2003 BMW 325Ci COUPE child restraint

43 Adjustments
Safe seating positionFor relaxed and fatigue-free driving you
should select a sitting position that
reflects your personal requirements. In
combination with the safety belts and
airbags, the correct seating position
plays an important role in enhancing
occupant safety in the event of an acci-
dent. To ensure that the vehicle's safety
systems provide you with optimal pro-
tection, we request that you direct your
careful attention to the following sec-
tion.
For supplementary information on
transporting children, refer to page 54.Sitting safely with airbags
Always maintain an adequate dis-
tance between yourself and the
airbags. Always hold the steering wheel
by the rim to keep any chance of injury
to hands or arms to an absolute mini-
mum should the airbag be deployed.
Never allow any objects, individuals or
animals to obstruct the areas between
passengers and airbags. Never use the
front airbag's cover as a storage tray or
support for objects of any kind. Never
allow front passengers to rest their feet
or legs on the airbag cover.<
For airbag locations and additional
information on airbags, refer to
page 52.Sitting safely with safety belts
Never allow more than one person
to wear a single safety belt. Never
allow infants or small children to ride in
a passenger's lap. Avoid twisting the
belt while routing it firmly across the
pelvis and shoulder, wear it as snugly
against your body as possible. Do not
allow the belt to rest against hard or
fragile objects. Do not route the belt
across your neck, or run it across sharp
edges. Be sure that the belt does not
become caught or jammed. Avoid
wearing bulky clothing and pull on the
lap belt periodically to retension it over
your shoulders. In the event of a frontal
impact, a loose lap belt could slide over
the hips, leading to abdominal injury. In
addition, the safety belt's restraint
effectiveness is reduced if it is worn
loosely. Expectant mothers should
always wear their safety belts, taking
care to position the lap belt against the
lower hips, where it will not exert pres-
sure against the abdominal area.<
For information on using the safety
belts, refer to page 47.
SeatsWhen adjusting your seat, always
observe the following precautions
Never try to adjust your seat while
operating the vehicle. The seat
could respond with an unexpected
movement, and the ensuing loss of
vehicle control could lead to an acci-
dent. Never ride with the backrest
reclined to an extreme angle. This is
especially important for the front pas-
senger to remember. If you do so, there
is a risk that you will slide under the
safety belt in an accident, thus reducing
the protection provided by the safety
belt.<
Seat adjustment>Manual seat adjustment, refer to
page 44
>Power seat adjustment, refer to
page 45
>Head restraint, refer to page 46
>Entering the rear, refer to page 46.
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47
Safety beltsAlways wear your safety beltAlways fasten your safety belt before
starting off. As supplemental restraint
devices, the airbags are designed to
enhance the effectiveness of the safety
belts, and not to replace them.To closeMake sure you hear the catch engage in
the belt buckle.To release1. Press red button in the belt buckle
2. Hold the end of the belt
3. Guide belt back into the inertia reel.
The rear belt buckle with the word
CENTER is intended exclusively
for the passenger sitting in the mid-
dle.<
Adjusting safety belt heightUse the height adjustment mechanism
to adapt the shoulder strap to the ideal
level for your own body:
>Slide button up or down.
Please refer to the seat adjustment
instructions on page 43.
If the safety belt system has been
subjected to the stresses involved
in an accident or otherwise damaged:
have the entire safety belt mechanism
replaced by your BMW center, includ-
ing the safety belt tensioner. In addi-
tion, have your BMW center inspect the
safety belt anchors. If a child-restraint
system was in the vehicle during an
accident, consult the manufacturer's
instructions regarding replacement.<
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52Passenger safety systems
Airbags1Front airbags on the driver and pas-
senger sides
2Head airbags for driver and front pas-
senger
3Side airbags on the driver and pas-
senger sides – front and rear*Protective effectThe front airbags supplement the three-
point safety belts by providing addi-
tional protection in the event of a
severe frontal collision in which the pro-
tection afforded by the belts alone may
no longer be sufficient. The Head Pro-
tection System and side airbags help
provide protection in the event of a col-
lision from the side. Each of the side
airbags is designed to help support the
upper body.
For information on the correct sitting
posture, refer to page 43.
The side airbags in the rear pas-
senger area* of your vehicle may
already have been deactivated either at
the time of manufacture or by a BMW
center. You may have them activated if
you desire to do so. Please contact
your BMW center for additional infor-
mation.<
The airbags do not deploy in
response to minor collisions, rear
impacts and certain kinds of vehicle
rollover.<
Do not apply adhesive materials to
the cover panels of the airbags,
cover them or modify them in any other
way. Do not remove the airbag restraint
system. In the event of a malfunction,
deactivation or triggered activation – as
a response to an accident – of the air-
bag restraint system, solely consult
your BMW center for inspection, repair
or disassembly. Do not modify or
tamper with either the wiring or the indi-
vidual components in the airbag sys-
tem. These include the upholstered
covers on the steering wheel, the
instrument panel, side panels on doors
and in the rear and the roof struts as
well as down the sides of the roof lin-
ers. Also, do not attempt to remove the
steering wheel. Unprofessional
attempts to service the system could
lead to failure in an emergency or
undesired airbag activation, either of
which could result in personal injury. Do
not touch the individual components
immediately after the system has been
activated, as this could result in per-
sonal injury.<
All vehicle occupants should
always sit upright and be properly
restrained – infants and small children
in appropriate child-restraint systems;
larger children and adults using the
safety belts. Never let an occupant's
head rest near or on a side airbag
because the inflating airbag could
cause a serious or fatal injury. Please
note that the word Airbag imprinted on
the door trim panel indicates the air-
bag's location.
Accident research shows that the saf-
est place for children in an automobile
is in the rear seat. However, a child sit-
ting in the rear seat and not properly
restrained may place his or her head on
or near the airbag, if so equipped. For
example, a child — even though belted
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53
in — may fall asleep with his or her head
against the side airbag. It may be diffi-
cult for a driver to ensure that children
in the rear seat will remain properly
positioned at all times and do not place
their heads on or near the side airbag.
Therefore, we recommend that the
rear-seat side airbags, if installed in the
vehicle, be deactivated if children will
be riding in the rear seat.
The rear-seat side airbags may already
have been deactivated, either at the
time of manufacture or by a BMW cen-
ter. Labels in the door opening should
indicate the status of your rear-seat
side airbags. If you are uncertain of
their status, or wish to have the airbags
activated or deactivated, please con-
tact your BMW center.<
Even when all these guidelines are
observed, there is still a small residual
risk of injuries to the face, hands and
arms occurring from airbag deployment
in isolated instances.
The ignition and inflation noise may
induce a mild temporary hearing loss in
sensitive individuals.
Corresponding airbag warning labels
are found on both sun visors.This is the right way a child should sit in
a child restraint when rear side airbags,
see arrow, are provided.
This is the right way a larger child
should sit wearing the seat belt when
rear side airbags, see arrow, are pro-
vided.Indicator lamp
The indicator lamp indicates the
operational status of the airbag
system when the ignition key is
in position 1 or higher.
System operational:
>The indicator lamp comes on briefly
when you turn the ignition key to
position 1 or higher.
System malfunction:
>Indicator lamp does not come on or
>indicator lamp lights up continuously.
Airbags
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54
If there is a system malfunction, there is
a risk that the airbags will not be trig-
gered within their normal response
range, even if the level of impact would
normally have triggered them.
Have your BMW center inspect the sys-
tem immediately.
Transporting children safelyCommercially available child-restraint
systems are designed to be secured
with a lap belt or with the lap belt por-
tion of a combination lap/shoulder belt.
Improperly or inadequately installed
restraint systems can increase the risk
of injury to children. Always read and
follow the instructions that come with
the system.
Child-restraint system with
tether strapIf you use a child-restraint system with
a tether strap, three additional tether
anchorage points have been provided –
refer to the arrows in the illustration.
Airbags
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55
Depending on the location selected for
seating in the rear passenger area,
attach the tether strap to the corre-
sponding anchorage point to secure the
child-restraint system, as shown in the
illustration.
If the respective seating position is fit-
ted with a head restraint, lift the head
restraint, and pass the tether strap
between the head restraint and the seat
back.
It is recommended to readjust the head
restraint in the lowest possible position.
Adjust the tether strap according to the
child-restraint manufacturer's instruc-
tions.
Before installing any child-
restraint device or child seat,
please read the following:
Never install a rear-facing child-
restraint system in the front passenger
seat of this vehicle.
Your vehicle is equipped with an airbag
supplemental restraint system for the
front passenger. Because the backrest
on any rear-facing child-restraint sys-
tem – of the kind designed for infants
under 1 year and 20 lbs/9 kg – would
be within the airbag's deployment
range, you should never mount such a
device in the front passenger seat,
since the impact of the airbag against
the child-restraint's backrest could lead
to serious or fatal injuries.
If it is necessary for a child – not an
infant – to ride in the front seat, certain
precautions should be taken. First,
move the passenger seat as far away
from the dashboard as possible. This
important precaution is intended to
maximize the distance between the air-
bag and the child. Older children
should be tightly secured with a safety
belt after they have outgrown a booster
seat that is appropriate for their age,
height, and weight. Younger children
should be secured in an appropriate
forward-facing child-restraint system
that has first been properly installed
with a safety belt.
Never install a rear-facing child-
restraint system in the front passenger
seat.
We strongly urge you to carefully read
and comply with the instructions for
installation and use provided by the
child restraint's manufacturer when-
ever you use such a device.
Do not attempt to modify child-restraint
systems. If you do this, the protection
provided by these systems could be
impaired.
Always ensure that all occupants – of all
ages – remain properly and securely
restrained at all times.<
All rear seating positions in your vehicle
meet the recommendations of
SAE J1819, an industry-recommended
practice for securing child-restraint sys-
tems in motor vehicles.
Transporting children safely
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56
Securing child-restraint systemAll of the rear belt retractors and the
front passenger's safety belt can be
locked for mounting and securing child-
restraint systems.
A label with the appropriate instructions
for this is located in the immediate
vicinity of the buckle latch of each
safety belt.To lock the safety beltExtract the entire length of the belt from
the inertia reel mechanism. Allow the
reel to retract the belt somewhat and
engage the buckle, then tighten the belt
against the child-restraint system. The
retraction mechanism is now locked.
The belt cannot be extracted further.
Always observe the installation instruc-
tions provided by the manufacturer of
the child-restraint system.To unlock the safety beltRelease the safety belt, remove the
child seat and retract the safety belt to
its end position on the belt retractor.
LATCH child-restraint mounting
systemLATCH: Lower Anchors and Tethers for
CHildren
Canadian models only:
The LATCH anchorage points are iden-
tified by buttons.
Transporting children safely
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57
The left and right rear seats are both
equipped with a LATCH child-restraint
mounting system.
Remove the cover from the outside
mount by pulling forward. When rein-
stalling ensure that the recess is on the
top.
With through-loading system: tilt the
backrest halfway forward to make the
cover easier to remove, refer to
page 102.
The illustration is an example showing
the mounts for a LATCH child-restraint
mounting system at the right rear.
Always follow all manufacturer's
instructions and observe all safety
precautions when installing the LATCH
child-restraint mounting system.<
Transporting children safely
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