo area, inside or outside of a vehicle. In a collision, people riding in these areas are more likely to be seriously injured or killed. Do not allow people to ride in any area of your vehicle that is not equipped with seats and safety belts. Be sure everyone in your vehicle is in a seat and using a safety belt properly. Your vehicle has indicators to remind you and your passengers to buckle your safety belts. See Safety Belt Reminder Light on page 175 and Passenger Safety Belt Reminder Light on page 175. Safety Belts Safety Belts: They Are for Everyone This part of the manual tells you how to use safety belts properly. It also tells you some things you should not do with safety belts. {CAUTION: Do not let anyone ride where he or she cannot wear a safety belt properly. If you are in a crash and you are not wearing a safety belt, your injuries can be much worse. You can hit things inside the vehicle or be ejected from it. You can be seriously injured or killed. In the same crash, you might not be, if you are buckled up. Always fasten your safety belt, and check that your passengers’ belts are fastened properly too. 20 Why Safety Belts Work When you ride in or on anything, you go as fast as it goes. In most states and in all Canadian provinces, the law says to wear safety belts. Here is why: They work. You never know if you will be in a crash. If you do have a crash, you do not know if it will be a bad one. A few crashes are mild, and some crashes can be so serious that even buckled up, a person would not survive. But most crashes are in between. In many of them, people who buckle up can survive and sometimes walk away. Without belts they could have been badly hurt or killed. After more than 40 years of safety belts in vehicles, the facts are clear. In most crashes buckling up does matter... a lot! Take the simplest vehicle. Suppose it is just a seat on wheels. 21 Put someone on it. Get it up to speed. Then stop the vehicle. The rider does not stop. 22 The person keeps going until stopped by something. In a real vehicle, it could be the windshield... or the instrument panel... 23 Questions and Answers About Safety Belts Q: Will I be trapped in the vehicle after an accident if I am wearing a safety belt? A: You could be — whether you are wearing a safety belt or not. But you can unbuckle a safety belt, even if you are upside down. And your chance of being conscious during and after an accident, so you can unbuckle and get out, is much greater if you are belted. Q: If my vehicle has airbags, why should I have to wear safety belts? A: Airbags are supplemental systems only; so they work with safety belts — not instead of them. Every airbag system ever offered for sale has required the use of safety belts. Even if you are in a vehicle that has airbags, you 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. or the safety belts! With safety belts, you slow down as the vehicle does. You get more time to stop. You stop over more distance, and your strongest bones take the forces. That is why safety belts make such good sense. 24 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 an accident — even one that is not your fault — you and your passengers 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. 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 43 or Infants and Young Children on page 46. 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. 25 Make sure the release button on the buckle is positioned so you would be able to unbuckle the safety belt quickly if you ever had to. 5. Move the shoulder belt height adjuster to the height that is right for you. Improper shoulder belt height adjustment could reduce the effectiveness of the safety belt in a crash. See Shoulder Belt Height Adjustment on page 34. 6. To make the lap part tight, pull up on the shoulder belt. It may be necessary to pull stitching on the safety belt through the latch plate to fully tighten the lap belt on smaller occupants. 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. If the belt is not long enough, see Safety Belt Extender on page 42. 26 The lap part of the belt should be worn low and snug on the hips, just touching the thighs. In a crash, this applies force to the strong pelvic bones. And you would be less likely to slide under the lap belt. If you slid under it, the belt would apply force at your abdomen. This could cause serious or even fatal injuries. The shoulder belt should go over the shoulder and across the chest. These parts of the body are best able to take belt restraining forces. The safety belt locks if there is a sudden stop or crash. 27 Q: What is wrong with this? {CAUTION: You can be seriously hurt if your shoulder belt is too loose. In a crash, you would move forward too much, which could increase injury. The shoulder belt should ﬁt against your body. A: The shoulder belt is too loose. It will not give nearly as much protection this way. 28 Q: What is wrong with this? {CAUTION: You can be seriously hurt if your lap belt is too loose. In a crash, you could slide under the lap belt and apply force at your abdomen. This could cause serious or even fatal injuries. The lap belt should be worn low and snug on the hips, just touching the thighs. A: The lap belt is too loose. It will not give nearly as much protection this way. 29 Q: What is wrong with this? {CAUTION: You can be seriously injured if your belt is buckled in the wrong place like this. In a crash, the belt would go up over your abdomen. The belt forces would be there, not at the pelvic bones. This could cause serious internal injuries. Always buckle your belt into the buckle nearest you. A: The belt is buckled in the wrong place. 30 Q: What is wrong with this? A: The belt is over an armrest. {CAUTION: You can be seriously injured if your belt goes over an armrest like this. The belt would be much too high. In a crash, you can slide under the belt. The belt force would then be applied at the abdomen, not at the pelvic bones, and that could cause serious or fatal injuries. Be sure the belt goes under the armrests. 31 Q: What is wrong with this? {CAUTION: You can be seriously injured if you wear the shoulder belt under your arm. In a crash, your body would move too far forward, which would increase the chance of head and neck injury. Also, the belt would apply too much force to the ribs, which are not as strong as shoulder bones. You could also severely injure internal organs like your liver or spleen. A: The shoulder belt is worn under the arm. It should be worn over the shoulder at all times. 32 Q: What is wrong with this? {CAUTION: You can be seriously injured by a twisted belt. In a crash, you would not have the full width of the belt to spread impact forces. If a belt is twisted, make it straight so it can work properly, or ask your dealer to ﬁx it. A: The belt is twisted across the body. 33 Shoulder Belt Height Adjustment Before you begin to drive, move the shoulder belt adjuster to the height that is right for you. Adjust the height so that the shoulder portion of the belt is centered on your shoulder. The belt should be away from your face and neck, but not falling off your shoulder. Improper shoulder belt height adjustment could reduce the effectiveness of the safety belt in a crash. To move it down, squeeze the buttons (A) on the sides of the height adjuster and move the height adjuster to the desired position. You can move the adjuster up just by pushing up on the shoulder belt guide. After you move the adjuster to where you want it, try to move it down without squeezing the buttons to make sure it has locked into position. To unlatch the belt, push the button on the buckle. The belt should go back out of the way. Before you close the door, be sure the belt is out of the way. If you slam the door on it, you can damage both the belt and your vehicle. 34 Safety Belt Use During Pregnancy Safety belts work for everyone, including pregnant women. Like all occupants, they are more likely to be seriously injured if they do not wear safety belts. The best way to protect the fetus is to protect the mother. When a safety belt is worn properly, it is more likely that the fetus will not be hurt in a crash. For pregnant women, as for anyone, the key to making safety belts effective is wearing them properly. Right Front Passenger Position To learn how to wear the right front passenger’s safety belt properly, see Driver Position on page 25. The right front 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, let the belt go back all the way and start again. 35 A pregnant woman should wear a lap-shoulder belt, and the lap portion should be worn as low as possible, below the rounding, throughout the pregnancy. Center Front Passenger Position Lap Belt If your vehicle has a front bench seat, someone can sit in the center position. To make the belt shorter, pull its free end as shown until the belt is snug. Buckle, position and release it the same way as the lap part of a lap-shoulder belt. If the belt is not long enough, see Safety Belt Extender on page 42. Make sure the release button on the buckle is positioned so you would be able to unbuckle the safety belt quickly if you ever had to. When you sit in the center front seating position, you have a lap safety belt, which has no retractor. To make the belt longer, tilt the latch plate and pull it along the belt. 36 Rear Seat Passengers It is very important for rear seat passengers to buckle up! Accident statistics show that unbelted people in the rear seat are hurt more often in crashes than those who are wearing safety belts. Rear passengers who are not safety belted can be thrown out of the vehicle in a crash. And they can strike others in the vehicle who are wearing safety belts. Lap-Shoulder Belt All rear seat positions have lap-shoulder belts. Here is how to wear one properly. 1. Pick up the latch plate and pull the belt across you. Do not let it get twisted. The 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. 2. Push the latch plate into the buckle until it clicks. Pull up on the latch plate to make sure it is secure. When the shoulder belt is pulled out all the way, it will lock. If it does, let it go back all the way and start again. 37 If the belt is not long enough, see Safety Belt Extender on page 42. Make sure the release button on the buckle is positioned so you would be able to unbuckle the safety belt quickly if you ever had to. 3. To make the lap part tight, pull up on the shoulder part. 38 The lap part of the belt should be worn low and snug on the hips, just touching the thighs. In a crash, this applies force to the strong pelvic bones. And you would be less likely to slide under the lap belt. If you slid under it, the belt would apply force at your abdomen. This could cause serious or even fatal injuries. The shoulder belt should go over the shoulder and across the chest. These parts of the body are best able to take belt restraining forces. The safety belt locks if there is a sudden stop or a crash. {CAUTION: You can be seriously hurt if your shoulder belt is too loose. In a crash, you would move forward too much, which could increase injury. The shoulder belt should ﬁt against your body. Rear Safety Belt Comfort Guides Rear shoulder belt comfort guides may provide added safety belt comfort for older children who have outgrown booster seats and for some adults. When installed on a shoulder belt, the comfort guide positions the belt away from the neck and head. To unlatch the belt, push the button on the buckle. 39 There is one guide for each outboard passenger position in the rear seat. Here is how to install a comfort guide to the safety belt: 1. Pull the guide out from the pocket on the edge of the seatback. 2. Slide the guide under and past the belt. The elastic cord must be under the belt. Then, place the guide over the belt, and insert the two edges of the belt into the slots of the guide. 40 3. Be sure that the belt is not twisted and it lies ﬂat. The elastic cord must be under the belt and the guide on top. {CAUTION: A safety belt that is not properly worn may not provide the protection needed in a crash. The person wearing the belt could be seriously injured. The shoulder belt should go over the shoulder and across the chest. These parts of the body are best able to take belt restraining forces. 4. Buckle, position, and release the safety belt as described in Rear Seat Passengers on page 37. Make sure that the shoulder belt crosses the shoulder. To remove and store the comfort guide, squeeze the belt edges together so that you can take them out of the guide. Slide the guide into the storage pocket on the edge of the seatback. 41 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. See Replacing Restraint System Parts After a Crash on page 87. 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 ﬁt. 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. 42 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: 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 ﬁt 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. 43 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 see Rear Safety Belt Comfort Guides on page 39. 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. {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. 44 {CAUTION: Never do this. Here a child is sitting in a seat that has a lap-shoulder belt, but the shoulder part is behind the child. If the child wears the belt in this way, in a crash the child might slide under the belt. The belt’s force would then be applied right on the child’s abdomen. That could cause serious or fatal injuries. Wherever the child sits, the lap portion of the belt should be worn low and snug on the hips, just touching the child’s thighs. This applies belt force to the child’s pelvic bones in a crash. 45 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. 46 {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. 47 {CAUTION: Children who are up against, or very close to, any airbag when it inﬂates 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. 48 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 CAUTION: (Continued) CAUTION: (Continued) 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. {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. 49 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 ﬂat surface. Make sure that the infant’s head rests toward the center of the vehicle. A rear-facing infant seat (B) provides restraint with the seating surface against the back of the infant. The harness system holds the infant in place and, in a crash, acts to keep the infant positioned in the restraint. 50 A forward-facing child seat (C-E) provides restraint for the child’s body with the harness and also sometimes with surfaces such as T-shaped or shelf-like shields. A booster seat (F-G) is a child restraint designed to improve the ﬁt of the vehicle’s safety belt system. Some booster seats have a shoulder belt positioner, and some high-back booster seats have a ﬁve-point harness. A booster seat can also help a child to see out the window. 51 Q: How Should I Use a Child Restraint? 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. To help reduce injuries, an add-on child restraint must be secured in the vehicle. With built-in or add-on child restraints, the child has to be secured within the child restraint. When choosing an add-on 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 ﬁnd these instructions on the restraint itself or in a booklet, or both. Securing an Add-on Child Restraint in the Vehicle {CAUTION: A child can be seriously injured or killed in a crash if the child restraint is not properly secured in the vehicle. Make sure the child restraint is properly installed in the vehicle using the vehicle’s safety belt or LATCH system, following the instructions that came with that restraint, and also the instructions in this manual. To help reduce the chance of injury, the child restraint must be secured in the vehicle. Child restraint systems must be secured in vehicle seats by lap belts or the lap belt portion of a lap-shoulder belt, or by the LATCH system. See Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children (LATCH) on page 55 for more information. A child can be endangered in a crash if the child restraint is not properly secured in the vehicle. 52 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. Securing the Child Within the Child Restraint There are several systems for securing the child within the child 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 ﬁve-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 ﬂat 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. {CAUTION: A child can be seriously injured or killed in a crash if the child is not properly secured in the child restraint. Make sure the child is properly secured, following the instructions that came with that restraint. Because there are different systems, it is important to refer to the instructions that come with the restraint. A child can be endangered in a crash if the child is not properly secured in the child restraint. 53 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 child restraints be secured in a rear seat, including an infant riding in a rear-facing infant seat, a child riding in a forward-facing child seat and an older child riding in a booster seat. Your vehicle has a rear seat that will accommodate a rear-facing child restraint. 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’s airbag inﬂates. CAUTION: (Continued) CAUTION: (Continued) This is because the back of the rear-facing child restraint would be very close to the inﬂating airbag. Even though the passenger sensing system is designed to turn off the 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. 54 {CAUTION: A child in a child restraint in the center front seat can be badly injured or killed by the right front passenger’s airbag if it inﬂates. Never secure a child restraint in the center front seat. It is always better to secure a child restraint in the rear seat. 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. Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children (LATCH) The LATCH system holds a child restraint during driving or in a crash. This system is designed to make installation of a child restraint easier. The LATCH system uses anchors in the vehicle and attachments on the child restraint that are made for use with the LATCH system Make sure that a LATCH-compatible child restraint is properly installed using the anchors, or use the vehicle’s safety belts to secure the restraint, following the instructions that came with that restraint, and also the instructions in this manual. When installing a child restraint with a top tether, you must also use either the lower anchors or the safety belts to properly secure the child restraint. A child restraint must never be installed using only the top tether and anchor. In order to use the LATCH system in your vehicle, you need a child restraint that has LATCH attachments. The child restraint manufacturer will provide you with instructions on how to use the child restraint and its attachments. The following explains how to attach a child restraint with these attachments in your vehicle. 55 Not all vehicle seating positions or child restraints have lower anchors and attachments or top tether anchors and attachments. Lower Anchors Top Tether Anchor Lower anchors (A) are metal bars built into the vehicle. There are two lower anchors for each LATCH seating position that will accommodate a child restraint with lower attachments (B). 56 A top tether (A, C) anchors the top of the child restraint to the vehicle. A top tether anchor is built into the vehicle. The top tether attachment (B) on the child restraint connects to the top tether anchor in the vehicle in order to reduce the forward movement and rotation of the child restraint during driving or in a crash. Your child restraint may have a single tether (A) or a dual tether (C). Either will have a single attachment (B) to secure the top tether to the anchor. Some child restraints that have a top tether are designed for use with or without the top tether being attached. Others require the top tether always to be attached. In Canada, the law requires that forward-facing child restraints have a top tether, and that the tether be attached. In the United States, some child restraints also have a top tether. Be sure to read and follow the instructions for your child restraint. If the child restraint does not have a top tether, one can be obtained, in kit form, for many child restraints. Ask the child restraint manufacturer whether or not a kit is available. Lower Anchor and Top Tether Anchor Locations Rear Seat i (Top Tether Anchor): Seating positions with top tether anchors. j (Lower Anchor): Seating positions with two lower anchors. To assist you in locating the lower anchors, each seating position with lower anchors has two labels, near the crease between the seatback and the seat cushion. 57 To assist you in locating the top tether anchors, the top tether anchor symbol is located on the trim cover. The top tether anchors are located under the trim covers on the rear seatback ﬁller panel behind each head restraint. Be sure to use an anchor located on the same side of the vehicle as the seating position where the child restraint will be placed. 58 Do not secure a child restraint in the right front passenger’s position if a national or local law requires that the top tether be attached, or if the instructions that come with the child restraint say that the top tether must be attached. There is no place to attach the top tether in this position. Accident statistics show that children are safer if they are restrained in the rear rather than the front seat. See Where to Put the Restraint on page 54 for additional information. Securing a Child Restraint Designed for the LATCH System {CAUTION: {CAUTION: If a LATCH-type child restraint is not attached to anchors, the restraint will not be able to protect the child correctly. In a crash, the child could be seriously injured or killed. Make sure that a LATCH-type child restraint is properly installed using the anchors, or use the vehicle’s safety belts to secure the restraint, following the instructions that came with that restraint, and also the instructions in this manual. Each top tether anchor and lower anchor in the vehicle is designed to hold only one child restraint. Attaching more than one child restraint to a single anchor could cause the anchor or attachment to come loose or even break during a crash. A child or others could be injured if this happens. To help prevent injury to people and damage to your vehicle, attach only one child restraint per anchor. 59 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. {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. 60 2. If the child restraint manufacturer recommends that the top tether be attached, attach and tighten the top tether to the top tether anchor, if equipped. Refer to the child restraint instructions and the following steps: 2.1. Find the top tether anchor. 2.2. Push on the depression at the rear of the trim cover lid and swing the lid open to expose the top tether anchor. 2.3. Route, attach, and tighten the top tether according to your child restraint instructions and the following instructions: If the position you are using has a ﬁxed headrest and you are using a single tether, route the tether over the head restraint. If the position you are using has a ﬁxed headrest and you are using a dual tether, route the tether around the head restraint. 3. Push and pull the child restraint in different directions to be sure it is secure. 61 Securing a Child Restraint in a Rear Seat Position If your child restraint has the LATCH system, see Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children (LATCH) on page 55. If your child restraint does not have the LATCH system, 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. Put the child restraint on the seat. 2. 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. 62 3. 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. 4. Pull the rest of the shoulder belt all the way out of the retractor to set the lock. 5. 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 ﬁnd it helpful to use your knee to push down on the child restraint as you tighten the belt. 63 6. If your child restraint manufacturer recommends using a top tether, attach and tighten the top tether to the top tether anchor. Refer to the instructions that came with the child restraint and see Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children (LATCH) on page 55. 7. Push and pull the child restraint in different directions to be sure it is secure. To remove the child restraint, if the top tether is attached to the top tether anchor, disconnect it. 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. Securing a Child Restraint in the Center Front Seat Position {CAUTION: A child in a child restraint in the center front seat can be badly injured or killed by the right front passenger’s airbag if it inﬂates. Never secure a child restraint in the center front seat. It is always better to secure a child restraint in the rear seat. Do not secure a child restraint in the center front seat position. 64 Securing a Child Restraint in the Right Front Seat Position Your vehicle has a right front passenger’s airbag. A rear seat is a safer place to secure a forward-facing child restraint. See Where to Put the Restraint on page 54. In addition, your vehicle has a passenger sensing system. The passenger sensing system is designed to turn off the right front 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. See Passenger Sensing System on page 79 and Passenger Airbag Status Indicator on page 177 for more information on this including important safety information. 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’s airbag inﬂates. This is because the back of the rear-facing child restraint would be very close to the inﬂating airbag. 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. 65 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. See Manual Passenger Seat on page 9 or Power Seats on page 10. If your child restraint has the LATCH system, see Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children (LATCH) on page 55. There is no top tether anchor at the right front seating position. Do not secure a child restraint 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. See Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children (LATCH) on page 55 if your child restraint has a top tether. 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. See Passenger Sensing System on page 79. 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. See Manual Passenger Seat on page 9 or Power Seats on page 10. 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. See Passenger Airbag Status Indicator on page 177. 2. Put the child restraint on the seat. 66 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. 5. Pull the rest of the shoulder belt all the way out of the retractor to set the lock. 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. 67 If you are using a forward-facing child restraint, you may ﬁnd 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 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. 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. 68 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 ceiling near the side windows. 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 inﬂating bag, all airbags must inﬂate very quickly to do their job. 69 Here are the most important things to know about the airbag system: CAUTION: (Continued) inﬂate 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 inﬂate in moderate to severe crashes where something hits the side of your vehicle. They are not designed to inﬂate 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. {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. 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 CAUTION: (Continued) 70 {CAUTION: {CAUTION: Both frontal and side impact airbags inﬂate with great force, faster than the blink of an eye. If you are too close to an inﬂating airbag, as you would be if you were leaning forward, it could seriously injure you. Safety belts help keep you in position for airbag inﬂation 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. Anyone who is up against, or very close to, any airbag when it inﬂates 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, see Older Children on page 43 or Infants and Young Children on page 46. 71 There is an airbag readiness light on the instrument panel cluster, which shows the airbag symbol. Where Are the Airbags? The system checks the airbag electrical system for malfunctions. The light tells you if there is an electrical problem. See Airbag Readiness Light on page 176 for more information. The driver’s frontal airbag is in the middle of the steering wheel. 72 The right front passenger’s frontal airbag is in the instrument panel on the passenger’s side. If your vehicle has a roof-mounted side impact airbag for the driver and the person seated directly behind the driver, it is in the ceiling above the side windows. 73 {CAUTION: If something is between an occupant and an airbag, the bag might not inﬂate properly or it might force the object into that person causing severe injury or even death. The path of an inﬂating 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 inﬂating side impact airbag will be blocked. The path of an inﬂating airbag must be kept clear. If your vehicle has a roof-mounted side impact airbag for the right front passenger and the person seated directly behind that passenger, it is in the ceiling above the side windows. 74 When Should an Airbag Inﬂate? The driver’s and right front passenger’s frontal airbags are designed to inﬂate in moderate to severe frontal or near-frontal crashes. But they are designed to inﬂate 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 inﬂate 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 help the sensing system distinguish between a moderate frontal impact and a more severe frontal impact. For moderate frontal impacts, these airbags inﬂate 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 (29 to 35.4 km/h). The threshold level can vary, however, with speciﬁc vehicle design, so that it can be somewhat above or below this range. 75 Your vehicle may or may not have side impact airbags. See Airbag System on page 69. Side impact airbags are intended to inﬂate in moderate to severe side crashes. A side impact airbag will inﬂate if the crash severity is above the system’s designed threshold level. The threshold level can vary with speciﬁc vehicle design. Side impact airbags are not intended to inﬂate in frontal or near-frontal impacts, rollovers, or rear impacts. Both side impact airbags will deploy when either side is struck. In any particular crash, no one can say whether an airbag should have inﬂated simply because of the damage to a vehicle or because of what the repair costs were. For frontal airbags, inﬂation is determined by what the vehicle hits, the angle of the impact, and how quickly the vehicle slows down in frontal or near-frontal impacts. For side impact airbags, inﬂation is determined by the location and severity of the impact. Frontal airbags may inﬂate at different crash speeds. For example: (cid:127) If the vehicle hits a stationary object, the airbags could inﬂate at a different crash speed than if the vehicle hits a moving object. If the vehicle hits an object that deforms, the airbags could inﬂate 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 inﬂate 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 inﬂate at a different crash speed than if the vehicle goes straight into the object. (cid:127) (cid:127) (cid:127) Frontal airbags (driver and right front passenger) are not intended to inﬂate during vehicle rollovers, rear impacts, or in many side impacts. 76 What Makes an Airbag Inﬂate? 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 inﬂator, which inﬂates the airbag. The inﬂator, 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. 77 What Will You See After an Airbag Inﬂates? After a frontal airbag inﬂates, it quickly deﬂates, so quickly that some people may not even realize the airbag inﬂated. Roof-mounted side impact airbags may still be at least partially inﬂated minutes after the vehicle comes to rest. Some components of the airbag module — the steering wheel hub for the driver’s airbag, the instrument panel for the right front passenger’s airbag, or the garnish trim and ceiling of your vehicle near the side windows for vehicles with roof–mounted side impact airbags — may be hot for a short time. The parts of the airbag that come into contact with you may be warm, but not too hot to touch. There may be some smoke and dust coming from the vents in the deﬂated airbags. Airbag inﬂation does not prevent the driver from seeing out of the windshield or being able to steer the vehicle, nor does it prevent people from leaving the vehicle. {CAUTION: When an airbag inﬂates, there may be dust in the air. This dust could cause breathing problems for people with a history of asthma or other breathing trouble. To avoid this, everyone in the vehicle should get out as soon as it is safe to do so. If you have breathing problems but cannot get out of the vehicle after an airbag inﬂates, then get fresh air by opening a window or a door. If you experience breathing problems following an airbag deployment, you should seek medical attention. Your vehicle has a feature that may automatically unlock the doors, turn the interior lamps on, and turn the hazard warning ﬂashers when the airbags inﬂate. You can lock the doors again, turn the interior lamps off, and turn the hazard warning ﬂashers off by using the controls for those features. 78 In many crashes severe enough to inﬂate an airbag, windshields are broken by vehicle deformation. Additional windshield breakage may also occur from the right front passenger airbag. (cid:127) Airbags are designed to inﬂate only once. After an airbag inﬂates, you will need some new parts for the airbag system. If you do not get them, the airbag system will not be there to help protect you in another crash. A new system will include airbag modules and possibly other parts. The service manual for your vehicle covers the need to replace other parts. (cid:127) Your vehicle has a crash sensing and diagnostic module which records information after a crash. See Vehicle Data Collection and Event Data Recorders on page 440. (cid:127) Let only qualiﬁed technicians work on the airbag system. Improper service can mean that your airbag system will not work properly. See your dealer for service. Passenger Sensing System Your vehicle has a passenger sensing system. The passenger airbag status indicator on the instrument panel will be visible when you turn your ignition key to RUN or START. The words ON and OFF or the symbol for on and off, will be visible during the system check. United States Canada If you use remote start to start your vehicle from a distance, if your vehicle has this feature, you may not see the system check. When the system check is complete, either the word ON or the word OFF, or the symbol for on or the symbol for off will be visible. See Passenger Airbag Status Indicator on page 177. 79 The passenger sensing system will turn off the right front passenger’s frontal airbag under certain conditions. The driver’s airbags are not part of the passenger sensing system. The passenger sensing system works with sensors that are part of the right front passenger’s seat and safety belt. The sensors are designed to detect the presence of a properly seated occupant and determine if the passenger’s frontal airbag should be enabled (may inﬂate) or not. Accident statistics show that children are safer if they are restrained in the rear rather than the front seat. We recommend that child restraints be secured in a rear seat, including an infant riding in a rear-facing infant seat, a child riding in a forward-facing child seat and an older child riding in a booster seat. There is a label on your sun visor that 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. Never put a rear facing child restraint in the right front passenger seat unless the airbag is off. Here is why: {CAUTION: A child in a rear-facing child restraint can be seriously injured or killed if the right front passenger’s airbag inﬂates. This is because the back of the rear-facing child restraint would be very close to the inﬂating airbag. Even though the passenger sensing system is designed to turn off the 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. CAUTION: (Continued) 80 CAUTION: (Continued) 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. The passenger sensing system is designed to turn off the right front passenger’s frontal airbag if: (cid:127) The right front passenger seat is unoccupied. (cid:127) The system determines that an infant is present in a rear-facing infant seat. (cid:127) The system determines that a small child is present in a forward-facing child restraint. (cid:127) The system determines that a small child is present in a booster seat. (cid:127) A right front passenger takes his/her weight off of the seat for a period of time. (cid:127) The right front passenger seat is occupied by a smaller person, such as a child who has outgrown child restraints. (cid:127) Or, if there is a critical problem with the airbag system or the passenger sensing system When the passenger’s frontal airbag has been turned off by the passenger sensing system, the off indicator on the instrument panel will light and stay lit to remind you that the airbag is off. 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

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2007 Chevrolet Impala Owners Manual