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To unlatch the belt, just push the button on the buckle.
Rear Safety Belt Comfort Guides
for Children and Small Adults
(4
-Door Models)
Four-door models have rear shoulder belt comfort
guides. This feature will provide added safety belt
comfort for children who have outgrown child restraints
and for small adults. When installed on a shoulder belt,
the comfort guide pulls the belt away from the neck
and head.
There is one guide for each outside passenger position in
the rear seat. To provide added safety belt comfort for
children who have outgrown child restraints and for
smaller adults, the comfort guides may be installed on
the shoulder belts. Here's how to install a comfort guide
and use the safety belt:
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1. Pull the elastic cord out from between the edge of
the seatback and the interior body to remove the
guide from its storage clip.2. Slide the guide under and past the belt. The elastic
cord must be under the belt. Then, place the guide
over the belt, and insert the two edges of the belt into
the slots of the guide.
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3. Be sure that the belt is not twisted and it lies flat.
The elastic cord must be under the belt and the guide
on top.4. Buckle, position and release the safety belt as
described in ªRear Seat Outside Passenger Positionsº
earlier in this section. Make sure that the shoulder
belt crosses the shoulder.
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To remove and store the comfort guides, squeeze the
belt edges together so that you can take them out from
the guides. Pull the guide upward to expose its storage
clip, and then slide the guide onto the clip. Rotate the
guide and clip inward and in between the seatback and
the interior body, leaving only the loop of elastic
cord exposed.
Center Rear Passenger Position
(4
-Door Models)
Lap Belt
When you sit in the center rear seating position, you
have a lap safety belt which has a retractor.
1. Pick up the latch plate and pull the belt across you.
Don't let it get twisted.
2. Push the latch plate into the buckle until it clicks.
Pull up on the latch plate to make sure it is secure.
3. Feed the lap belt into the retractor to tighten it.
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4. Position and release it the same way as the lap part
of a lap
-shoulder belt.
If the belt isn't long enough, see ªSafety Belt
Extenderº 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.
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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CAUTION:
Never hold a baby in your arms while riding in a
vehicle. A baby doesn't weigh much
-- until a
crash. During a crash a baby will become so
heavy you can't hold it. For example, in a crash
CAUTION: (Continued)
CAUTION: (Continued)
at only 25 mph (40 km/h), a 12-lb. (5.5 kg) baby
will suddenly become a 240
-lb. (110 kg) force on
your arms. The baby would be almost impossible
to hold.
Secure the baby in an infant restraint.
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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.