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If your child restraint does not have the LATCH system,
you will be using the lap-shoulder belt. Be sure to
follow the instructions that came with the child restraint.
Secure the child in the child restraint when and as
the instructions say.
1. Your vehicle has a passenger’s airbag. If you are
using a rear-facing child restraint in this seat, make
sure the airbag is turned off. SeeAirbag Off
Switch on page 1-47. If your child restraint is
forward-facing, always move the seat as far back
as it will go before securing it in this seat. See
Power Seats on page 1-2.
2. Put the child restraint on the seat.
3. Pick up the latch plate, and run the lap and shoulder
portions of the vehicle’s safety belt through or
around the restraint. The child restraint instructions
will show you how.4. Buckle the belt. Make sure the release button is
positioned so you would be able to unbuckle the
safety belt quickly if you ever had to.
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If you were using a rear-facing child restraint, turn on
the passenger’s airbag when you remove the rear-facing
child restraint from the vehicle unless the person who
will be sitting there is a member of a passenger
airbag risk group. SeeAirbag Off Switch on page 1-47.
{CAUTION:
If the passenger’s frontal airbag is turned
off for a person who is not in a risk group
identi ed by the national government, that
person will not have the extra protection of a
frontal airbag. In a crash, the airbag would not
be able to in ate and help protect the person
sitting there. Do not turn off the passenger’s
frontal airbag unless the person sitting there
is in a risk group. SeeAirbag Off Switch on
page 1-47for more on this, including important
safety information.
Airbag System
Your vehicle has four airbags — a frontal airbag for
the driver, another frontal airbag for the passenger,
a side impact airbag for the driver, and another
side impact airbag for the passenger.
Frontal airbags are designed to help reduce the risk
of injury from the force of an in ating frontal airbag.
But these airbags must in ate very quickly to do their
job and comply with federal regulations.
Here are the most important things to know about the
airbag system:
{CAUTION:
You can be severely injured or killed in a crash
if you are not wearing your safety belt — even
if you have airbags. Wearing your safety belt
during a crash helps reduce your chance of
hitting things inside the vehicle or being ejected
from it. Airbags are designed to work with
safety belts but do not replace them.
CAUTION: (Continued)
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{CAUTION:
Anyone who is up against, or very close to,
any airbag when it in ates can be seriously
injured or killed. Airbags plus lap-shoulder
belts offer the best protection for adults, but
not for young children and infants. Neither the
vehicle’s safety belt system nor its airbag
system is designed for them. Young children
and infants need the protection that a child
restraint system can provide. Always secure
children properly in your vehicle. To read how,
seeOlder Children on page 1-19orInfants and
Young Children on page 1-22.There is an airbag
readiness light on the
instrument panel, which
shows the airbag symbol.
The system checks the airbag electrical system for
malfunctions. The light tells you if there is an electrical
problem. SeeAirbag Readiness Light on page 3-27
for more information.
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What Will You See After an
Airbag In ates?
After the airbag in ates, it quickly de ates, so quickly
that some people may not even realize the airbag
in ated. Some components of the airbag module will be
hot for a short time. These components include the
steering wheel hub for the driver’s frontal airbag and
the instrument panel for the passenger’s frontal airbag
and the side of the seatback closest to the driver’s
and/or passenger’s door. The parts of the bag that come
into contact with you may be warm, but not too hot to
touch. There will be some smoke and dust coming
from the vents in the de ated airbags. Airbag in ation
does not prevent the driver from seeing or being able to
steer the vehicle, nor does it stop people from leaving
the vehicle.
{CAUTION:
When an airbag in ates, there is dust in the
air. This dust could cause breathing problems
for people with a history of asthma or other
breathing trouble. To avoid this, everyone in
the vehicle should get out as soon as it is safe
to do so. If you have breathing problems but
cannot get out of the vehicle after an airbag
in ates, then get fresh air by opening a
window or a door. If you experience breathing
problems following an airbag deployment, you
should seek medical attention.
Your vehicle has a feature that will automatically unlock
the doors and turn the interior lamps on when the
airbags in ate (if battery power is available). You can
lock the doors again and turn the interior lamps off
by using the door lock and interior lamp controls.
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In many crashes severe enough to in ate an airbag,
windshields are broken by vehicle deformation.
Additional windshield breakage may also occur from
the passenger airbag.
Airbags are designed to in ate only once. After
an airbag in ates, you will need some new parts for
your airbag system. If you do not get them, the
airbag system will not be there to help protect
you in another crash. A new system will include
airbag modules and possibly other parts. The
service manual for your vehicle covers the need to
replace other parts.
Your vehicle is equipped with a crash sensing and
diagnostic module which records information after
a crash. SeeVehicle Data Collection and Event
Data Recorders on page 7-10.
Let only quali ed technicians work on your airbag
systems. Improper service can mean that an
airbag system will not work properly. See your
dealer for service.
Notice:If you damage the covering for the driver’s
or the passenger’s airbag, the bag may not work
properly. You may have to replace the airbag module
in the steering wheel or both the airbag module and
the instrument panel for the passenger’s airbag.
Do not open or break the airbag coverings.
Airbag Off Switch
Your vehicle has a switch inside the glovebox that you
can use to turn off the passenger’s frontal airbag.United States
Canada
1-47
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This switch should only be turned to the off position if
the person in the passenger’s position is a member
of a passenger risk group identi ed by the national
government as follows:
Infant. An infant (less than 1 year old)
must ride in the front seat because:
my vehicle has no rear seat;
my vehicle has a rear seat too small to
accommodate a rear-facing infant seat; or
the infant has a medical condition which, according
to the infant’s physician, makes it necessary for
the infant to ride in the front seat so that the driver
can constantly monitor the child’s condition.
Child age 1 to 12. A child age 1 to 12
must ride in the front seat because:
my vehicle has no rear seat;
although children ages 1 to 12 ride in the rear
seat(s) whenever possible, children ages 1 to
12 sometimes must ride in the front because
no space is available in the rear seat(s) of my
vehicle; or
the child has a medical condition which, according
to the child’s physician, makes it necessary for the
child to ride in the front seat so that the driver
can constantly monitor the child’s condition.
Medical Condition. A passenger has a
medical condition which, according to
his or her physician:
causes the passenger airbag to pose a special risk
for the passenger; and
makes the potential harm from the passenger
airbag in a crash greater than the potential
harm from turning off the airbag and allowing the
passenger, even if belted, to hit the dashboard
or windshield in a crash.
{CAUTION:
If the passenger’s frontal airbag is turned
off for a person who is not in a risk group
identi ed by the national government, that
person will not have the extra protection of a
frontal airbag. In a crash, the frontal airbag
would not be able to in ate and help protect
the person sitting there. Do not turn off the
passenger’s frontal airbag unless the person
sitting there is in a risk group.
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To turn off the passenger’s frontal airbag, insert your
ignition key into the switch, push in, and move the
switch to off position.
The airbag off light, located on the roof panel above
the rearview mirror, will come on and stay on to let
you know that the passenger’s frontal airbag is off. United States
Canada
United States
Canada
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SeeAirbag Off Light on page 3-28. The passenger’s
frontal airbag will remain off until you turn it back
on again.
{CAUTION:
If the airbag readiness light ever comes on
when you have turned off the passenger’s
frontal airbag, it means that something may be
wrong with the airbag system. The passenger’s
frontal airbag could in ate even though the
switch is off. If this ever happens, do not let
anyone whom the national government has
identi ed as a member of a passenger airbag
risk group sit in the passenger’s position
(for example, do not secure a rear-facing child
restraint in your vehicle) until you have your
vehicle serviced.To turn the passenger’s frontal airbag on again, insert
your ignition key into the switch, push in, and move
the switch to the on position.United States
Canada
1-50
