2. To unfasten, push the releasebutton and remove the tongue
from the buckle.
The front outboard safety restraints in the vehicle are combination lap
and shoulder belts. The front passenger outboard safety belt has two
types of locking modes described below:
Energy Management Feature
• This vehicle has a safety belt system with an energy management
feature at the front outboard seating positions to help further reduce
the risk of injury in the event of a head-on collision.
• This safety belt system has a retractor assembly that is designed to
pay out webbing in a controlled manner. This feature is designed to
help reduce the belt force acting on the occupant’s chest.
Vehicle sensitive mode
This is the normal retractor mode, which allows free shoulder belt length
adjustment to your movements and locking in response to vehicle
movement. For example, if the driver brakes suddenly or turns a corner
sharply, or the vehicle receives an impact of approximately 8 km/h
(5 mph) or more, the combination safety belts will lock to help reduce
forward movement of the driver and passengers.
Automatic locking mode (outboard front passenger seating
position only) for use with child safety seats
In this mode, the shoulder belt is automatically pre-locked. The belt will
still retract to remove any slack in the shoulder belt.
The automatic locking mode is not available on the driver safety belt.
When to use the automatic locking mode
• Any time a child safety seat is installed in a passenger front seat.
Refer to Safety Restraints for Children, Safety Seats for Children,
or Passenger air bag On/Off switch later in this chapter.
2003 Mazda B Series(mbs)
New Owners Guide own2002 (own2002)
USA English (fus)
Seating and Safety Restraints
71
WARNING: BELT AND RETRACTOR ASSEMBLY MUST BE
REPLACED if the seat belt assembly “automatic locking
retractor” feature or any other seat belt function is not
operating properly when checked according to the procedures in
Workshop Manual.
WARNING: Failure to replace the Belt and Retractor assembly
could increase the risk of injury in collisions.
Safety belt pretensioner
Your vehicle is equipped with safety belt pretensioners at the driver and
front outboard passenger seating positions. Both pretensioners will fire if
the front airbags fire, whether or not there is a belted occupant in either
front outboard seat.
The safety belt pretensioners are designed to activate during certain
frontal or near-frontal collisions with sufficient longitudinal deceleration.
A safety belt pretensioner is a device which tightens the webbing of the
lap and shoulder belts in such a way that they fit more snugly against
the body.
The driver and front outboard passenger safety belt system (including
retractors, buckle assembly, pretensioner assembly with seat and height
adjusters) must be replaced if the vehicle is involved in a collision that
results in the activation of the safety belt pretensioners. Refer to the
Safety belt maintenance section in this chapter.
WARNING: Failure to replace the safety belt assembly under
the above conditions could result in severe personal injuries in
the event of a collision.
Front safety belt height adjustment
Your vehicle has safety belt height adjustments for the driver and front
passenger. Adjust the height of the shoulder belt so the belt rests across
the middle of your shoulder.
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73
