2000 MITSUBISHI CARISMA instrument panel

SEATS AND SEATBELTS
3–11
Seat beltsEG28ABQ
To protect you and your passengers in the
event of an accident, it is the most important
that the seat belts are worn correctly when
you drive.
The front seat belts have pre–tensioners.
These belts are used the same way as con-
ventional seat belts.
Refer to “Seat belt with pre–tensioner mech-
anism and force–limiter mechanism” on
page 3–14.
WARNING
(1) Never wear the shoulder portion
of the seat belt under the arm or
other position which is incorrect.
(2) One seat belt should be used by
only one person. Doing other-
wise can be dangerous.
(3) The seat belt will provide its
wearer with maximum protection
if the seatback recliner is placed
in fully upright position. When the
seatback is reclined, there is
greater risk that the passenger
will slide under the belt, especial-
ly in a forward impact accident,
and may be injured by the belt or
by striking the instrument panel
or seatbacks.
WARNING
(4) Seat belts should always be worn
by every adult who drives or rides
in this vehicle, and by all children
who are large enough to wear
seat belts properly.
(5) Remove any twists when using
the belt.
(6) No modifications or additions
should be made by the user
which will either prevent the seat
belt adjusting devices from oper-
ating to remove slack, or prevent
the seat belt assembly from being
adjusted to remove slack.G28A089a
WARNING
(7) To reduce risk of serious or fatal
injury in an accident, including
from a deploying driver air bag,
the driver should adjust the
driver’s seat to the rear most
position that still allows good vis-
ibility and good control of the
steering wheel, the brake and ac-
celerator, and vehicle controls.
(8) Never hold a child in your arms or
on your lap when riding in this ve-
hicle, even if you are wearing
your seat belt. To do so risks se-
vere or fatal injury to your child in
a collision or sudden stop.
(9) Always adjust the belt to a snug
fit.

SEATS AND SEATBELTS
3–23
WARNING
(3) Seat belts reduce the risk of being
thrown from your vehicle in a
collision or roll-over.
WARNING
IT IS VERY IMPORTANT TO BE
PROPERLY SEATED.
A driver or front passenger too close
to the steering wheel or instrument
panel during air bag deployment can
be killed or seriously injured.
Air bags inflate very fast, and with
great force.
If the driver and front passenger are
not properly seated and restrained,
the air bags may not protect you
properly, and could cause serious or
fatal injuries when it inflates.
(1) Before driving, adjust the driver’s
seat as far back as possible while
still maintaining complete control
of the vehicle.
(2) Before driving, adjust the front
passenger seat as far back as
possible.
(3) Make sure all vehicle occupants
are always properly restrained
using the available seat belts.
(4) With seat belts properly fastened
the driver and front passenger
should sit well back and upright
without leaning against the win-
dow or door.
G28G157a
WARNING
(5) Do not sit on the edge of the seat,
or lean head or chest close to the
steering wheel or instrument
panel. Do not put feet or legs on or
against the instrument panel.
(6) Place all infants and small
children in the rear seat and
properly restrained using an ap-
propriate child restraint system.
The rear seat is the safest for in-
fants and children.

SEATS AND SEATBELTS
3–24
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WARNING
(7) Infants and small children should
never be unrestrained, stand up
against the instrument panel or
held in your arms or on your lap.
They could be seriously injured
or killed in a collision, including
when the air bag inflates. They
should be properly seated in the
rear seat in an appropriate child
restraint system. See the “Child
restraint” section on page 3–15.
G28G436a
WARNING

REAR-FACING CHILD RE-
STRAINTS must NOT be used in
the front passenger seat as it
places an infant too close to the
passenger air bag. The force of an
inflating passenger air bag could
kill or cause serious injuries to
the child.
Rear-facing child restraints must
only be used in the rear seat.
G28G439a
WARNING

FRONT-FACING CHILD RE-
STRAINTS should be used in the
rear seat whenever possible; if
they must be used in the front
passenger seat, adjust the seat to
the fully backward position. Fail-
ure to do so could kill or cause
serious injuries to the child.
(8) Older children should be seated
in the rear seat, properly wearing
the seat belt, with an appropriate
booster seat if needed.

SEATS AND SEATBELTS
3–26
When the impact sensors detect an impact
of sufficient frontal or side force, an auto-
mated circuit ignites materials in the inflator
to generate gas and inflate the air bags. The
air bags deployment produces a sudden,
loud noise, and releases some smoke and
powder, but these conditions are not injuri-
ous, and do not indicate a fire in the vehicle.
People with respiratory problems may feel
some temporary irritation from chemicals
used to produce the deployment; open the
windows after air bag deployment, if safe to
do so.
The air bags deflate very rapidly after de-
ployment, so there is little danger of ob-
scured vision.
The time required from the sensors detecting
an impact to deflation of the air bags after de-
ployment is shorter than a blink of an eye.
CAUTION
Air bags are inflated at an extremely
rapid speed. In certain situations,
contact with inflating air bags can re-
sult in light cuts, bruises, and the like.
G28G012a
Driver’s and passenger’s front air
bag system
EG29C-A
The driver’s air bag is located under the
padded cover in the middle of the steering
wheel. The front passenger air bag is con-
tained in the instrument panel above the
glove box.
The driver air bag and the front passenger air
bag are designed to inflate at the same time
even if the passenger seat is not occupied.

SEATS AND SEATBELTS
3–27
G28L085d
Deployment of front air bags
The front air bags ARE DESIGNED TO DEPLOY when...
The front air bags are designed to deploy
when the vehicle suffers a moderate to se-
vere frontal impact. Typical conditions are
shown in the illustration:
1-Head-on collision with a solid wall at a
speed of approximately 25 km/h
(15 mph) or higher
2-Moderate to severe frontal impact
within the shaded area between the
arrowsThe front air bags will deploy if the severity of
the impact is above the designed threshold
level, comparable to an approximately
25 km/h (15 mph) collision when impacting
straight into a solid wall that does not move
or deform. If the severity of the impact is
below the above threshold level, the front air
bags may not deploy. However, this thresh-
old speed will be considerably higher if the
vehicle strikes an object that absorbs the im-
pact by either deforming or moving (for
example, another stationary vehicle, pole or
a guard rail).Because frontal collisions can easily move
you out of position, it is important to always
properly wear your seat belts. Your seat belts
will help you to keep a safe distance from the
steering wheel and instrument panel during
the initial stages of air bag deployment. The
initial stage of air bag inflation is the most
forceful and can possibly cause serious or
fatal injuries. Moreover, the seat belts in your
vehicle are your primary means of protection
in a collision. The SRS (Supplemental Re-
straint System) air bags are designed to pro-
vide additional protection. Therefore, for your
safety and the safety of all occupants, be
sure to always properly wear your seat belts.

SEATS AND SEATBELTS
3–30
G28L088d
The front air bags MAY DEPLOY when...
The front air bags may deploy if the bottom
of the vehicle suffers a moderate to severe
impact (undercarriage damage).
Examples of some typical conditions are
shown in the illustration:1-Collision with an elevated median/is-
land or curb
2-Vehicle travels over a deep hole/po-
thole
3-Vehicle drives down a steep slope and
hits the groundBecause the front air bags may deploy in
certain types of unexpected impacts as
shown in the illustration that can easily move
you out of position, it is important to always
properly wear your seat belts. Your seat belts
will help you to keep a safe distance from the
steering wheel and instrument panel during
the initial stages of air bag deployment. The
initial stage of air bag inflation is the most
forceful and can possibly cause serious or
fatal injuries if you contact it at this stage.

SEATS AND SEATBELTS
3–31
G28G326a
WARNING
(1) Do not attach anything to the
steering wheel padded cover,
such as trim material, badges,
etc. It might strike and injure an
occupant if the air bag inflates.
(2) Do not set anything on or attach
anything to the instrument panel
above the glove box. It might
strike and injure an occupant if
the air bag inflates.
WARNING
(3) Do not attach accessories to or
put them in front of the wind-
screen. These objects could re-
strict the air bag inflation or strike
and injure an occupant if the air
bags inflate.
(4) Do not put packages, pets or
other objects between the air
bags and the driver or front pass-
enger. It could affect air bag per-
formance or could cause injury
when the air bag inflates.
(5) Right after the air bag inflation,
several air bag system compo-
nents will be hot. Do not touch
them; you could be burned.
(6) The air bag system is designed to
work only once. Once the air bags
have deployed, they will not work
again. They must promptly be re-
placed and the entire air bag sys-
tem inspected by an authorized
MITSUBISHI dealer.
(7) If the vehicle is involved in a
frontal collision but the air bags
are not inflated, have the air bag
system checked and, if necess-
ary, replaced by an authorized
MITSUBISHI dealer.
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Side air bag system
(front seat only)*
EG29D-A
The side air bags are contained in the driver
and front passenger seatbacks.

SEATS AND SEATBELTS
3–36
WARNING
(7) Never install a rear-facing child
restraint in the front passenger
seat. A forward-facing child re-
straint should be used in the rear
seat only, whenever possible. If a
forward-facing child restraint
must be used in the front passen-
ger seat, adjust the seat to the
fully backward position and take
care to ensure that the child stays
in the child restraint and away
from the door.
Do not allow the child to lean
against or close to the front door
even if the child is seated in a
child restraint system.
The child’s head should also not
be leaned against or be close to
the area of the seat where the side
air bag is located. It is dangerous
if the side air bag inflates.
Failure to follow all of these in-
structions could lead to serious
or fatal injury to the child.
WARNING
(8) Work around and on the side air
bag system components should
only be done by an authorized
MITSUBISHI dealer. Improper
work could result in inadvertent
deployment of a side air bag or
could render a side air bag inop-
erative; either situation could re-
sult in serious injury.
G28G153a
SRS warning lampEG29F-Ac
There is a supplemental restraint system
(“SRS”) warning lamp on the instrument
panel. The system checks itself and the
lamp tells you if there is a problem. When the
ignition key is turned to the “ON” or “START”
position, the warning lamp should illuminate
for several seconds and then should go out.
This means the system is ready.
The SRS warning lamp is shared by the fol-
lowing:

Driver’s front air bag

Front passenger’s front air bag

Side air bags

Seat belt pre-tensioners