WARNING: Airbags have been known to kill or injure a child in
front facing child restraints. When placing a child safety seat in
a front seating position including the center (if equipped), you
should turn off the passenger airbag switch after being certain
the child is properly restrained. If the child safety seat is in the
outboard seating position, slide the seat all the way back.
WARNING: Do not install a
child seat in a center facing
jump seat.
WARNING: Rear facing child
seats should NEVER be placed
in the front seats unless the
passenger airbag switch is
turned off. SeePassenger
airbag ON/OFF switchin this
chapter.
WARNING: All occupants of the vehicle, including the driver,
should always properly wear their safety belts, even when an
air bag supplemental restraint system (SRS) is provided.
WARNING: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
(NHTSA) recommends a minimum distance of at least 25 cm (10
inches) between an occupant’s chest and the driver air bag
module.
WARNING: Never place your arm or feet over the air bag
module as a deploying air bag can result in serious arm
fractures or other injuries.
REVIEW COPY
2005 Mazda B Series(mbs), Owners Guide (post-2002-fmt)(own2002),
Market:Canadian_French(fr_can)
Seating and Safety Restraints
76
Children and air bags
For additional important safety information, read all information on
safety restraints in this guide.
WARNING: Never place a rearward facing child safety restraint
in front of an activated airbag. Airbags have been known to kill
or injure children in front facing child safety restraints.
Whenever placing a child safety seat in a front seating position
(including center if equipped), turn off the passenger side air
bag switch after being certain the child is properly restrained.
If using a forward facing child safety restraint in the front
outboard seat, slide the seat all the way back, and turn off the
passenger air bag. If using a rear facing child safety seat in the
front outboard seating position, make sure the passenger airbag
is turned off and slide the passenger seat all the way forward
until the safety seat rests on the dashboard. SeePassenger air
bag on/off switchin this chapter.
WARNING: Do not install a
child seat in a center facing
jump seat.
WARNING: An air bag can kill or injure a child in a child seat.
Child seats should never be placed in the front seats, unless
passenger air bag switch is turned off. SeePassenger air bag
on/off switchin this chapter.
WARNING: Rear facing child seats should NEVER be placed in
the front seats unless the passenger airbag switch is turned off.
REVIEW COPY
2005 Mazda B Series(mbs), Owners Guide (post-2002-fmt)(own2002),
Market:Canadian_French(fr_can)
Seating and Safety Restraints
78
WARNING: Booster seats must be installed only in seating
positions equipped with a combination lap/shoulder belt.
WARNING: To reduce the risk of injury, make sure children sit
where they can be properly restrained.
How does the air bag supplemental restraint system work?
The air bag SRS is designed to
activate when the vehicle sustains
sufficient longitudinal deceleration.
The fact that the air bags did not
inflate in a collision does not mean
that something is wrong with the
system. Rather, it means the forces
were not of the type sufficient to
cause activation. Air bags are
designed to inflate in frontal and
near-frontal collisions, not rollover,
side-impact, or rear-impacts.
The air bags inflate and deflate
rapidly upon activation. After air bag
deployment, it is normal to notice a
smoke-like, powdery residue or
smell the burnt propellant. This may
consist of cornstarch, talcum
powder (to lubricate the bag) or
sodium compounds (e.g., baking
soda) that result from the
combustion process that inflates the
air bag. Small amounts of sodium
hydroxide may be present which
may irritate the skin and eyes, but
none of the residue is toxic.
REVIEW COPY
2005 Mazda B Series(mbs), Owners Guide (post-2002-fmt)(own2002),
Market:Canadian_French(fr_can)
Seating and Safety Restraints
79
Turning the passenger air bag off
1. Ignition OFF.
2. Insert the ignition key, turn the
switch to OFF position and hold
in OFF position while removing
the key.
3. When the ignition switch is
turned to the ON position the
OFF light illuminates briefly,
momentarily shuts off and then
turns back on. This indicates that the passenger air bag is
deactivated. Do not use a second key to turn off the passenger
airbag, as the lock position might be changed without your knowing.
WARNING: You must turn the passenger air bag Off if you have
a rear facing child seat in the front seat of the pickup (the
center lapbelt on front split seats or the center facing rear
seats do not accommodate child seats). Statistics show that
children under 12 are more likely to suffer minor injuries in the
front passenger seats than adults. If you must have a child in
the front passenger seat, place the largest child in the front
seat, make sure that the child is belted, the vehicle seat is all
the way back, and the passenger airbag is turned OFF. The front
seat center lap belt and the center facing rear seats do not
accommodate child seats; therefore, you may not be able to put
a larger child in the front passenger seat if a child seat is
involved.
WARNING: If the OFF light fails to illuminate when the
passenger air bag switch is in the OFF position and the ignition
switch is in the ON position, have the passenger air bag switch
serviced at your authorized Mazda dealership.
WARNING: In order to avoid inadvertent activation of the
switch, always remove the ignition key from the passenger air
bag ON/OFF switch.
ON
OFF
OFF
PASSENGER AIRBAG
REVIEW COPY
2005 Mazda B Series(mbs), Owners Guide (post-2002-fmt)(own2002),
Market:Canadian_French(fr_can)
Seating and Safety Restraints
82
Turning the passenger air bag back on
The passenger air bag remains OFF until you turn it back ON.
1. Insert the ignition key and turn
the switch to ON.
2. The OFF light will briefly
illuminate when the ignition is
turned to ON. This indicates
that the passenger air bag is
operational.
WARNING: If the light is illuminated when the passenger air
bag ON/OFF switch is in the ON position and the ignition switch
is ON, have the passenger air bag ON/OFF switch serviced at
your authorized Mazda dealership immediately.
The passenger side air bag should always be ON (the air bag OFF light
shouldnotbe illuminated) except for certain vulnerable persons. See
guidance on following pages.
WARNING: The safety belts for the driver and right front
passenger seating positions have been specifically designed to
function together with the air bags in certain types of crashes.
When you turn OFF your air bag, you not only lose the
protection of the air bag, you also may reduce the effectiveness
of your safety belt system, which was designed to work with the
air bag. Most vehicles with full back seats do not have cut-off
switches, but NHTSA and Transport Canada will allow a cut-off
switch to be installed on request for a certain category of
persons who must ride up front and there is a concern about
riding there. Please see the guidance below.
WARNING: Always use safety belts and child restraints
properly. If a child in a rear facing infant seat must be
transported in front, the passenger air bagmustbe turned OFF.
This is because the back of the infant seat is too close to the
inflating air bag and the risk of a fatal injury to the infant when
the air bag inflates is substantial.
ON
OFF
OFF
PASSENGER AIRBAG
REVIEW COPY
2005 Mazda B Series(mbs), Owners Guide (post-2002-fmt)(own2002),
Market:Canadian_French(fr_can)
Seating and Safety Restraints
83
3.Medical condition:A passenger has a medical condition that,
according to his or her physician:
•poses a special risk for the passenger if the air bag deploys; and
•makes the potential harm from the passenger air bag deployment
greater than the potential harm from turning OFF the air bag and
experiencing a crash without the protection offered by the air bag
WARNING: This vehicle has special energy management safety
belts for the driver and/or right front passenger. These
particular belts are specifically designed to work with air bags
to help reduce the risk of injury in a collision. The energy
management safety belt is designed to give or release additional
belt webbing in some accidents to reduce concentration of force
on an occupant’s chest and reduce the risk of certain bone
fractures and injuries to underlying organs. In a crash, if the air
bag is turned OFF, this energy management safety belt might
permit the person wearing the belt to move forward enough to
incur a serious or fatal injury. The more severe the crash, and
the heavier the occupant, the greater the risk is. Be sure the air
bag is turned ON for any person who does not qualify under the
Transport Canada deactivation criteria.
SAFETY RESTRAINTS FOR CHILDREN
See the following sections for directions on how to properly use safety
restraints for children. Also seeAir bag supplemental restraint system
(SRS)in this chapter for special instructions about using air bags.
Important child restraint precautions
NOTE:You are required by law to use a child-restraint system in the
U.S. and Canada. Many states require that children use approved booster
seats until they are eight years old. Check your local and state or
provincial laws for specific requirements regarding the safety of children
in your vehicle.
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.
NOTE:Always follow the instructions and warnings that come with any
infant or child restraint you might use.
REVIEW COPY
2005 Mazda B Series(mbs), Owners Guide (post-2002-fmt)(own2002),
Market:Canadian_French(fr_can)
Seating and Safety Restraints
86
WARNING: Air bags can kill or injure a child in a child seat.
Never place a rear facing child seat in front of an active air bag.
If you must use a forward facing child seat in the front seat,
position the vehicle seat fully rearward and turn the passenger
air bag off.
WARNING: An air bag can kill or injure a child in a child seat.
Child seats should never be placed in the front seats, unless
passenger air bag switch is turned off, SeePassenger air bag
on/off switch.
WARNING: Rear facing child seats should NEVER be placed in
the front seats unless the passenger airbag switch is turned off.
Also, slide the front seat forward until the rear facing child seat
contacts the dash board for maximum support. (All other
children and forward facing child seats and booster seats should
be on front seats that are slid back as far away as possible from
the dashboard.
WARNING: Do not install a child seat in a center facing jump
seat.
Children and safety belts
If the child is the proper size, restrain the child in a safety seat.
Children who are too large for child safety seats (as specified by your
child safety seat manufacturer) should always wear safety belts.
Follow all the important safety restraint and air bag precautions that
apply to adult passengers in your vehicle.
If the shoulder belt portion of a combination lap and shoulder belt can
be positioned so it does not cross or rest in front of the child’s face or
neck, the child should wear the lap and shoulder belt. Moving the child
closer to the center of the vehicle may help provide a good shoulder belt
fit.
REVIEW COPY
2005 Mazda B Series(mbs), Owners Guide (post-2002-fmt)(own2002),
Market:Canadian_French(fr_can)
Seating and Safety Restraints
87
WARNING: Do not leave children, unreliable adults, or pets
unattended in your vehicle. Leaving a child or an animal
unattended in a parked vehicle is dangerous. In hot weather,
temperatures inside a vehicle can become high enough to cause
brain damage or even death. Always take all children and
animals with you or leave a responsible person with them.
Leaving children in a vehicle with the ignition key is dangerous.
This could result in someone being badly injured or even killed.
They could play with power windows or other controls, or even
make the vehicle move. Don’t leave the keys in your vehicle
with children.
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. Never place a child
safety seat in a center facing rear jump seat. If you must place
a child safety seat in a front seating position, make sure the
passenger airbag is turned off. SeeTurning the airbag Offin
this section. Never use a rear-facing child restraint system in
the front seat with an air bag that could deploy.
Child booster seats
Children outgrow a typical convertible or toddler seat when they weigh
40 pounds and are around 4 years of age. Although the lap/shoulder belt
will provide some protection, these children are still too small for
lap/shoulder belts to fit properly, which could increase the risk of serious
injury.
To improve the fit of both the lap and shoulder belt on children who
have outgrown child safety seats, Mazda recommends use of a
belt-positioning booster.
Booster seats position a child so that safety belts fit better. They lift the
child up so that the lap belt rests low across the hips and the knees
bend comfortably. Booster seats also make the shoulder belt fit better
and more comfortably for growing children.
When children should use booster seats
Children need to use booster seats from the time they outgrow the
toddler seat until they are big enough for the vehicle seat and
lap/shoulder belt to fit properly. Generally this is when they weigh about
80 lbs (about 8 to 12 years old).
REVIEW COPY
2005 Mazda B Series(mbs), Owners Guide (post-2002-fmt)(own2002),
Market:Canadian_French(fr_can)
Seating and Safety Restraints
88