Chevrolet 2002 Malibu User manual

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2002 Chevrolet Malibu
Owner’s Manual
Litho in U.S.A. E Copyright General Motors Corporation 06/25/01
Part Number 22675723 A First Edition All Rights Reserved

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GENERAL MOTORS, GM, the GM Emblem,
CHEVROLET, the CHEVROLET Emblem and
the name MALIBU 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.
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.
We support voluntary
technician certification.
For Canadian Owners Who Prefer a
French Language Manual:
Aux propriétaires canadiens: Vous pouvez vous
procurer un exemplaire de ce guide en français chez
votre concessionaire ou au:
Helm, Incorporated
P.O. Box 07130
Detroit, MI 48207

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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.
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.
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.”

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Vehicle Damage Warnings
Also, in this book you will find these notices:
NOTICE:
These mean there is something that could damage
your vehicle.
In the notice area, we 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.
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:
D “Engine Compartment Overview”
D “Instrument Panel”
D “Comfort Controls”
D “Audio Systems”
Also see “Warning Lights and Gages” in the Index.

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These are some examples of vehicle symbols you may find on your vehicle:

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Section 1 Seats and Seat Restraints
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 Seats and Seat Controls
1-7 Safety Belts: They’re for Everyone
1-11 Here Are Questions Many People Ask About
Safety Belts -- and the Answers
1-13 How to Wear Safety Belts Properly
1-13 Driver Position
1-21 Safety Belt Use During Pregnancy
1-22 Right Front Passenger Position
1-22 Supplemental Restraint System (SRS)
1-28 Rear Seat Passengers
1-31 Rear Safety Belt Comfort Guides for Children
and Small Adults
1-33 Center Passenger Position
1-35 Children
1-39 Restraint Systems for Children
1-54 Older Children
1-57 Safety Belt Extender
1-57 Checking Your Restraint Systems
1-57 Replacing Restraint System Parts
After a Crash

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Seats and Seat Controls
This section tells you about the seats -- how to
adjust them -- and also about reclining seatbacks and
head restraints.
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.
Your vehicle has the following manual front
seat control.
Lift the bar located under the front seat to unlock it.
Slide the seat to where you want it and release the bar.
Then try to move the seat with your body to make sure
the seat is locked into place.

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Six-Way Power Seat (If Equipped)
If your vehicle has this feature, the power seat control is
located on the outboard side of the driver’s seat. This
control allows you to move the seat up, down, forward
or backward. It will also move the front or rear of the
seat cushion up or down.
To adjust the power seat, do the following:
D Move the seat forward or backward by pushing the
control toward the front or back of the vehicle.
D Raise or lower the entire seat cushion by holding the
whole control up or down.
D Raise or lower the front of the seat cushion by
holding the front part of the control up or down.
D Raise or lower the rear of the seat cushion by
holding the rear part of the control up or down.

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Reclining Front Seatbacks
Your vehicle has the following reclining front
seatback lever.
To adjust the seatback, lift the lever located on the
outboard side of the seat. Move the seatback to where
you want it and release the lever. Check to see that the
handle returns to the original position and that the
seatback is securely locked.
Pull up on the lever without pushing on the seatback and
the seat will go to an upright position.
But don’t have a seatback reclined if your vehicle is
moving.

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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.
Head Restraints
Head restraints are fixed on some models and adjustable
on others. Slide an adjustable head restraint up or down
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.

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Rear Seats
Folding Rear Seatback (Option)
To fold down the rear seatback, do the following:
1. Open the trunk and pull one or both of the tethers
located on the driver’s side of the trunk. The left
tether will open the larger side of the seatback. The
right tether will open the smaller side of the
seatback.
2. Once a tether is pulled, the seatback can be pushed
open through the trunk, or pulled open from inside
the vehicle.
To close the split folding rear seatback, push the
seatback up until you hear a click. Then pull on the
seatback to make sure it is secure.

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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:
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.
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 a light
that comes on as a reminder
to buckle up. See “Safety
Belt Reminder Light” in
the Index.
In most states and Canadian provinces, the law says to
wear safety belts. Here’s why: They work.

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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.

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Put someone on it. Get it up to speed. Then stop the vehicle. The rider
doesn’t stop.

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The person keeps going until stopped by something.
In a real vehicle, it could be the windshield ...
or the instrument panel ...

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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.
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.

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Q: If my vehicle has air bags, why should I have to
wear safety belts?
A: 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: If I’m 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’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.

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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.
3. Pick up the latch plate and pull the belt across you.
Don’t 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.
4. Push the latch plate into the buckle until it clicks.

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If the belt stops before it reaches the buckle, tilt
the latch plate and keep pulling until you can buckle
the belt.
Pull up on the latch plate to make sure it is secure.
If the belt isn’t long enough, see “Safety Belt
Extender” at the end of this section.
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. To make the lap part tight, pull down on the buckle
end of the belt as you pull up on the shoulder belt.