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Installing child safety seats with combination lap and shoulder
belts (front outboard passenger seat only)
1. Position the child safety seat in
a seat with a combination lap
and shoulder belt.
WARNING: If there is a tether on the child safety seat, attach
it to the tether anchor point. Refer toAttaching child safety
seats with tether strapsin this chapter.
WARNING: Air bags can kill or inure a child in a child seat.
Never place a rear facing child seat in the right front seat
unless the air bag on/off switch is turned OFF. If you place a
forward-facing child seat in the right front seat, turn the air bag
on/off switch to OFF. SeePassenger air bag on/off switchin
this chapter.
WARNING: Rear facing child seats should NEVER be placed in
the front seats unless the passenger air bag switch is turned
off. Also, slide the front seat forward until the rear facing child
seat contacts the dash board for maximum support. (All other
children and forward facing child seats and booster seats should
be on front seats that are slid back as far away as possible from
the dashboard.)
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5. To put the retractor in the
automatic locking mode, grasp
the shoulder portion of the belt
and pull downward until all of
the belt is extracted and a click
is heard.
6. Allow the belt to retract. The belt will click as it retracts to indicate
it is in the automatic locking mode.
7. Pull the lap belt portion across
the child seat toward the buckle
and pull up on the shoulder belt
while pushing down with knee
on the child seat.
8. Allow the safety belt to retract
to remove any slack in the belt.
9. Before placing the child in the
seat, forcibly tilt the seat
forward and back to make sure
the seat is securely held in
place. To check this, grab the
seat at the belt path and
attempt to move it side to side
and forward. There should be
no more than one inch of movement for proper installation.
10. Try to pull the belt out of the retractor to make sure the retractor is
in the automatic locking mode (you should not be able to pull more
belt out). If the retractor is not locked, unbuckle the belt and repeat
steps two through nine.
11. SeeAttaching child safety seats with tether strapsin this chapter.
Check to make sure the child seat is properly secured before each use.
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Attaching child safety seats with tether straps
Most new forward-facing child safety seats include a tether strap which
goes over the back of the seat and hooks to an anchoring point. Tether
straps are available as an accessory for many older safety seats. Contact
the manufacturer of your child seat for information about ordering a
tether strap.
The tether anchors in your vehicle are located on the back of the front
seat cushion.
The tether strap anchors in your vehicle are in the following positions
(shown from top view):
²Bucket seats
²60/40 seats
WARNING: Attach the tether strap only to the appropriate
tether anchor as shown. The tether strap may not work
properly if attached somewhere other than the correct tether
anchor.
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WARNING: This anchor information applies to child safety
seats equipped with tether straps. For child safety seats
equipped with LATCH anchors, refer toAttaching safety seats
with LATCH (Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children)
attachments for child seat anchorsin this chapter.
WARNING: Never attach two child safety seat tethers to a
single tether anchor. In a crash, on anchor may not be strong
enough to hold two child safety seat attachments and may
break, causing serious injury or death.
1. Position the child safety seat on the front seat cushion.
2. Route the child safety seat tether strap over the back of the seat.
3. Locate the correct anchor for the selected seating position.
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Center seating location 60/40 seats with folding armrest
When installing a child safety seat in the center position, route the tether
strap over the center arm rest and clip it to the center anchor.
See next page for center seating location of vinyl 60/40 seat.
WARNING: If the tether strap is clipped incorrectly, the child
safety seat may not be retained properly in the event of a
collision.
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Center seating location 60/40 vinyl seats
When installing a child safety seat in the center position on a 60/40 vinyl
seat, route the tether strap through the guiding sleeve and clip it to the
center anchor.
WARNING: If the tether strap is clipped incorrectly, the child
safety seat may not be retained properly in the event of a
collision.
5. Refer to theInstalling child safety seats in combination lap and
shoulder belt seating positionssection of this chapter for further
instructions to secure the child safety seat.
6. Tighten the child safety seat tether strap according to the
manufacturer's instructions.
WARNING: If the safety seat is not anchored properly, the risk
of a child being injured in a collision greatly increases.
Attaching safety seats with LATCH (Lower Anchors and Tethers for
Children) attachments for child seat anchors
Some child safety seats have two rigid or webbing mounted attachments
that connect to two anchors at certain seating positions in your vehicle.
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This type of child seat eliminates the need to use seat belts to attach the
child seat. For forward-facing child seats, the tether strap must also be
attached to the proper tether anchor. SeeAttaching safety seats with
tether strapsin this chapter.
Your vehicle may be equipped with LATCH anchors for child seat
installation at the following seating positions:
²Bucket seats
²60/40 seats
represents LATCH anchors.
represents tether strap anchors.
To improve child seat protection, use the tether anchor when using the
LATCH to install a child safety seat. SeeAttaching child safety seats
with tether straps in this section.
WARNING: Never attach two LATCH child safety seats to the
same anchor. In a crash, one anchor may not be strong enough
to hold two child safety seat attachments and may break,
causing serious injury or death.
WARNING: Do not put the LATCH type seat in the center seat
position Ð it only has one possible anchor point and the seat
will not be properly attached.
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WARNING: If there are two LATCH seats to install Ð you can
only mount one LATCH seat in this vehicle with the LATCH
anchor bars. You need to mount the second seat with the center
seat belt using the lap belt method and the child safety seat
tether (if equipped).
WARNING: Do not attach two seats to one LATCH anchor bar.
The lower anchors for child seat
installation are located at the rear
section of the front passenger seat
between the cushion and seat back.
The LATCH anchors are below
locator symbols on the seat back.
Two plastic LATCH guides may be
purchased from your local Mazda
dealer (part number 1F60±57±751).
They snap onto the latch lower
anchor in the vehicle to help attach
a child seat with rigid latch
attachments. It will hold the seat
foam away and expose the anchor
making attachment of the child seat
easier.
Make sure you attach the proper
child safety seat tether after
securing the LATCH.
WARNING: If the tether strap
is clipped incorrectly, the child
safety seat may not be
retained properly in the event
of a collision.
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