2003 MAZDA MODEL TRIBUTE Owners Manual (in English)

To install the rear cushion
1. Push the cushion so that the
rods fit into the locking tabs.
2. Make sure that the hinges are
locked into place.
SAFETY RESTRAINTS
Safety restraints precautions
WARNING: Always drive and ride with your seatback upright
and the lap belt snug and low across the hips.
WARNING: To reduce the risk of injury, make sure children sit
where they can be properly restrained.
WARNING: Never let a passenger hold a child on his or her lap
while the vehicle is moving. The passenger cannot protect the
child from injury in a collision.
WARNING: All occupants of the vehicle, including the driver,
should always properly wear their safety belts, even when an
air bag (SRS) is provided.
WARNING: It is extremely dangerous to ride in a cargo area,
inside or outside of a vehicle. In a collision, people riding in
these areas are more likely to be seriously injured or killed. Do
not allow people to ride in any area of your vehicle that is not
equipped with seats and safety belts. Be sure everyone in your
vehicle is in a seat and using a safety belt properly.
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WARNING: In a rollover crash, an unbelted person is
significantly more likely to die or be seriously injured than a
person wearing a seat belt.
WARNING: Each seating position in your vehicle has a specific
safety belt assembly which is made up of one buckle and one
tongue that are designed to be used as a pair. 1) Use the
shoulder belt on the outside shoulder only. Never wear the
shoulder belt under the arm. 2) Never swing the safety belt
around your neck over the inside shoulder. 3) Never use a
single belt for more than one person.
WARNING: Placing a child, 12 years or younger, in the front
seat is dangerous. The child could be hit by a deploying air bag
and be seriously injured or even killed. A sleeping child is more
likely to lean against the door and be hit by the side air bag in a
moderate collision. Whenever possible, always secure a child, 12
years or younger, in the rear seat, with an appropriate child
restraint system for the child's age and size. Never use a
rear-facing child restraint system in the front seat with an air
bag that could deploy.
Energy Management Feature
²This vehicle has a safety belt system with an energy management
feature at the front seating positions to help further reduce the risk of
injury in the event of a head-on collision.
²This 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.
WARNING: All safety belts should be checked for proper
function. Additionally, if the front air bags have deployed, the
front pretensioners have also deployed and the front seat
restraint system must be replaced. After any vehicle collision,
the safety belt system at all outboard seating positions (except
driver, which has no ªautomatic locking retractorº feature)
must be checked by a qualified technician to verify that the
ªautomatic locking retractorº feature for child seats is still
functioning properly.
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WARNING: BELT AND RETRACTOR ASSEMBLY MUST BE
REPLACED if the safety belt assembly ªautomatic locking
retractorº feature or any other safety 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.
Combination lap and shoulder belts
1. Insert the belt tongue into the
proper buckle (the buckle
closest to the direction the
tongue is coming from) until
you hear a snap and feel it
latch. Make sure the tongue is
securely fastened in the buckle.
2. To unfasten, push the release
button and remove the tongue
from the buckle.
The front and rear outboard safety restraints in the vehicle are
combination lap and shoulder belts. The front passenger and rear seat
outboard safety belts have two types of locking modes described below:
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
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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
The automatic locking mode is not available on the driver safety belt.
When to use the automatic locking mode
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.
This mode should be usedany timea child safety seat is installed in a
passenger front or outboard rear seating position (if equipped). Children
12 years old and under should be properly restrained in the rear seat
whenever possible. Refer toSafety restraints for childrenorSafety
seats for childrenlater in this chapter.
How to use the automatic locking mode (Outboard front passenger
seating position only) for use with child safety seats
²Buckle the combination lap and
shoulder belt.
²Grasp the shoulder portion and
pull downward until the entire
belt is pulled out.
²Allow the belt to retract. As the belt retracts, you will hear a clicking
sound. This indicates the safety belt is now in the automatic locking
mode.
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How to disengage the automatic locking mode
Disconnect the combination lap/shoulder belt and allow it to retract
completely to disengage the automatic locking mode and activate the
vehicle sensitive (emergency) locking mode.
WARNING: After any vehicle collision, the front passenger
outboard seat belt system must be checked by an authorized
Mazda dealership to verify that the ªautomatic locking
retractorº feature for child seats is still functioning properly. In
addition, all seat belts should be checked for proper function.
Additionally, if the front air bags have deployed, the front
pretensioners have also deployed and the front seat restraint
system must be replaced.
WARNING: BELT AND RETRACTOR ASSEMBLY MUST BE
REPLACED if the seat belt assembly ªautomatic locking
retractorº 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.
Front safety belt height adjustment
Adjust the height of the shoulder
belt so the belt rests across the
middle of your shoulder.
To adjust the shoulder belt height,
push the button and slide the height
adjuster up or down. Release the
button and pull down on the height
adjuster to make sure it is locked in
place.
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WARNING: Position the safety belt height adjusters so that the
belt rests across the middle of your shoulder. Failure to adjust
the safety belt properly could reduce the effectiveness of the
seat belt and increase the risk of injury in a collision.
Safety belt pretensioner
Your vehicle is equipped with safety belt pretensioners at the driver and
front passenger seating positions.
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, buckles 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 theSafety belt maintenancesection 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. The seat belt pretensioners will only
function once. After they are deployed, they will not work again
and must be replaced immediately, even if there was no front
seat occupant seated at the time.
WARNING: Modifying the components or wiring of the
pretensioner system, including the use of electronic testing
devices is dangerous. You could accidentally activate it or make
it inoperable which would prevent it from activating in an
accident. Front occupants could be seriously injured. Never
modify the components or wiring, or use electronic testing
devices on the pretensioner system.
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WARNING: Improper disposal of the pretensioner system or a
vehicle with non-deactivated pretensioners is dangerous. Unless
all safety procedures are followed, injury could result. Ask an
authorized Mazda Dealer how to safely dispose of the
pretensioner system or how to scrap a front
pretensioner-equipped vehicle.
Safety belt extension assembly
If the safety belt assembly is too short for you, even when fully
extended, 20 cm (8 inches) can be added to the safety belt assembly by
adding a safety belt extension assembly. Safety belt extension assemblies
can be obtained from your authorized Mazda dealership.
Use only extensions manufactured by the same supplier as the safety
belt. Manufacturer identification is located at the end of the webbing on
the label. Also, use the safety belt extension only if the safety belt is too
short for you when fully extended.
NOTE:Do not use extensions to change the fit of the shoulder belt
across the torso.
Rear seat lap belts
Adjusting the center lap belt
The lap belt does not adjust automatically.
WARNING: The lap belts should fit snugly and as low as
possible around the hips, not around the waist. Failure to
position the lap belt correctly may cause serious injury in an
accident.
Insert the tongue into the correct
buckle (the buckle closest to the
direction the tongue is coming
from). To lengthen the belt, turn the
tongue at a right angle to the belt
and pull across your lap until it
reaches the buckle.
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To tighten the belt, pull the loose
end of the belt through the tongue
until it fits snugly across the hips.
Shorten and fasten the belt when not in use to keep the belt
away from door openings and available after unfolding the seats.
Safety belt warning light and indicator chime
The safety belt warning light illuminates in the instrument cluster and a
chime sounds to remind the occupants to fasten their safety belts.
Conditions of operation
If... Then...
The driver's safety belt is not
buckled before the ignition switch
is turned to the ON position...The safety belt warning light
illuminates 1-2 minutes and the
warning chime sounds 4-8
seconds.
The driver's safety belt is buckled
while the indicator light is
illuminated and the warning chime
is sounding...The safety belt warning light and
warning chime turn off.
The driver's safety belt is buckled
before the ignition switch is turned
to the ON position...The safety belt warning light and
indicator chime remain off.
The following are reasons most often given for not wearing safety belts:
(All statistics based on U.S. data)
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