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SATURN, the SATURN Emblem, and the name
ION are registered trademarks of Saturn
Corporation. GENERAL MOTORS and GM 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.

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 retailer or from:

Helm, Incorporated
P.O. Box 07130
Detroit, MI 48207

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.

Litho in U.S.A.
Part No. 15860076 B Second Printing

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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.”

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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:

•

Seats and Restraint Systems in Section 1

•

Features and Controls in Section 2

•

Instrument Panel Overview in Section 3

•

Climate Controls in Section 3

•

Warning Lights, Gages, and Indicators in
Section 3

•

Audio System(s) in Section 3

•

Engine Compartment Overview in Section 5

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These are some examples of symbols that may be found on the vehicle:

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Front Seats ..................................................... 8

Manual Seats ................................................ 8
Driver Seat Height Adjuster ........................... 9
Manual Lumbar ............................................. 9
Reclining Seatbacks .................................... 10
Head Restraints .......................................... 13
Passenger Folding Seatback ....................... 14

Rear Seats .................................................... 16

Split Folding Rear Seat ............................... 16

Safety Belts .................................................. 18

Safety Belts: They Are for Everyone ........... 18
Questions and Answers About Safety Belts .... 23
How to Wear Safety Belts Properly ............. 24
Driver Position ............................................. 24
Shoulder Belt Height Adjustment (Sedan) .... 31
Safety Belt Use During Pregnancy .............. 32
Right Front Passenger Position ................... 32
Rear Seat Passengers ................................ 33
Rear Safety Belt Comfort Guides ................ 36
Safety Belt Pretensioners ............................ 40
Safety Belt Extender ................................... 40

Child Restraints ............................................ 41

Older Children ............................................. 41
Infants and Young Children ......................... 44

Child Restraint Systems .............................. 47
Where to Put the Restraint .......................... 52
Lower Anchors and Tethers for

Children (LATCH) .................................... 53

Securing a Child Restraint in a Rear

Seat Position ........................................... 61

Securing a Child Restraint in the Right

Front Seat Position .................................. 64

Airbag System .............................................. 68

Where Are the Airbags? .............................. 71
When Should an Airbag Inflate? .................. 73
What Makes an Airbag Inflate? ................... 75
How Does an Airbag Restrain? ................... 75
What Will You See After an Airbag

Inflates? ................................................... 76

Passenger Sensing System ......................... 77
Servicing Your Airbag-Equipped Vehicle ...... 82
Adding Equipment to Your

Airbag-Equipped Vehicle .......................... 83

Restraint System Check ............................... 84

Checking the Restraint Systems .................. 84
Replacing Restraint System Parts After

a Crash ................................................... 85

Section 1

Seats and Restraint Systems

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Front Seats

Manual 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 do
not want to. Adjust the driver’s seat only
when the vehicle is not moving.

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.

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Driver Seat Height Adjuster

If your vehicle has a driver’s seat height adjuster
it, is located on the outboard side of the seat.

To raise the seat, move the lever upward
repeatedly until the seat is at the desired height.
To lower the seat, move the lever downward
repeatedly until the seat is at the desired height.

Manual Lumbar

If your vehicle has this
feature, the knob is
located on the front
of the driver seat
lower cushion on the
inboard side.

Turn the knob clockwise or counterclockwise to
increase or decrease the lumbar support.

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Reclining Seatbacks

{

CAUTION:

{

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.

Your seats have manual reclining seatbacks. The
lever used to operate them is located on the
outboard side of the seats.

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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.

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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
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.

CAUTION:

(Continued)

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CAUTION:

(Continued)

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.

Head Restraints

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.

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Pull the head restraint
up to raise it. To lower
the head restraint,
press the button,
located on the top of the
seatback, and push
the restraint down.

Passenger Folding Seatback

Your vehicle may have a passenger seat that
folds flat.

{

CAUTION:

If you fold the seatback forward to carry
longer objects, such as skis, be sure any
such cargo is not near an airbag. In a
crash, an inflating airbag might force that
object toward a person. This could cause
severe injury or even death. Secure
objects away from the area in which an
airbag would inflate. For more
information, see Where Are the Airbags?
on page 71 and Loading Your Vehicle on
page 250.

{

CAUTION:

Things you put on this seatback can
strike and injure people in a sudden stop
or turn, or in a crash. Remove or secure
all items before driving.

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To fold the seatback flat, do the following:

1. Lift the bar under the seat to unlock it.

2. Slide the seat as far back as it will go and

release the bar. Try to move the seat with
your body to make sure it is locked into place.

3. Lift the recliner lever, located on the outboard

side of the seat, and fold the seat forward
until the seatback disengages.

4. Release the recliner lever and fold the seat

forward until it locks in the folded position.
Pull up on the seatback to be sure it is locked.

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To raise the seatback to an upright position, do
the following:

1. Lift the recliner lever, located on the outboard

side of the seat, and lift the seatback.

2. Push the seatback until it re-engages.

{

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.

3. Push and pull on the seatback to make sure it

is locked in place.

Rear Seats

Split Folding Rear Seat

You can fold either side of the rear seatback down
for more cargo space.

To lower the rear seatback, follow these steps:

1. Open the trunk and pull one or both of the small

handles located in the center of the trunk.

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