User manual PONTIAC VIBE 2003

The 2003 Pontiac Vibe Owner's Manual 1-1 2-1 3-1 4-1 5-1 6-1 7-1 8-1 Seats and Restraint Systems This section tells you how to use your seats and safety belts properly. It also explains the air bag system. Features and Controls This section explains how to start and operate your vehicle. Comfort Controls and Audio Systems This section tells you how to adjust the ventilation and comfort controls and how to operate your audio system. Your Driving and the Road Here you'll find helpful information and tips about the road and how to drive under different conditions. Problems on the Road This section tells you what to do if you have a problem while driving, such as a flat tire or overheated engine, etc. Service and Appearance Care Here the manual tells you how to keep your vehicle running properly and looking good. Maintenance Schedule This section tells you when to perform vehicle maintenance and what fluids and lubricants to use. Customer Assistance Information This section tells you how to contact Pontiac for assistance and how to get service and owner publications. It also gives you information on "Reporting Safety Defects" on page 8-9. i We support voluntary technician certification. GENERAL MOTORS, GM, the GM Emblem, PONTIAC, the PONTIAC Emblem are registered trademarks and the name VIBE is a trademark 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 Pontiac Division whenever it appears in this manual. Please keep this manual in your vehicle, so it will be there if you ever need it when you're on the road. If you sell the vehicle, please leave this manual in it so the new owner can use it. Canadian Owners Canadian Owners: You can obtain a French copy of this manual from your dealer or from: Helm, Incorporated P.O. Box 07130 Detroit, MI 48207 Litho in U.S.A. Part Number 22683297 A First Edition ECopyright General Motors Corporation 01/07/02 All Rights Reserved ii How to Use this Manual Many people read their owner's manual from beginning to end when they first receive their new vehicle. If you do this, it will help you learn about the features and controls for your vehicle. In this manual, you'll find that pictures and words work together to explain things quickly. 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 don't, you or others could be hurt. You will also find a circle with a slash through it in this book. This safety symbol means "Don't," "Don't do this" or "Don't let this happen." Safety Warnings and Symbols You will find a number of safety cautions in this book. We use a box and the word CAUTION to tell you about things that could hurt you if you were to ignore the warning. iii Vehicle Damage Warnings Also, in this book you will find these notices: Vehicle Symbols Your vehicle may be equipped with components and labels that use symbols instead of text. Symbols, used on your vehicle, 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 in the Index: NOTICE: These mean there is something that could damage your vehicle. A notice will tell you about something that can damage your vehicle. Many times, this damage would not be covered by your warranty, and it could be costly. But the notice will tell you 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. You'll also see warning labels on your vehicle. They use the same words, CAUTION or NOTICE. D D D D "Engine Compartment Overview" "Instrument Panel" "Comfort Controls" "Audio Systems" Also see "Warning Lights and Gages" in the Index. iv These are some examples of vehicle symbols you may find on your vehicle: v Section 1 Seats and Restraint Systems Here you'll find information about the seats in your vehicle and how to use your safety belts properly. You can also learn about some things you should not do with air bags and safety belts. 1-2 1-9 1-13 1-14 1-14 1-21 1-22 1-22 Seats and Seat Controls Safety Belts: They're for Everyone Here Are Questions Many People Ask About Safety Belts -- and the Answers How to Wear Safety Belts Properly Driver Position Safety Belt Use During Pregnancy Right Front Passenger Position Supplemental Restraint System (SRS) 1-31 1-32 1-35 1-39 1-54 1-57 1-57 1-58 Safety Belt Pretensioners Rear Seat Passengers Children Restraint Systems for Children Older Children Safety Belt Extender Checking Your Restraint Systems Replacing Restraint System Parts After a Crash 1- 1-1 Seats and Seat Controls This part tells you about the seats -- how to adjust them, and also about reclining front seatbacks, head restraints and rear folding seatbacks. Manual Front Seats 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 don't want to. Adjust the driver's seat only when the vehicle is not moving. Lift the bar located under the front 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 make sure the seat is locked into place. Don't put anything under the front seats. Items under the seats could keep the seats from locking into place properly. 1-2 Driver's Seat Height Adjuster Turn the knob located on the outboard side of the driver's seat cushion to adjust the height of the driver's seat. It is easier to use the adjuster when the seat is unoccupied. Make sure the ignition is off and the vehicle is in PARK (P) before adjusting the seat. Reclining Front Seatbacks To adjust the seatback, lift the lever located on the outboard side of the seat. Release the lever to lock the seatback where you want it. Push on the seat to make sure it's locked into position. Pull up on the lever without pushing on the seatback, and the seat will go to its original upright position. 1-3 CAUTION: Sitting in a reclined position when your vehicle is in motion can be dangerous. Even if you buckle up, your safety belts can't do their job when you're reclined like this. The shoulder belt can't do its job because it won't 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 can't 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. But don't have a seatback reclined if your vehicle is moving. 1-4 Head Restraints Adjust your head restraint so that the top of the restraint is closest to the top of your head. This position reduces the chance of a neck injury in a crash. Press the release button near the base of the restraint to lower and raise the restraint to a comfortable position. 1-5 Rear Seats Rear Folding Seatback You can fold either side of the seatback down for more cargo space. The rear right side seatback can also be used as a temporary table when the vehicle is stopped. Make sure the front seatback isn't reclined or in the rearward most position. If it is, the rear seatback won't fold down all the way. CAUTION: A safety belt that is improperly routed, not properly attached, or twisted won't 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. CAUTION: If the seatback isn't locked, it could move forward in a sudden stop or crash. That could cause injury to the person sitting there. Always press rearward on the seatback to be sure it is locked. 1-6 To fold either seatback down, do the following: 1. Pull up on the lock release knob, located on the top of the seatbacks. Front Passenger Folding Seatback CAUTION: If you fold the seatback forward to carry longer objects, such as skis, be sure any such cargo is not near an air bag. In a crash, an inflating air bag might force that object toward a person. This could cause severe injury or even death. Secure objects away from the area in which an air bag would inflate. For more information, see "How the Air Bag System Works" and "Loading Your Vehicle," in the Index. You can also fold the front passenger's seatback down to allow for more cargo space or as a temporary table when the vehicle is stopped. 2. Fold the seatback down. Each seatback can be folded separately. To raise the seatback, do the following: 1. Pull the seatback up and push it back to lock it into place. Make sure the safety belts are not twisted or caught in the seatback. 2. Push and pull the top of the seatback to be sure it is locked into position. 1-7 To fold the seatback down, do the following: 1. Lower the head restraint to the lowest position and make sure the seatback is at the most upright position and locked. 2. Pull up on one of the recliner levers located on either side of the back of the passenger's seatback. 3. Fold the seatback down. 4. Lift the recliner lever to make sure the seatback is completely flat. To raise the seatback, do the following: 1. Pull the seatback up and push it back to lock it into place. Make sure the safety belt is not twisted or caught in the seatback. 2. Push and pull the top of the seatback to be sure it is locked into position. 3. Use the recliner lever to adjust the seatback to a comfortable position. 1-8 Safety Belts: They're 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. And it explains the Supplemental Restraint System (SRS), or air bag system. 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. CAUTION: Don't let anyone ride where he or she can't wear a safety belt properly. If you are in a crash and you're 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. Your vehicle has a light that comes on as a reminder to buckle up. See "Safety Belt Reminder Light" in the Index. 1-9 In most states and in all Canadian provinces, the law says to wear safety belts. Here's why: They work. You never know if you'll be in a crash. If you do have a crash, you don't 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 wouldn't 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 30 years of safety belts in vehicles, the facts are clear. In most crashes buckling up does matter ... a lot! Why Safety Belts Work When you ride in or on anything, you go as fast as it goes. Take the simplest vehicle. Suppose it's just a seat on wheels. 1-10 Put someone on it. Get it up to speed. Then stop the vehicle. The rider doesn't stop. 1-11 The person keeps going until stopped by something. In a real vehicle, it could be the windshield ... or the instrument panel ... 1-12 Here Are Questions Many People Ask About Safety Belts -- and the Answers Q: Won't I be trapped in the vehicle after an accident if I'm wearing a safety belt? A: You could be -- whether you're wearing a safety belt or not. But you can unbuckle a safety belt, even if you're 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. If my vehicle has air bags, why should I have to wear safety belts? Air bags are in many vehicles today and will be in most of them in the future. But they are supplemental systems only; so they work with safety belts -- not instead of them. Every air bag system ever offered for sale has required the use of safety belts. Even if you're in a vehicle that has air bags, you still have to buckle up to get the most protection. That's true not only in frontal collisions, but especially in side and other collisions. Q: A: 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's why safety belts make such good sense. 1-13 Q: A: If I'm a good driver, and I never drive far from home, why should I wear safety belts? You may be an excellent driver, but if you're in an accident -- even one that isn't your fault -- you and your passengers can be hurt. Being a good driver doesn't 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 Adults 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 the part of this manual called "Children." Follow those rules for everyone's protection. First, you'll want to know which restraint systems your vehicle has. We'll start with the driver position. Driver Position This part describes the driver's restraint system. Lap-Shoulder Belt The driver has a lap-shoulder belt. Here's 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. 1-14