▫Transmitter Battery Service...............21
Security Alarm System — If Equipped.........22
▫To Set The Alarm......................22
▫To Disarm The System...................22
Liftgate...............................23
▫Liftgate Flipper Glass...................24
Power Windows........................25
▫Auto Down..........................26
▫Window Lockout Switch.................26
▫Wind Buffeting........................26
Occupant Restraints......................27
▫Lap/Shoulder Belts.....................28
▫Lap/Shoulder Belt Operating Instructions.....29
▫Adjustable Upper Shoulder Belt Anchorage....32
▫Automatic Locking Mode — If Equipped.....33▫Energy Management Feature..............33
▫Seat Belt Pretensioners...................34
▫Enhanced Driver Seat Belt Use Reminder
System (BeltAlert)......................34
▫Seat Belts And Pregnant Women............35
▫Seat Belt Extender......................36
▫Driver And Front Passenger Supplemental
Restraint Systems (SRS)..................37
▫Child Restraint........................53
Engine Break-In Recommendations...........63
Safety Tips............................64
▫Exhaust Gas..........................64
▫Safety Checks You Should Make Inside The
Vehicle..............................65
▫Safety Checks You Should Make Outside The
Vehicle..............................65
10 THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE
open or partially open positions. This is a normal occur-
rence and can be minimized. If the buffeting occurs with
the sunroof open, adjust the sunroof opening to minimize
the buffeting.
OCCUPANT RESTRAINTS
Some of the most important safety features in your
vehicle are the restraint systems. These include the front
and rear seat belts for the driver and all passengers, front
airbags for both the driver and right front passenger, and,
if equipped, window bags for the driver and passengers
seated next to a window. If you will be carrying children
too small for adult-size belts, your seat belts also can be
used to hold infant and child restraint systems.
NOTE:The front airbags have a multi stage inflator
design. This allows the airbag to have different rates of
inflation that are based on collision severity.Please pay close attention to the information in this
section. It tells you how to use your restraint system
properly to keep you and your passengers as safe as
possible.WARNING!
In a collision, you and your passengers can suffer
injuries, including fatalities, if you are not properly
buckled up. You can strike the interior of your
vehicle or other passengers, or you can be thrown out
of the vehicle. Always be sure you and others in your
vehicle are buckled up properly.
Buckle up even though you are an excellent driver, even
on short trips. Someone on the road may be a poor driver
and cause a collision which includes you. This can
happen far away from home or on your own street.
THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE 27
2
As a guide, if you are shorter than average, you will
prefer a lower position, and if you are taller than average,
you’ll prefer a higher position. When you release the
anchorage, try to move it up or down to make sure that
it is locked in position.
Automatic Locking Mode — If Equipped
In this mode, the shoulder belt is automatically pre-
locked. The belt will still retract to remove any slack in
the shoulder belt.
When To Use The Automatic Locking Mode
Anytime a child safety seat is installed in the rear center
seating position. Children 12 years old and under should
be properly restrained in the rear seat whenever possible.
How To Use The Automatic Locking Mode
1. Buckle the combination lap and shoulder belt.
2. Grasp the shoulder portion and pull downward until
the entire belt is extracted.3. Allow 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.
How to Disengage The Automatic Locking Mode
Disconnect the combination lap/shoulder belt and allow
it to retract completely to disengage the automatic lock-
ing mode and activate the vehicle sensitive (emergency)
locking mode.
Energy Management Feature
This vehicle has a safety belt system with an energy
management feature in the front 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 release webbing in a controlled manner. This
feature is designed to help reduce the belt force acting on
the occupant’s chest.
THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE 33
2
WARNING!
•The belt and retractor assembly must be replaced
if the seat belt assembly “automatic locking re-
tractor” feature or any other seat belt function is
not working properly when checked according to
the procedures in the Service Manual.
•Failure to replace the belt and retractor assembly
could increase the risk of injury in collisions.
Seat Belt Pretensioners
The driver and front passenger seat belts are equipped
with a pretensioning device that is designed to remove
any slack from the seat belt systems in the event of a
collision. This device improves the performance of the
seat belt by assuring that the belt is tight around the
occupant early in a collision. Pretensioners work for all
size occupants, including those in child restraints.NOTE:These devices are not a substitute for proper seat
belt placement by the occupant. The seat belt must still be
worn snugly and positioned properly.
The pretensioners are triggered by the Occupant Re-
straint Control (ORC) Module. Like the front airbags, the
pretensioners are a single use item. After a collision that
is severe enough to deploy the airbags and pretensioners,
they must be replaced.
Enhanced Driver Seat Belt Use Reminder System
(BeltAlert)
If the driver’s seat belt has not been buckled within 60
seconds of starting the vehicle and if the vehicle speed is
greater than 5 mph (8 km/h), the Enhanced Warning
System (BeltAlert) will alert the driver to buckle their seat
belt. The driver should also instruct all other occupants to
buckle their seat belts. Once the warning is triggered, the
Enhanced Warning System (BeltAlert) will continue to
chime and flash the Seat Belt Warning Light for 96
34 THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE
The front airbags have a multi stage inflator design. This
allows the airbag to have different rates of inflation that
are based on collision severity. Along with the seat belts,
front airbags work with the instrument panel knee bol-
sters to provide improved protection for the driver and
front passenger. Window bags also work with seat belts
to improve occupant protection.
The seat belts are designed to protect you in many types
of collisions. The front airbags deploy in moderate to
severe frontal collisions.
NOTE:The passenger front airbag may not deploy even
when the driver front airbag has if the Occupant Classi-
fication System (refer toOccupant Classification System
in this section) has determined the passenger seat is
empty or is occupied by someone that is classified in the
small childcategory.
If your vehicle is so equipped, the window bag on the
crash side of the vehicle is triggered in moderate tosevere side collisions. In certain types of collisions, both
the front and side airbags may be triggered. But even in
collisions where the airbags work, you need the seat belts
to keep you in the right position for the airbags to protect
you properly.
Here are some simple steps you can take to minimize the
risk of harm from a deploying airbag.
1. Children 12 years and under should always ride
buckled up in a rear seat.
Infants in rear facing child restraints shouldNEVERride
in the front seat of a vehicle with a passenger airbag. An
airbag deployment could cause severe injury or death to
infants in that position.
Children that are not big enough to properly wear the
vehicle seat belt should be secured in the rear seat, in a
child restraint or belt-positioning booster seat. Older
THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE 39
2
children who do not use child restraints or belt-
positioning booster seats should ride properly buckled
up in the rear seat. Never allow children to slide the
shoulder belt behind them or under their arm.
If a child from 1 to 12 years old must ride in the front
passenger seat because the vehicle is crowded, move the
seat as far back as possible, and use the proper child
restraint. See “Child Restraint” in this section.
You should read the instructions provided with your
child restraint to make sure that you are using it properly.
2. All occupants should use their lap and shoulder belts
properly.3. The driver and front passenger seats should be moved
back as far as practical to allow the front airbags room to
inflate.
4. If your vehicle has window bags, do not lean against
the door or window, airbags will inflate forcefully into
the space between you and the door.
5. If the airbag system in this vehicle needs to be
modified to accommodate a disabled person, contact the
Customer Center. Phone numbers are provided under “If
You Need Assistance” in Section 9 of this manual.
40 THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE
section). If the ORC detects a malfunction in any part
of the system, it turns on the “Airbag Warning Light”
either momentarily or continuously. A single chime
will sound if the light comes on again after initial start
up.
WARNING!
Ignoring the “Airbag Warning Light” in your instru-
ment panel could mean you won’t have the airbags
to protect you in a collision. If the light does not
come on, stays on after you start the vehicle, or if it
comes on as you drive, have the airbag system
checked right away.
•TheOccupant Classification System (OCS)is part of
a Federally regulated safety system required for this
vehicle. It is designed to turn off the front passenger
airbag in the unlikely event that a rear-facing infant
seat is in the front passenger seat.
NOTE:
Children 12 years and under should always ride
buckled up in a rear seat in an appropriate child re-
straint.
•ThePassenger Airbag Disable (PAD) Indicator Light
(an amber light located in the center of the instrument
panel) tells the driver and front passenger when the
front passenger airbag is turned off. The “PAD Indi-
cator Light” illuminates the wordsPASS AIR BAG
OFFto show that the passenger airbag will not inflate
during a collision requiring airbags. When the right
front passenger seat is empty or when very light
THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE 43
2
objects are placed on the seat, the passenger airbag
will not inflate even though the “PAD Indicator Light”
is not illuminated.
The “PAD Indicator Light” should not be illuminated
when teenagers, most children in a forward-facing
child restraint or booster seats, most children that canproperly wear the vehicle’s seat belt, and when an
adult passenger is properly seated in the front passen-
ger seat. In this case, the airbag is ready to be inflated
if a collision requiring an airbag occurs.
For almost all properly installed rear facing child re-
straints, the “PAD Indicator Light” will be illuminated
indicating that the front passenger airbag is turned off
and will not inflate. If the “PAD Indicator Light” is not
illuminated,DO NOTassume the airbag is turned off
and move the child restraint to the rear seat. A deploying
passenger airbag can cause death or serious injury to a
child in a rear facing infant seat.
NOTE:Even though this vehicle is equipped with an
Occupant Classification System, children 12 years and
under should always ride buckled up in a rear seat in an
appropriate child restraint.
Indicator Light Location
44 THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE