Page 35 of 384
2. Place the guide over the belt and insert the two
edges of the belt into the slots of the guide.3. Be sure the belt is not twisted and it lies at.
The elastic cord must be under the belt and
the guide on top.
1-29
Page 36 of 384
4. Buckle, position and release the safety belt as
described inRear Seat Passengers on page 1-25.
Make sure that the shoulder belt crosses the
shoulder.
To remove and store the comfort guides, squeeze the
belt edges together so that you can take them out of
the guides.
Safety Belt Pretensioners
Your vehicle may have safety belt pretensioners.
If it does, they are located on the buckle end of the
safety belts for the driver and right front passenger.
They help the safety belts reduce a person’s forward
movement in a moderate to severe frontal and near
frontal crash.
Pretensioners work only once. If they activate in a
crash, you will need to get new ones, and probably other
new parts for your safety belt system. SeeReplacing
Restraint System Parts After a Crash on page 1-74.
Safety Belt Extender
If the vehicle’s safety belt will fasten around you,
you should use it.
But if a safety belt is not long enough, your dealer will
order you an extender. It is free. When you go in to
order it, take the heaviest coat you will wear, so the
extender will be long enough for you. To help avoid
personal injury, do not let someone else use it, and use
it only for the seat it is made to t. The extender has
been designed for adults. Never use it for securing child
seats. To wear it, just attach it to the regular safety
belt. For more information, see the instruction sheet that
comes with the extender.
1-30
Page 37 of 384
Child Restraints
Older Children
Older children who have outgrown booster seats should
wear the vehicle’s safety belts.
If you have the choice, a child should sit in a seating
position that has a lap-shoulder belt to get the additional
restraint a shoulder belt can provide.
Q:What is the proper way to wear safety belts?
A:If possible, an older child should wear a
lap-shoulder belt and get the additional restraint
a shoulder belt can provide. The shoulder belt
should not cross the face or neck. The lap
belt should t snugly below the hips, just touching
the top of the thighs. It should never be worn
over the abdomen, which could cause severe or
even fatal internal injuries in a crash.
Accident statistics show that children are safer if they
are restrained in the rear seat.
In a crash, children who are not buckled up can strike
other people who are buckled up, or can be thrown
out of the vehicle. Older children need to use safety
belts properly.
1-31
Page 38 of 384
{CAUTION:
Never do this.
Here two children are wearing the same belt.
The belt can not properly spread the impact
forces. In a crash, the two children can be
crushed together and seriously injured. A belt
must be used by only one person at a time.
Q:What if a child is wearing a lap-shoulder belt,
but the child is so small that the shoulder belt
is very close to the child’s face or neck?
A:If the child is seated in a rear outside seat position,
move the child toward the center of the vehicle.
SeeRear Safety Belt Comfort Guides for Children
and Small Adults on page 1-28. If the child is
sitting in the second row center seat position, move
the child toward the safety belt buckle. In either
case, be sure that the shoulder belt still is on the
child’s shoulder, so that in a crash the child’s upper
body would have the restraint that belts provide.
If the child is so small that the shoulder belt is still
very close to the child’s face or neck, you might
want to place the child in a seat that has a lap belt,
if your vehicle has one.
1-32
Page 39 of 384
{CAUTION:
Never do this.
Here a child is sitting in a seat that has a
lap-shoulder belt, but the shoulder part is
behind the child. If the child wears the belt in
this way, in a crash the child might slide under
the belt. The belt’s force would then be applied
right on the child’s abdomen. That could cause
serious or fatal injuries.
Wherever the child sits, the lap portion of the belt
should be worn low and snug on the hips, just touching
the child’s thighs. This applies belt force to the child’s
pelvic bones in a crash.
1-33
Page 40 of 384
Infants and Young Children
Everyone in a vehicle needs protection! This includes
infants and all other children. Neither the distance
traveled nor the age and size of the traveler changes
the need for everyone to use safety restraints. In
fact, the law in every state in the United States and in
every Canadian province says children up to some
age must be restrained while in a vehicle.
Every time infants and young children ride in vehicles,
they should have the protection provided by the
appropriate restraint. Young children should not use the
vehicles safety belts without an additional restraint,
unless there is no other choice.
Cargo Vans with a Passenger Airbag
and an Airbag Off Switch, Passenger
Vans, and Cab and Chassis Models
1-34
Page 41 of 384
{CAUTION:
People should never hold a baby in their arms
while riding in a vehicle. A baby does not
weigh much — until a crash. During a crash
a baby will become so heavy it is not possible
to hold it. For example, in a crash at only
25 mph (40 km/h), a 12 lb (5.5 kg) baby will
suddenly become a 240 lb (110 kg) force on a
person’s arms. A baby should be secured in
an appropriate restraint.
{CAUTION:
Children who are up against, or very close to,
any airbag when it in ates can be seriously
injured or killed. Airbags plus lap-shoulder
belts offer protection for adults and older
children, 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.
1-35
Page 43 of 384
{CAUTION:
The body structure of a young child is quite
unlike that of an adult or older child, for whom
the safety belts are designed. A young child’s
hip bones are still so small that the vehicle’s
regular safety belt may not remain low on the
hip bones, as it should. Instead, it may settle
up around the child’s abdomen. In a crash,
the belt would apply force on a body area
that is unprotected by any bony structure.
This alone could cause serious or fatal
injuries. Young children always should be
secured in appropriate child restraints.
Cargo Vans with a Passenger Airbag
and without an Airbag Off Switch
{CAUTION:
Children who are up against, or very close to,
an airbag when it in ates can be seriously
injured or killed. Airbags plus lap-shoulder
belts offer outstanding protection for adults
and older children, 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.
1-37
