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KNOWING YOUR VEHICLE
3-18SEAT CUSHION HEIGHT
ADJUSTMENTMove the front portion of the control
knob up or down to raise or lower the
front part of the seat cushion. Move the
rear portion of the control knob up or
down to raise or lower the rear part of the
seat cushion.
ADJUSTING SEATBACK
ANGLERotate the upper portion of the control
knob forward or backward to recline the
seatback to the desired position. Release
the control knob and then the seatback
will lock in that position.
MMSA3078/MMSA3015
MMSA3012
WARNING
To minimize the risk of personal
injury in the event of a collision
or a sudden stop, both the
driver's and passenger's
seatback should remain in an
upright position while the car is
in motion. The protection
provided by the seat belts and
airbags may be reduced signifi-
cantly when the seatbacks are
reclined. There is a greater risk
that the seat occupants will
slide under the belt resulting in
serious injury if a crash occurs
when the seat-backs are
reclined. The seat belt cannot
provide full protection to an
occupant if the seat back is
reclined.
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KNOWING YOUR VEHICLE
3-20
SPLIT FOLDING REAR
SEATThe rear seatbacks fold forward to
provide additional cargo space and to
provide a access to the trunk area.
• To fold the rear seatback(s) down,
press the unlock button located in the
top of the seatbacks, then fold the
seatback forward and down.
• To raise the seatback, lift and push it
firmly until it clicks into place.
• When you return the seatback to its
upright position, reposition the rear
safety belts so that they can be used
by rear seat passengers.
MMSA3014
WARNING
To drive properly, adjust the
driver’s seat and its headrest
before starting. After doing so,
you should adjust the day/night
rearview mirror and the outside
rearview mirror.
WARNING - Cargo
Cargo should always be
secured to prevent it from
shifting and causing injury to
the vehicle occupants.
CAUTION
Do not remove the floor carpet in
your vehicle, emission controls
cause high exhaust temperatures
under the floor.
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Page 30 of 225
3-21
REAR SEATBACK LOCKThe rear seatback lock lever (located on
the backside of the rear seatback) is
always in the “LOCK” position when the
seatbacks are secured upright. To fold the
rear seatback down, the lock lever must be
moved to the “FREE” position. The lock
feature was designed to provide protection
from unauthorized entry into the trunk.
REAR SEAT ARMRESTThis armrest is located in the center of
the rear seatback.
Open the armrest cover by pressing its
release button. A cup holder and stowage
compartment are inside the armrest.
FREE LOCK
MMSA3018
MMSA3019
✻
NOTICE
When returning the rear seatbacks
to the upright position, remember
to return the rear shoulder belts to
their proper position. Routing the
safety belt webbing through the
rear safety belt guides will help
keep the belts from being trapped
behind or under the seats.
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KNOWING YOUR VEHICLE
3-22SAFETY BELTSPRE-TENSIONER SEAT
BELTYour vehicle is equipped with driver’s
and front passenger’s pre-tensioner seat
belts. The purpose of the pre-tensioner is
to make sure that the seat belts fit tightly
against the occupant’s body in certain
frontal collisions.The pre-tensioner seat belts can be
activated alone or, with the airbag, where
the frontal collision is severe enough.
The pre-tensioner seat belt operates in
the same way as an Emergency Locking
Retractor (ELR) type of seat belt. When
the vehicle stops suddenly, or if the
occupant tries to lean forward too
quickly, the seat belt retractor will lock
into position. However, in certain frontal
collisions, the pretensioner will activate
and pull the seat belt into tighter contact
against the occupant’s body.The seat belt pre-tensioner system
consists mainly of the following
components.
Their locations are shown in the
illustration.
1. SRS airbag warning light.
2. Seatbelt pre-tensioner assembly.
3. SRS control module.
2GHB3002
MMSA3021
Driver’s side airbag
21
3Passenger’s
side airbag
WARNING
To obtain maximum benefit
from a pre-tensioner seat belt:
1. The seat belt must be worn
correctly.
2. The seat belt must be
adjusted to the correct
position.
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SAFETY BELT RESTRAINT
SYSTEMWe strongly recommend that the driver
and all passengers be properly restrained
at all times by using the safety belts
provided with the vehicle. Proper use of
the safety belts decreases the risk of
severe injury or death in accidents or
sudden stops.Safety belts provide the best restraint
when:
• The seatback is upright.
• The occupant is sitting upright (not
slouched).
• The lap belt portion of the safety belt
is snug and low on the hips.
• The shoulder belt portion of the
safety belt is snug against the chest.
• The knees are straight forward.
To help you remember to fasten your
safety belt, a warning light will flash and
a chime will sound.
See safety belt warning on page 4-22.
All seats have lap/shoulder belts.
The center rear seat has a lap/shoulder
belt.
Inertial locks in the safety belt retractors
allow all of the lap/shoulder safety belts
to remain unlocked during normal
vehicle operation.This allows the
occupants some freedom of movement
and increased comfort while using the
safety belts. If a force is applied to thevehicle, such as a strong stop, a sharp
turn, or a collision, the safety belt
retractors will automatically lock the
safety belts.
Since the inertial locks do not require a
collision in order to lock up, you may
become aware of the safety belts locking
while braking or going around sharp
corners.
The center rear seat safety belt does not
have an inertial lock so it is always in a
locked condition.
Whenever possible, use the center rear
seat position to install your child
restraint. The center rear seat is the best
position to install your child restraint.
3-25
WARNING
The driver and all passengers
should always use the safety
belts provided in order to
minimize the risk of severe
bodily injury.
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PLACEMENT OF A CHILD
RESTRAINT SYSTEMWe recommend that, whenever possible,
you put the child restraint in the center
position of the rear seat.
If the center rear seat is not available, or
you are using more than one child
restraint system in the vehicle at the
same time, the rear safety belts have
been designed to allow a child restraint
to be used in these positions. Since those
safety belts normally lock only under
extreme or emergency conditions
(emergency lock mode) you must
manually adjust those belts to the auto
lock mode.
3-29
WARNING
When a child restraint is not in
use, make sure that it is
secured by a safety belt. In a
sudden stop or accident, a
loose child restraint could be
thrown forward and injure
someone.
WARNING - Restraint
Instructions
Failure to observe this manuals
instructions regarding child
restraint systems and the
instructions provided with the
child restraint system could
increase the chance and/or
severity of injury in an accident.✻
NOTICE
The driver’s safety belt
incorporates the emergency lock
mode only.
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Placing a Passenger Safety Belt
Into the Auto Lock ModeThe use of the auto lock mode will
ensure that the normal movement of the
child in the vehicle does not cause the
safety belt to be pulled out and loosen
the firmness of its hold on the child
restraint system.To secure a child restraint in the rear
outboard seats, follow the procedure
below.
1. Place the child restraint system in the
seat and route the lap/shoulder belt
around or through the restraint,
following the restraint manufacturer’s
instructions. Be sure the safety belt
webbing is not twisted.
KNOWING YOUR VEHICLE
3-30
MMSA3080
MMSA3027
WARNING - Child
Restraint Placement
Never use a child restraint in
the front passenger seat. In a
collision the air bag inflates
with great force. A child in a
restraint in the front passenger
seat can be severely or fatally
injured by the power of the air
bag.
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Page 40 of 225
2. Fasten the lap/shoulder belt latch into
the buckle. Listen for the distinct
“click” sound.
Position the release button so that it is
easy to access in case of an emergency.3. Pull the shoulder portion of the safety
belt all the way out. When the
shoulder portion of the safety belt is
fully extended, it will shift the
retractor to the “Auto Lock” (child
restraint) mode.4. Slowly allow the belt to retract. Pull
up on the shoulder webbing. A
“clicking” or “ratcheting” sound will
be heard as the belt retracts. This
indicates the retractor is now in the
automatic locking mode. Push down
on the child restraint while you pull up
on the belt in order to remove any
slack in the belt.
3-31
MMSA3028
MMSA3027
"Click"
MMSA3029
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