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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 Seats and Seat Controls
1
-6 Safety Belts: They're for Everyone
1
-11 Here Are Questions Many People Ask About
Safety Belts
-- and the Answers
1
-12 How to Wear Safety Belts Properly
1
-12 Driver Position
1
-20 Safety Belt Use During Pregnancy
1
-21 Right Front Passenger Position
1
-21 Supplemental Inflatable Restraint
(SIR) Systems1
-29 Center Passenger Position
1
-31 Rear Seat Passengers
1
-34 Children
1
-37 Child Restraints
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-50 Larger Children
1
-53 Safety Belt Extender
1
-53 Checking Your Restraint Systems
1
-53 Replacing Restraint System Parts
After a Crash
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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 ªChildren.º
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 (to see how, see ªSeatsº in the Index)
so you can sit up straight.
3. Pick up the latch plate and pull the belt across you.
Don't let it get twisted.
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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 ªDriver Positionº 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 lap 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) Systems
This part explains the frontal and side impact
Supplemental Inflatable Restraint (SIR) systems or air
bag systems.
Your vehicle has four air bags
-- a ªNext Generationº
frontal air bag for the driver, another ªNext Generationº
frontal air bag for the right front passenger, a side
impact air bag for the driver, and another side impact air
bag for the right front passenger.Next Generation frontal air bags are designed to help
reduce the risk of injury from the force of an inflating
frontal air bag. But even these air bags must inflate very
quickly if they are to do their job and comply with
federal regulations.
Here are the most important things to know about the air
bag systems:
CAUTION:
You can be severely injured or killed in a crash 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 ªsupplemental restraintsº to the safety
belts. All air bags
-- even Next Generation air
bags
-- are designed to work with safety belts but
don't replace them.
CAUTION: (Continued)
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CAUTION:
Children who are up against, or very close to, any
air bag when it inflates can be seriously injured or
killed. This is true even though your vehicle has
Next Generation frontal air bags. Air bags plus
lap
-shoulder belts offer the best protection for
adults, but not for young children and infants.
Neither the 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 ªChildrenº and
see the caution labels on the sunvisors and the right
front passenger's safety belt.
There is an air bag
readiness light on
the instrument
panel, which shows
AIR BAG.
The system checks the air bag electrical system for
malfunctions. The light tells you if there is an electrical
problem. See ªAir Bag Readiness Lightº in the Index
for more information.
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Children
Everyone in a vehicle needs protection! That includes
infants and all children smaller than adult size. Neither
the distance traveled nor the age and size of the traveler
changes the need, for everyone, to use safety restraints.
In fact, the law in every state in the United States and in
every Canadian province says children up to some age
must be restrained while in a vehicle.
Smaller Children and Babies
CAUTION:
Children who are up against, or very close to, any
air bag when it inflates can be seriously injured
or killed. This is true even though your vehicle
has Next Generation frontal air bags. Air bags
plus lap
-shoulder belts offer the best protection
for adults, but not for young children and
infants. Neither the 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.
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CAUTION:
Smaller children and babies should always be
restrained in a child or infant restraint. The
instructions for the restraint will say whether it is
the right type and size for your child. A very
young child's hip bones are so small that a
regular belt might not stay low on the hips, as it
should. Instead, the belt will likely be over the
child's abdomen. In a crash, the belt would apply
force right on the child's abdomen, which could
cause serious or fatal injuries. So, be sure that
any child small enough for one is always properly
restrained in a child or infant restraint.
Infants need complete support, including support for the
head and neck. This is necessary because an infant's neck
is weak and its head weighs so much compared with the
rest of its body. In a frontal crash, an infant in a rear
-facing
restraint settles into the restraint, so the crash forces can be
distributed across the strongest part of the infant's body,
the back and shoulders. A baby should be secured in an
appropriate infant restraint. This is so important that many
hospitals today won't release a newborn infant to its
parents unless there is an infant restraint available for the
baby's first trip in a motor vehicle.
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Child Restraints
Every time infants and young children ride in
vehicles, they should have protection provided by
appropriate restraints.
Q:What are the different types of add-on
child restraints?
A:Add-on child restraints are available in four basic
types. When selecting a child restraint, take into
consideration not only the child's weight and size,
but also whether or not the restraint will be
compatible with the motor vehicle in which it will
be used.
An infant car bed (A) is a special bed made for use
in a motor vehicle. It's an infant restraint system
designed to restrain or position a child on a
continuous flat surface. With an infant car bed,
make sure that the infant's head rests toward the
center of the vehicle.
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A forward-facing child restraint (C-E) positions a
child upright to face forward in the vehicle. These
forward
-facing restraints are designed to help
protect children who are from 20 to 40 lbs.
(9 to 18 kg) and about 26 to 40 inches
(66 to 102 cm) in height, or up to around four years
of age. One type, a convertible restraint, is
designed to be used either as a rear
-facing infant
seat or a forward
-facing child seat.