Your vehicle has a right front passenger air bag. There is a switch on the instrument panel that you can use to turn off the right front passenger's frontal air bag. See the following illustration. Your switch may vary slightly. See Airbag Off Switch for more on this, including important safety information and illustrations of alternate switch designs.
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. Be sure the airbag is off before using a rear-facing child restraint in the right front seat position.
Even though the passenger sensing system and/or airbag off switch are designed to turn off the passenger's frontal airbag under certain conditions, no system is fail-safe, and no one can guarantee that an airbag will not deploy under some unusual circumstance, even though it is turned off. General Motors recommends that rear-facing child restraints be transported in vehicles with a rear seat that will accommodate a rear-facing child restraint, whenever possible.
In addition to the air bag off switch, your vehicle may have the passenger sensing system. The passenger sensing system is designed to turn off the right front passenger's frontal air bag when an infant or small child in a rear-facing infant seat, a forward-facing child restraint, or a booster seat is detected. See Airbag Off Switch and Passenger Sensing System .
Never put a rear facing child restraint in the right front passenger's seat unless the air bag 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. Be sure the airbag is off before using a rear-facing child restraint in the right front seat position. If you secure a forward-facing child restraint in the right front seat, always move the right front passenger seat as far back as it will go.
A rear seat is a safer place to secure a forward facing child restraint. See Where to Put the Restraint . 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 a forward-facing child restraint. See Manual Seats or Power Seats .
Caution: If the airbag readiness light in the instrument panel cluster ever comes on when you have turned off the airbag, it means that something may be wrong with the airbag system. The right front passenger's airbag could inflate even though the switch is off. If this ever happens, have the vehicle serviced promptly. Until you have the vehicle serviced, do not let anyone whom the national government has identified as a member of a passenger airbag risk group sit in the right front passenger's position (for example, do not secure a rear-facing child restraint in the right front passenger's seat). See "airbag Off Switch" in the Index.
If your child restraint is equipped with the LATCH system, see Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children (LATCH) . See Top Strap if your child restraint has one.
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.
- Your vehicle has a right front passenger's frontal air bag. See Airbag Off Switch and Passenger Sensing System . If your child restraint is forward-facing, move the seat as far back as it will go before securing the restraint in this seat. See Manual Seats or Power Seats . If you need to use a rear-facing child restraint in this seat, make sure the air bag is off once the child restraint has been installed.
- Put the child restraint on the seat.
- 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.
- 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.
- Pull the rest of the shoulder belt all the way out of the retractor to set the lock.
- To tighten the belt, push down on the child restraint, pull the shoulder belt to tighten the lap belt portion 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. You should not be able to pull more of the belt out of the retractor once the lock has been set.
- Push and pull the child restraint in different directions to be sure it is secure.
- If your vehicle has the passenger sensing system and the air bag is off, the off indicator will be lit and stay lit in the inside rearview mirror when the key is turned to RUN or START. Never put a rear-facing child restraint in the right front passenger seat unless the air bag is off.
When the passenger sensing system or the air bag off switch has turned off the right front passenger's frontal air bag, the off indicator in the passenger air bag status indicator should light and stay lit when you turn the ignition to RUN or START. See Passenger Airbag Status Indicator .
If a child restraint has been installed and the on indicator is lit, turn the vehicle off. Remove the child restraint from the vehicle and reinstall the child restraint.
If after reinstalling the child restraint and restarting the vehicle, the on indicator is still lit, check to make sure that the vehicle's seatback is not pressing the child restraint into the seat cushion. If this happens, slightly recline the vehicle's seatback and adjust the seat cushion if possible. 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, use the air bag off switch to turn off the air bag or secure the child in the child restraint in a rear seat position in the vehicle if one is available and check with your dealer. See Airbag Off Switch for more on this, including important safety information.
For heavy duty pickups without the passenger sensing system, use the air bag off switch to turn the air bag off or install the infant restraint in a rear seat position.
Caution: If the airbag ON indicator comes on when you have a rear-facing child restraint installed in the right front passenger's seat, it means that the passenger sensing system has not turned off the passenger's frontal airbag. 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. Do not use a rear-facing child restraint in the right front passenger's seat unless the airbag is off.
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.
If you had turned the air bag off with the switch, remember to be sure to use the air bag off switch to turn on the right front passenger's air bag when you remove the child restraint from the vehicle unless the person who will be sitting there is a member of a passenger air bag risk group. See Airbag Off Switch .
Caution: If the right front passenger's airbag is turned off for a person who is not in a risk group identified by the national government, that person will not have the extra protection of an airbag. In a crash, the airbag will not be able to inflate and help protect the person sitting there. Do not turn off the passenger's airbag unless the person sitting there is in a risk group. See "airbag Off Switch" in the Index for more on this, including important safety information.
