1-4
Your Vehicle at a Glance
Form No. 8Q50-EA-01G
Exterior Overview
Doors and keys
Outside mirrors
Headlights Fuel-filler lid
Child safety lock
Tires
Windshield wiper blades
Hood
Front-turn signal lights / Parking lights
Rear-turn signal lights
Brake lights / TaillightsPower windows
Rear window defroster
Trunk lid
High-mount brake lightLicense plate lights
Reverse lights
(page 3-14)
(page 3-5)
(page 8-22)
(page 3-9)
(page 8-30) (page 8-32) (page 3-21) (page 8-25)(page 3-2) (page 3-7)
(page 8-33) (page 8-33)
(page 8-33) (page 8-33) (page 3-10) (page 8-33) (page 5-35)
J94S.book Page 4 Saturday, June 23, 2001 1:04 PM
2-6
Essential Safety Equipment
Seats
Form No. 8Q50-EA-01G
Rear Seat
Stacking Cargo:Stacking luggage or other cargo
higher than the seatbacks, and
putting things on the rear package
tray is dangerous. During sudden
braking or a collision, objects can
become projectiles that may hit and
injure passengers. Don’t stack things
higher than the seatbacks or put
things on the rear package tray.
Securing Seats:
Adjustable seats and seatbacks that
are not securely locked are
dangerous. In a sudden stop or
collision, the seat or seatback could
move, causing injury. Make sure the
adjustable components of the seat are
locked in place.
Seat Adjustment:
Adjusting the seat while the vehicle is
moving is dangerous. Sudden braking
or a collision could cause serious
injury. Adjust the seat only when the
vehicle is stopped.
WARNINGUnlocked Seatback:A seatback plays an important role in
your protection in a vehicle. Leaving
the seatback unlocked is dangerous as
it can allow passengers to be ejected
or thrown around and baggage to
strike occupants in a sudden stop or
collision, resulting in severe injury.
After adjusting the seatback at any
time, even when there are no other
passengers, rock the seatback to make
sure it is locked in place.
Passenger on the Folded Seatback:
Driving with a passenger on the
folded seatback is dangerous.
Allowing a child to sit up on the
folded seatback while the vehicle is
moving is particularly dangerous. In
a sudden stop or even a minor
collision, a child not in a proper seat
or child-restraint system and seat belt
could be thrown forward, back or
even out of the car resulting in
serious injuries or death. The child or
other objects in the baggage area
could be thrown into other occupants
and cause serious injury. Never allow
a passenger to sit or stand on the
folded seatback while the vehicle is
moving.
WARNING
J94S.book Page 6 Saturday, June 23, 2001 1:04 PM
2-7
Essential Safety Equipment
Seats
Form No. 8Q50-EA-01G
Split-Folding Rear Seatback
To provide more space in the luggage
compartment.
1. Unfasten the lap portion of the rear-
center seat belt (page 2-15). 2. Push the button and fold the seatback
forward.
To return the seatback to its original
position, reverse the procedure.
Rear Seatback Lock
To lock or unlock a seatback, move the
lever.
Children and the Folding Rear Seats:Playing with the folding rear seats is
dangerous. Once the seats are back
up, a child in the trunk would not be
able to get out the way they had
entered. If you have small children,
keep the seatbacks locked. Do not give
the car keys to children and do not
allow them to play in the vehicle.
NOTE
When returning a rear seat to its
original position, also replace the seat
belt to its normal position. Verify that
the seat belt pulls and retracts.
Always unfasten the lap portion of the
belt before folding the rear-left
seatback. Leaving the lap portion of
the belt fastened could cause damage
to the seat belt, buckle and seatback.
WARNING
CAUTION
NOTE
The seatback locks are part of the
trunk security system (page 3-11).
Button
Lock Unlock
Unlock Lock
J94S.book Page 7 Saturday, June 23, 2001 1:04 PM
2-9
Essential Safety Equipment
Form No. 8Q50-EA-01G
Seat Belt Systems
Seat belts help to decrease the possibility of severe injury during accidents and sudden
stops. Mazda recommends that the driver and all passengers always wear seat belts.
All of the seat belt retractors are designed to keep the lap/shoulder belts out of the way
when not in use.
The driver’s seat belt has no provisions for child-restraint systems and has only an
emergency locking mode. The driver may wear it comfortably, and it will lock during a
collision.
However, the front passenger ’s seat and rear lap/shoulder belt retractors operate in two
modes: emergency locking mode, and for child-restraint systems, automatic locking mode.
Seat Belt Precautions
Not Wearing Seat Belts:Not wearing a seat belt is extremely dangerous. During a collision, occupants not
wearing seat belts could hit someone or things inside the vehicle or even be thrown
out of the vehicle. They could be seriously injured or even killed. In the same
collision, occupants wearing seat belts would be much safer. Always wear your seat
belt and make sure all occupants are properly restrained.
Seat Belt Damaged During an Accident:
Using a damaged seat belt is dangerous. An accident could damage the belt webbing
of the seat belt in use. A damaged seat belt cannot provide adequate protection in a
collision. Have an Authorized Mazda Dealer inspect all seat belt systems in use during
an accident before they are used again.
Twisted Seat Belts:
Twisted seat belts are dangerous. In a collision, the full width of the belt isn ’t
available to absorb the impact. This puts more force on the bones beneath the belt,
which could break them or cause other serious injury or death. Don ’t wear twisted
seat belts.
WARNING
J94S.book Page 9 Saturday, June 23, 2001 1:04 PM
2-11
Essential Safety Equipment
Seat Belt Systems
Form No. 8Q50-EA-01G
Automatic Locking Mode
Always use the automatic locking mode to keep the child-restraint system from shifting to
an unsafe position in the event of an accident. To get the seat belt into the automatic
locking mode, pull it all the way out and connect it as instructed on the child-restraint
system. It will retract down to the child-restraint system and stay locked on it. See the
section on child restraint (page 2-18).
J94S.book Page 11 Saturday, June 23, 2001 1:04 PM
2-21
Essential Safety Equipment
Child Restraint
Form No. 8Q50-EA-01G
Accident statistics reveal that a child is
safer in the rear seat. The front
passenger’s seat is clearly the worst
choice for any child under 12, and with
rear-facing child-restraint systems it is
clearly unsafe due to air bags.
Some child-restraint systems now come
with tethers and therefore must be
installed on the seats that take tethers to
be effective. In your Mazda, tethered
child-restraint systems can only be
accommodated in the three positions on
the rear seat.
Rear Seat Child-Restraint
System Installation
Follow these instructions when using a
child-restraint system.
1. Secure the child-restraint system with
the lap portion of the lap/shoulder belt.
See the instructions on the child-
restraint system for belt routing
instructions.
2. To get the retractor into the automatic locking mode, pull the shoulder belt
portion of the seat belt until the entire
length of the belt is out of the retractor.
Installing Child-Restraint
Systems
Tethered Child-Restraint Systems Work Only on Rear Seat:Installation of a tether equipped
child-restraint system in the front
passenger ’s seat defeats the safety
design of the system and will result in
an increased chance of serious injury
if the child-restraint system goes
forward without benefit of being
tethered.
Place tether equipped child-restraint
systems where there are tether
anchors.
WARNING
NOTE
Follow the child-restraint system
manufacturer ’s instructions carefully.
Depending on the type of child-
restraint system, it may not employ
seat belts which are in automatic
locking mode.
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2-22
Essential Safety Equipment
Child Restraint
Form No. 8Q50-EA-01G
3. Push the child-restraint system firmly into the vehicle seat. Be sure the belt
retracts as snugly as possible. Clicking
from the retractor will be heard during
retraction if the system is in the
automatic locking mode. If the belt
does not lock the seat down tight,
repeat this step. 4. If your child-restraint system requires
the use of a tether strap, hook and
tighten the tether strap by following the
manufacturer ’s instructions.
NOTE
Inspect this function before each use of
the child-restraint system. You should
not be able to pull the shoulder belt out
of the retractor while the system is in
the automatic locking mode. When
you remove the child-restraint system,
be sure the belt fully retracts to return
the system to emergency locking mode
before occupants use the seat belts.
Child-Restraint Tether Usage:Using the tether to secure anything
but a child-restraint system is
dangerous. This could weaken or
damage the tether or tether anchor
and result in injury. Use the tether
and tether anchor only for a child-
restraint system.
For rear
right seat For rear
center seat
Cover
Open
Tether
strap
Anchor
bracket
WARNING
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2-24
Essential Safety Equipment
Child Restraint
Form No. 8Q50-EA-01G
Front Passenger ’s Seat Child-
Restraint System Installation
1. Slide the seat as far back as possible.
2. Secure the child-restraint system with
the lap portion of the lap/shoulder belt.
See the instructions on the child-
restraint system for belt routing
instructions. 3. To get the retractor into the automatic
locking mode, pull the shoulder belt
portion of the seat belt until the entire
length of the belt is out of the retractor.
4. Push the child-restraint system firmly into the vehicle seat. Be sure the belt
retracts as snugly as possible. Clicking
from the retractor will be heard during
retraction if the system is in automatic
locking mode. If the belt does not lock
the seat down tight, repeat this step.
Children and Seating Position with Side Air Bag:Allowing anyone to lean over or
against the front door is dangerous. If
the vehicle is equipped with side air
bags, the impact of an inflating side
air bag could cause serious injury or
death to the person. Children are
more likely to sleep in the vehicle;
when they do, they are more at risk in
the front passenger ’s seat that has a
side air bag because they may slump
over into the path of the seatback-
mounted air bag. If a child can ’t be
seated in the rear, do not allow the
child to lean over or against the front
door, even if the child is seated in a
child-restraint system.
WARNING
NOTE
• Inspect this function before each
use of the child-restraint system.
You should not be able to pull the
shoulder belt out of the retractor
while the system is in the automatic
locking mode. When you remove
the child-restraint system, be sure
the belt fully retracts to return the
system to emergency locking mode
before occupants use the seat belts.
• Follow the child-restraint system
manufacturer ’s instruction carefully.
Depending on the type of child-
restraint system, it may not employ
seat belts which are in automatic
locking mode.
J94S.book Page 24 Saturday, June 23, 2001 1:04 PM