
3Driver and Passenger Safety
This section gives you important
information about how to protect
you and your passengers. It shows
how to use seat belts properly. It
explains the Supplemental
Restraint System. And it tells you
how to properly restrain infants
and children in your vehicle.
Important Safety Precautions
4
. .
Your Vehicle’s Safety Features 5
Seat Belts 6
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Airbags 7
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Seats and Seat-Backs 8
. . . . . .
Head Restraints 8
. . . . . . . . . .
Door Locks 9
. . . . . . . . . . . . .
Pre-Drive Safety Checklist 9
.
Protecting Adults 10
. . . . . . . . . .
1. Close and Lock the Doors 10
2. Adjust the Front Seats 10
. .
3. Adjust the Seat-Backs 11
. .
4. Adjust the Head Restraints12 5. Fasten and Position
the Seat Belts 13
. . . . . . . . .
6. Adjust the Steering Wheel15
7. Maintain a Proper Sitting Position 16
. . . . . . .
Advice for Pregnant Women 16
Additional Safety Precautions 17
Protecting Children 18
. . . . . . . .
All Children Must
Be Restrained 18
. . . . . . . . . .
Children Should Sit in
the Back Seat 19
. . . . . . . . . .
The Passenger’s Airbag Poses
Serious Risks to Children 19
If You Must Drive With
Several Children 20
. . . . . . .
If a Child Requires
Close Attention 21
. . . . . . . .
Additional Safety Precautions 21
General Guidelines for
Using Child Seats 22
. . . . . .
Protecting Infants 26
. . . . . . .
Protecting Small Children 31
. Protecting Larger Children
34
Using Child Seats
With Tethers 38
. . . . . . . . . . .
Using LATCH 39
. . . . . . . . . .
Additional Information About
Your Seat Belts 41
. . . . . . . . . . .
Seat Belt System
Components 41
. . . . . . . . . . .
Lap/Shoulder Belt 41
. . . . . . .
Lap Belt 42
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Seat Belt Maintenance 42
. . . .
Additional Information About
Your SRS 43
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
SRS Components 43
. . . . . . . .
How Your Airbags Work 44
. .
How Your SRS Indicator
Light Works 45
. . . . . . . . . . .
SRS Service 46
. . . . . . . . . . . .
Additional Safety Precautions 46
Carbon Monoxide Hazard 47
. . .
Safety Labels 48
. . . . . . . . . . . . .
Driver and Passenger Safety

POWER DOOR
LOCKSAIRBAGS
SEAT BELTS
SAFETY CAGE
COLLAPSIBLE
STEERING
COLUMN
CRUSH
ZONES
5Driver and Passenger SafetyYour vehicle is equipped with
many features that work together
to protect you and your
passengers during a crash.
Some safety features do not
require any action on your part.
These include a strong steel
framework that forms a safety
cage around the passenger
compartment; front and rear crush
zones that are designed to
crumple and absorb energy during
a crash; and a collapsible steering
column.
These safety features are designed
to reduce the severity of injuries
in a crash. However, you and your
passengers can
’t take full
advantage of these safety features
unless you remain sitting in a
proper position and always wear
your seat belts properly. In fact,
Your Vehicle ’s Safety Features

belts and wearing them
properly (see page 13).
9Driver and Passenger Safety
Door Locks
Keeping your doors locked
reduces the chance of being
thrown out of the vehicle during
a crash. It also helps prevent
occupants from accidentally
opening a door and falling out,
and outsiders from unexpectedly
opening your doors.
Pre-Drive Safety Checklist
To make sure you and your
passengers get the maximum
protection from your vehicle’s
safety features, check the
following each time before you
drive away.
•All adults, and children who
have outgrown child safety
seats, are wearing their seat
•Any infant or small child is
properly restrained in a child
seat in the back seat (see page
18).
•Front seat occupants are sitting
upright and as far back as
possible from the steering
wheel and dashboard (see page
10).
•Seat-backs are upright (see
page 11).
•Head restraints are properly
adjusted (see page 12).
•All doors and the tailgate are
closed and locked (see page
10).
•All cargo is properly stored or
secured (see page 175). The rest of this section gives more
detailed information about how
you can maximize your safety.
Remember, however, that no
safety system can prevent all
injuries or deaths that can occur in
severe crashes, even when seat
belts are properly worn and the
airbags deploy.

10Driver and Passenger Safety
Introduction
The following pages provide
instructions on how to properly
protect the driver and other adult
occupants.
These instructions also apply to
children who have outgrown child
seats and are large enough to wear
lap/shoulder belts. (See page 34
for important additional
guidelines on how to properly
protect larger children.)
1. Close and Lock the Doors
After everyone has entered the
vehicle, be sure the doors and
tailgate are closed and locked.
For safety, locking the doors
reduces the chance that a
passenger, especially a child, will
open a door while the vehicle is
moving and accidentally fall out.It also reduces the chance of
someone being thrown out of the
vehicle during a crash.
For security, locked doors can
prevent an outsider from
unexpectedly opening a door
when you come to a stop.
See page 104 for how to lock the
doors.
2. Adjust the Front Seats
Any driver who sits too close to
the steering wheel is at risk of
being seriously injured or killed
by striking the steering wheel, or
from being struck by the inflating
airbag during a crash.
Protecting Adults

Driver and Passenger Safety 21
If a Child Requires Close
Attention
Many
parents say they prefer to
put an infant or small child in the
front passenger seat so they can
watch the child, or because the
child requires attention.
Placing a child in the front seat
exposes the child to hazards from
the airbag, and paying close
attention to a child distracts the
driver from the important tasks of
driving, placing both of you at
risk.
If a child requires physical
attention or frequent visual
contact, we strongly recommend
that another adult ride with the
child in the back seat. The back
seat is far safer for a child than the
front.
Additional Safety
Precautions
• Use child-safe door locks to
prevent children from opening
the doors. Using this feature
will prevent children from
opening the doors and
accidentally falling out (see
page 105).
•Use the main power window
switch to prevent children
from opening the rear
windows. Using this feature
will prevent children from
playing with the windows,
which could expose them to
hazards or distract the driver
(see page 107).
•Do not leave children alone in
your vehicle. Leaving children
without adult supervision is
illegal in most states and can be
very hazardous. For example,
infants and small children left
in a vehicle on a hot day can
die from heat stroke. And
children left alone with the key
in the ignition can accidentally
set the vehicle in motion,
possibly injuring themselves or
others.
•Keep vehicle keys and remote
transmitters out of the reach
of children. Even very young
children learn how to unlock
vehicle doors, turn on the
ignition, and open the tailgate,
which can lead to accidental
injury or death.

41Driver and Passenger Safety
Seat Belt System
Components
Your seat belt system includes
lap/shoulder belts in the front
seats and the outer back seats, and
a lap belt in the center back seat.The system also includes
a light on the instrument
panel to remind you and your
passengers to fasten your belts. If
the driver ’s seat belt is not
fastened before the ignition is
turned
ON (II), the light will come
on and a beeper will also sound.
The beeper will stop after a few
seconds, but the light will stay on
until the driver ’s seat belt is
fastened.
Lap/Shoulder Belt
This seat-belt has a single belt that
goes over your shoulder, across
your chest, and across your hips. To fasten the belt, insert the latch
plate into the buckle, then tug on
the belt to make sure the buckle is
latched.
To unlock the belt, push the red
PRESS button on the buckle.
Guide the belt across your body to
the door pillar. After exiting the
vehicle, be sure the belt is out of
the way and will not get closed in
the door.
All lap/shoulder belts have an
emergency locking retractor. In
normal driving, the retractor lets
you move freely in your seat
while it keeps some tension on the
belt. During a collision or sudden
stop, the retractor automatically
locks the belt to help restrain your
body.
Additional Information About Your Seat Belts

73Instruments and Controls
Headlights-On Reminder
You will hear a continuous tone
when the key is out of the ignition
switch and the driver
’s door is
opened with the headlight switch
in the “
ON” position. This will
remind you to turn the headlights
off. Never leave the headlights on
when the engine is not running.
They can rapidly discharge the
battery.
Fog Lights
EX model only
When fog or heavy mist reduces
your forward vision, push this
switch to turn the fog lights on.
The indicator light in the switch
turns on. Push the switch again to
turn off the fog lights.
The fog lights operate only when
the headlight low beams are in
use.
Illumination Control
The instrument panel lights turn
on when the light switch is on.
Brightness of the instrument panel
lights is controlled by turning the
illumination control knob
clockwise for brighter or
counterclockwise for dimmer.
DIMMER
BRIGHTER

92 Seats
The front seat-backs can be tilted
backward if so desired, using the
lever on the door side of each
front seat.
Raise the lever and use body
pressure to move the seat-back to
the desired position. Let go of the
lever and the seat-back will lock
into the desired position.
Keep the seat belt
’s webbing and
latch clear of the seat parts when
you tilt the folding seats forward
or backward. This helps to
prevent damage to the seat belt
system.
Adjust the seat-back before you
start driving. Trying to adjust the
seat-back with the vehicle in
motion could cause you to lose
control. Driver’s Seat Full Power
Adjustments
See pages 10–11 for important
safety information and warnings
about how to properly position
seats and seat-backs.
The three power seat adjustment
switches are on the outside of the
seat bottom. The horizontal
switch adjusts the seat bottom
forward and backward. The short
vertical switch adjusts the
seat-back angle. The front switch
adjusts the lumbar support.
You can adjust the seat with the
ignition switch in any position.
Make all adjustments before you
start driving.