
Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine To unlatch the belt, just push the button on the buckle.
The belt should go back out of the way.
Before you close the door, be sure the belt is out
of the
way. If
you slam the door on it, you can damage both the
belt and your vehicle.
Safety Belt Use During Pregnancy
Safety belts work for everyone, including pregnant
women. Like all occupants, they are more likely to be
seriously injured if they don’t wear safety belts.
A pregnant woman should wear a lap-shoulder belt, and
the lap portion should
be worn as low as possible, below
the rounding, throughout the pregnancy.
1-22

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine The best way to protect the fetus is to protect the
mother, When a safety belt
is worn properly, it’s more
likely that the fetus won’t be hurt in a crash. For
pregnant women, as for anyone, the key to making
safety belts effective is wearing them properly.
Right Front Passenger Position
To learn how to wear the right front passenger’s
safety belt properly, see “Driver Position” earlier in
this section.
The right front passenger’s safety belt works the same
way as the driver’s safety belt
-- except for one thing.
If you ever pull the shoulder portion of the belt out all
the way, you will engage the child restraint locking
feature. If this happens, just let the belt go back all the
way and start again.
Supplemental Inflatable Restraint
(SIR) System
This part explains the Supplemental Inflatable Restraint
(SIR) system or air bag system.
Your vehicle has “Next Generation” reduced-force
frontal air bags
-- one air bag for the driver and another
air bag for the right front passenger.
Reduced-force frontal air bags are designed to help
reduce the risk of injury from the force
of an inflating
air bag. But even these air bags must inflate very
quickly
if they are to do their job and comply with
federal regulations.
1-23

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Here are the most important things to know about the air
bag system:
YOI :an be severely i: - !d or killed in a cr; I if
you aren’t wearing your safety belt
-- even if you
have
air bags. Wearing your safety belt during a
crash helps reduce your chance of hitting things
inside the vehicle or being ejected from
it. Air
bags are “supplemental restraints” to the safety
belts. All air bags
-- even reduced-force air
bags
-- are designed to work with safety belts,
but don’t replace them.
Air bags are designed to
work only in moderate to severe crashes where
the front of your vehicle hits something. They
aren’t designed to inflate
at all in rollover, rear,
side or low-speed frontal crashes. And, for
unrestrained occupants, reduced-force air bags
may provide less protection in frontal crashes
than more forceful air bags have provided in the
past. Everyone in your vehicle should wear a
safety belt properly
-- whether or not there’s an
air bag for that person.
CAUTION:
I
Air bags inflate with great force, faster than the
blink of an eye. If you’re too close to an inflating
air bag,
it could seriously injure you. This is true
even with reduced-force frontal air bags. Safety
belts help keep you in position before and during
a crash. Always wear your safety belt, even with
reduced-force
air bags. The driver should sit as
far back as possible while still maintaining
control of the vehicle.
1-24

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine A
Children who are up against, or very close to, an
air bag when it inflates can be seriously injured
or killed. This is true even though your vehicle
has reduced-force frontal air bags.
Air bags plus
lap-shoulder belts offer the best protection for
adults, but not for young children and infants.
Neitherthe vehicle’s safety belt system nor
its air
bag system is designed for them. Young children
and infants need the protection that a child
restraint system can provide. Always secure
children properly in your vehicle.
To read how,
see the part of this manual called “Children” and
see the caution labels on the sunvisors and the
right front passenger’s safety belt.
$1 There is an air bag readiness
light on the instrument
panel, which shows the air
bag symbol.
The system checks the air bag electrical system for
malfunctions. The light tells you if there is an electrical
problem. See “Air Bag Readiness Light” in the Index
for more information.
1-25

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine If something is between an occupant and an air
bag, the bag might not inflate properly or it
might force the object into that person. The path
of an inflating air bag must be kept clear. Don’t
put anything between an occupant and an air
bag, and don’t attach
or put anything on the
steering wheel hub or on or near any other air
bag covering.
When should an air bag inflate?
An air bag is designed to inflate in a moderate to severe
frontal or near-frontal crash. The air bag will inflate
only if the impact speed is above the system’s designed
“threshold level.” If your vehicle goes straight into a
wall that doesn’t move or deform, the threshold level is
about
14 to 18 mph (23 to 29 kdh). The threshold level
can vary, however, with specific vehicle design, so that
it can be somewhat above
or below this range. If your
vehicle strikes something that will move or deform, such as
a parked car, the threshold level will be higher. The
air bag is not designed to inflate in rollovers, side
impacts or rear impacts, because inflation would
not
help the occupant.
In any particular crash, no
one can say whether an air
bag
should have inflated simply because of the damage
to a vehicle or because
of what the repair costs were.
Inflation is determined by the angle of the impact and
how quickly the vehicle slows down
in frontal or
near-frontal impacts.
The air bag system is designed to work properly under a
wide range of conditions, including off-road usage.
Observe safe driving speeds, especially
on rough terrain.
As always, wear your safety belt. See “Off-Road
Driving’’
in the Index for more tips on off-road driving.
What makes an air bag inflate?
In an impact of sufficient severity, the air bag sensing
system detects that the vehicle is
in a crash. The sensing
system triggers a release
of gas from the inflator, which
inflates the air bag. The inflator, air bag and related
hardware are all part
of the air bag modules inside the
steering wheel and in the instrument panel in front
of the
right front passenger.
1-27

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine How does an air bag restrain?
In moderate to severe frontal or near-frontal collisions,
even belted occupants can contact the steering wheel or
the instrument panel. Air bags supplement the protection
provided by safety belts. Air bags distribute the force of
the impact more
evenly over the occupant’s upper body,
stopping
the occupant more gradually. But air bags would
not help you in many types of collisions, including
rollovers, rear impacts and side impacts, primarily
because an occupant’s motion is not toward those air
bags. Air bags should never be regarded as anything more than
a supplement to safety belts, and then only in
moderate to severe frontal or near-frontal collisions.
What will you see after an air bag inflates?
After an air bag inflates, it quickly deflates, so quickly that
some people may not even realize the
air bag inflated.
Some components
of the air bag module -- the steering
wheel hub for the driver’s air bag, or the instrument panel
for the right front passenger’s bag
-- will be hot for a short
time. The parts of the bag that come into contact with you
may be warm, but not too hot to touch. There will be
some smoke and dust coming from vents
in the deflated
air bags. Air bag inflation doesn’t prevent the driver from
seeing or from being able to steer the vehicle, nor does
it
stop people from leaving the vehicle.
When an air bag inflates, there is dust in the air.
This dust could cause breathing problems for
people with a history
of asthma or other
breathing trouble.
To avoid this, everyone in the
vehicle should get out as soon as it is safe to do
so.
If you have breathing problems but can’t get out
of the vehicle after an air bag inflates, then get
fresh air by opening a window or door.
Air bags are designed to inflate only once. After they
inflate, you’ll need some new parts for your air bag
system. If you don’t get them, the air bag system
won’t be there to help protect you in another crash.
A new system will include air bag modules and
possibly other parts. The service manual for your
vehicle covers the need to replace other parts.
Your vehicle is equipped with a diagnostic module,
which records information about the air bag system.
The module records information about the readiness
of the system, when the sensors are activated and
driver’s safety belt usage at deployment.
1-28

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Adding Equipment to Your Air
Bag-Equipped Vehicle
@’ If I add a push bumper bf ii bicycle rack to the
front of my vehicle,
will it keep the air bags
from working properly?
A: As long as the push bumper or bicycle rack is
attached to your vehicle so that the vehicle’s basic
structure isn’t changed, it’s not likely to keep the
air bags from working properly in a crash.
e.’’ Is there anything I might add to the front of the
vehicle that could keep the air bags from working properly?
A: Yes. If you add things that change your vehicle’s
frame, bumper system, front end sheet metal or
height, they may keep the air bag system
from
working properly. Also, the air bag system may not
work properly if
you relocate any of the air bag
sensors. If you have any questions about
this, you
should contact Customer Assistance before
you
modify your vehicle. (The phone numbers and
addresses for Customer Assistance are in Step
Two of
the Customer Satisfaction Procedure in this manual.
See “Customer Satisfaction Procedure” in the Index.)
Center Front Passenger Position
(4-Door Models)
Lap Belt
If your vehicle has a front bench seat, someone can sit in
the center position.

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine When you sit in the center front seating position, you
have a lap safety belt, which has no retractor.
To make
the belt longer, tilt the latch plate and pull it along
the belt.
To make the belt shorter, pull its free end as shown until
the belt is snug.
Buckle, position and release it the same way as the lap
part of a lap-shoulder belt. 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.
1-31