Chevrolet Cobalt Owners Manual: Where to Put the Restraint

According to accident statistics, children and infants are safer when properly restrained in a child restraint system or infant restraint system secured in a rear seating position.

We recommend that children and child restraints be secured in a rear seat, including: an infant or a child riding in a rear-facing child restraint; a child riding in a forward-facing child seat; an older child riding in a booster seat; and children, who are large enough, using safety belts.

A label on the sun visor says, “Never put a rear-facing child restraint in the front.” This is because the risk to the rear-facing child is so great, if the airbag deploys.

WARNING:
A child in a rear-facing child restraint can be seriously injured or killed if the right front passenger airbag inflates. This is because the back of the rear-facing child restraint would be very close to the inflating airbag. A child in a forward-facing child restraint can be seriously injured or killed if the right front passenger airbag inflates and the passenger seat is in a forward position.

The vehicle may have a passenger sensing system which is designed to turn off the right front passenger frontal airbag under certain conditions.

Even if the passenger sensing system, if equipped, has turned off the right front passenger frontal airbag, no system is fail-safe.

No one can guarantee that an airbag will not deploy under some unusual circumstance, even though it is turned off.

Secure rear-facing child restraints in a rear seat, even if the airbag is off. If you 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.

See Passenger Sensing System (Without Turbo Engine) or Passenger Sensing System (With Turbo Engine) for additional information.

When securing a child restraint in a rear seating position, study the instructions that came with the child restraint to make sure it is compatible with this vehicle.

Wherever a child restraint is installed, 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 the vehicle — even when no child is in it.