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The rest of this section gives more
detailed inf ormation about how you
can maximize your saf ety.
Af ter everyone has entered the
vehicle, be sure the doors are closed
and locked.
Locking the doors reduces the
chance of someone being thrown out
of the vehicle during a crash and it
helps prevent passengers f rom
accidentally opening and f alling out.
Locking the doors also helps prevent
an outsider f rom unexpectedly
opening a door when you come to a
stop.
See page f or how to lock the
doors.Adjust the driver’s seat as far to the
rear as possible while allowing you to
maintain f ull control of the vehicle.
Have a front passenger adjust their
seat as far to the rear as possible.
If you sit too close to the steering
wheel or dashboard, you can be
seriously injured by an inf lating f ront
airbag, or by striking the steering
wheel or dashboard.
Remember however, that no saf ety
system can prevent all injures or
deaths that can occur in severe crash,
even when seat belts are properly
worn and the airbags deploy.
See pages f or important
guidelines on how to properly
protect inf ants, small children, and
larger children who ride in your
vehicle.
The f ollowing pages provide
instructions on how to properly
protect the driver, adult passengers,
and teenage children who are large
enough and mature enough to drive
or ride in the f ront. 72
34
30 Close and L ock the Doors A djust the Front Seats
Introduction 1.
2.
Protecting A dults and Teens
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Your seat belt system includes lap/
shoulder belts in all f ive seating
positions. The f ront seat belts are
also equipped with automatic seat
belt tensioners.The seat belt system
includes an indicator on the
instrument panel and a beeper to
remind you to f asten your seat belt. To fasten the belt, insert the latch
plate into the buckle, then tug on the
belt to make sure the buckle is
latched (see page f or how to
properly position the belt).
To unlock the belt, push the red
PRESSbuttononthebuckle.Guide
the belt across your body so that it
retracts completely. Af ter exiting the
vehicle, be sure the belt is out of the
way and will not get closed in the
door.
All seat belts have an emergency
locking retractor. In normal driving,
the retractor lets you move f reely in
your seat while it keeps some
tension on the belt. During a collision
or sudden stop, the retractor
automatically locks the belt to helprestrain your body.
The seat belts in all positions except
the driver’s have an additional
locking mechanism that must be
activated to secure a child seat (see
page ).
If the shoulder part of the belt is
pulled all the way out, the locking
mechanism will activate. The belt
will retract, but it will not allow the
passenger to move f reely.
To deactivate the locking
mechanism, unlatch the buckle and
let the seat belt f ully retract. To
ref asten the seat belt, pull it out only
as f ar as needed.
If you turn the ignition to ON (II)
bef ore f astening your seat belt, the
beeper will sound and the indicator
will f lash. If you do not f asten your
seat belt bef ore the beeper stops, the
indicator will stop f lashing but
remain on.
If you continue driving without
f astening your seat belt, the beeper
will sound and the indicator will f lash
again at regular intervals. The lap/shoulder belt goes over
your shoulder, across your chest,
and across your hips.
15 41
Additional Inf ormation About Your Seat Belts
Seat Belt System Components L ap/Shoulder Belt
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During a crash, the
belt could press deep into the child
and cause serious or fatal injuries.
If they do, they
could be very seriously injured in a
crash. If you are not wearing a
seat belt in crash, you could be
thrown f orward and crush the
child against the dashboard or a
seat-back. If you are wearing a
seat belt, the child can be torn
from your arms and be seriously
hurt or killed. This can prevent children
f rom accidentally f alling out (see
page ).
Leaving children without
adult supervision is illegal in most
states and Canadian provinces,
and can be very hazardous.
For example, infants and small
childrenleftinavehicleonahot
day can die f rom heatstroke. A
child lef t alone with the key in the
ignition can accidentally set the
vehicle in motion, possibly injuring
themselves or others. Children
who play in vehicles can
accidentally get trapped inside.
Teach your children not to play in
or around vehicles. Know how to
operate the emergency trunk
opener and decide if your children
should be shown how to use this
feature(seepage ).
Even very young
children learn how to unlock
vehicle doors, turn on the ignition
switch, and open the trunk, which
can lead to accidental injury or
death.
72
73
Additional Saf ety Precautions
Protecting Children General Guidelines
Never put a seat belt over yourself
and a child.
Never let two children use thesame seat belt .
Neverholdaninfantorchildon
your lap. Use childproof door locks t o
prevent children f rom opening t he
doors.
Do not leave children alone in avehicle. L ock all doors and t he t runk when
your vehicle is not in use.
K eep vehicle keys and remot etransmitters out of the reach ofchildren.
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CONT INUED
An inf ant must be properly
restrained in a rear-f acing, reclining
child seat until the child reaches the
seat maker’s weight or height limit
for the seat and the child is at least
one year old.
Only a rear-f acing child seat provides
proper support f or a baby’s head,
neck, and back.Two types of seats may be used: a
seat designed exclusively f or inf ants,
or a convertible seat used in the rear-
f acing, reclining mode.
If placed
f acing f orward, an inf ant could be
very seriously injured during a
f rontal collision. A rear-f acing child seat can be placed
in any seating position in the back
seat, but not in the f ront.
If the passenger’s f ront airbag
inflates, it can hit the back of the
child seat with enough f orce to kill or
seriously injure an inf ant.
When properly installed, a rear-
f acing child seat may prevent the
driver or a f ront passenger f rom
moving the seat as far back as
recommended, or f rom locking the
seat-back in the desired position.
Protecting Inf ants
Child Seat T ype
Child Seat Placement
Do not put a rear-f acing child seat in a f orward-f acing position. Never put a
rear-f acing child seat in t he f ront seat .
Protecting Inf ants and Small Children
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
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When not using the LATCH system,
all child seats must be secured to the
vehicle with the lap part of a lap/
shoulder belt.With the child seat in the desired
seating position, route the belt
through the child seat according
to the seat maker’s instructions,
then insert the latch plate into the
buckle.To activate the lockable retractor,
slowly pull the shoulder part of the
belt all the way out until it stops,
then let the belt f eed back into the
retractor.
Af ter the belt has retracted, tug on
it. If the belt is locked, you will not
be able to pull it out. If you can pull
thebeltout,itisnotlocked,and
you will need to repeat these steps.
In addition, the lap/shoulder belts in
all seating positions except the
driver’s have a locking mechanism
that must be activated to secure a
child seat.
1.2. 3.
Installing a Child Seat with a L ap/
Shoulder Belt
Installing a Child Seat
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
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Af ter conf irming that the belt is
locked, grab the shoulder part of
the belt near the buckle and pull
up to remove any slack from the
lap part of the belt. Remember, if
the lap part of the belt is not tight,
the child seat will not be secure.Push and pull the child seat
f orward and f rom side to side to
verif y that it is secure enough to
stay upright during normal driving
maneuvers. If the child seat is not
secure, unlatch the belt, allow it to
retract f ully, then repeat these
steps.
To remove slack, it may help to
putweightonthechildseat,or
push on the back of the seat while
pulling up on the belt. To deactivate the locking
mechanism and remove a child seat,
unlatch the buckle, unroute the seat
belt, and let the belt f ully retract. Since a tether can provide additional
security to the lap/shoulder belt
installation, we recommend using a
tether whenever one is required or
available.
A child seat with a tether can be
installed in any seating position in
the back seat, using one of the
anchor points shown above.
4.
5. Installing a Child Seat with a
Tether
Installing a Child Seat
42
COVER
ANCHOR POINT
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Each door has a lock tab on the top.
Push the tab down to lock the door
and pull it up to unlock.All doors lock when you push down
the lock tab on the driver’s door, or
lock the driver’s door f rom the
outside with the key. Only the driver’s
door unlocks when you use the key
or lock tab. To unlock the
passengers’ doors, use the master
door lock switch or the lock tab on
each door.The childproof door locks are
designed to prevent children seated
in the rear f rom accidentally opening
the rear doors. Each rear door has a
lock lever near the edge. With the
lever in the LOCK position, the door
cannot be opened f rom the inside
regardless of the position of the lock
tab. To open the door, pull the lock
tab up, and use the outside door
handle.
To lock any passenger’s door when
getting out of the vehicle, push the
lock tab down and close the door. To
lock the driver’s door, pull and hold
the outside door handle then push
the lock tab down. Release the
handle, then close the door.Standard on some models
Door L ocks
Door L ocks Power Door L ocks Childproof Door L ocks
72
Unlock
Lock Unlock
Lock
MASTER DOOR LOCK SWITCH LEVER
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To open the trunk, pull the trunk
releasehandletotheleftof the
driver’s seat. To protect items in the
trunk when you need to give the key
to someone else, lock the trunk
releasehandlewiththemasterkey
and give the other person the valetkey.
To close the trunk, press down on
the trunk lid.You can also use the master key to
open the trunk lock.
Keep the trunk lid closed at all times
while driving to avoid damaging it
and to prevent exhaust gas from
getting into the interior. See
,page . Parents should decide if their
children should be shown how to use
this feature.
As a saf ety f eature, your vehicle has
a release lever on the trunk latch so
the trunk can be opened f rom inside.
To open the trunk, push the release
lever to the lef t.
47
Door L ocks
Trunk
Carbon
Monoxide Hazard Emergency T runk Opener
Inst rument s and Cont rols
73
TRUNK RELEASE HANDLE
Pull
MASTER KEY
MASTER KEY
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