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Always drive and ride withyour seatback upright and the
lap portion of the safety belt,
or lap belt, snug and low
across the hips. This position
puts your safety belts in the
best position to protect you incase of an accident.
In order to avoid unnecessary airbag injuries including the
possibility of severe injury or
death, always sit as far back
as possible from the steering
wheel so that your chest is
away at least 250 mm (10 inch-
es) away from the steeringwheel.WARNING
Loose objects in the driver’s foot area could interfere with
the operation of the foot ped-
als, possibly causing an acci-
dent. Loose objects might
interfere with the seat slide
mechanism. Do not place any-
thing under the front seats.
Children should never be left unattended in the car.WARNING - Driver’s seat
Never attempt to adjust seat while the vehicle is moving. This could result in loss of
control, and an accident caus-
ing death, serious injury, or
property damage.
Do not allow anything to inter- fere with the normal position
of the seatback. Storing items
against a seatback or in any
other way interfering with
proper locking of a seatbackcould result in serious or fatal
injury in a sudden stop or col-lision.
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Warming the driver’s seat
(if equipped)
The front seats can be electrically heated individually when the ignition
switch is ON. When you depress the
seat warmer switch, a thermostat
regulates seat temperature. To deac-
tivate the heating system, depress
the switch once again.
✽✽ NOTICE
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Warming the front passenger
seats (if equipped)
The front seats can be electrically heated individually when the ignition
switch is ON.
When you depress the seat warmer
switch, a thermostat regulates seat
temperature. To deactivate the heat-
ing system, depress the switch onceagain.
✽✽ NOTICE
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To unfold the rear seat:
1. Lift and push the seatback back-ward firmly until it clicks into place.
2. Move and push the seat cushion downward firmly to the proper position.
3. Replace the rear safty belt to the proper position.CAUTION
When returning the rear seat-
backs to the upright position,remember to return the rearshoulder belts to their properposition.
Do not remove the floor carpet in your vehicle. Emission con-trol system componentscause high exhaust tempera-tures under the floor.
WARNING - Cargo
Cargo should always be
secured to prevent it from being
thrown about the vehicle in a
collision and causing injury to
the vehicle occupants.
CAUTION
Make sure the engine is off, the transaxle is in P and theparking brake is applied whenever loading or unload-ing cargo. Vehicle may move ifshift lever is inadvertently moved to another position.
Be careful when loading cargo through the rear passengerseats to prevent damage tothe vehicle interior.
When cargo is loaded through the rear passenger seats,ensure the cargo is properlysecured to prevent it frommoving while driving. Unsecured cargo in the pas-senger compartment cancause damage to the vehicle or injury to it’s occupants.
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Safety belt restraint system We strongly recommend that the
driver and all passengers be proper-
ly restrained at all times by using the
safety belts provided with the vehi-
cle. Proper use of the safety belts
decreases the risk of severe injury or
death in accidents or sudden stops.
All seats (including or except the
center rear seat) have lap/shoulder
belts. Inertial locks in the safety belt
retractors allow all of the lap/shoul-
der 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 the vehicle, such as a
strong stop, a sharp turn, or a colli-
sion, 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.
Always use the rear seat position(s)
to install your child restraint(s).
Never install a child restraint system in the front passenger position, as an
inflating airbag could cause serious
or fatal injury to a child in that posi-tion.
WARNING
- Safety belts
To minimize the risk of serious
or fatal injury in an accident, the
driver and all passengers
should use the appropriate
safety restraints for their age
and size. The presence of
airbags does not change the
need to be properly restrained
by a safety belt or size-appropri-
ate child restraint. In fact,
airbags are designed to work
the best when passengers are
correctly restrained in the vehi-
cle. Be sure you are familiar
with the information in this sec-
tion, including the information
on infant and child restraints.
Read the safety warnings on the
sun visors of your vehicle also.
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Restraint of infants and small
children
To increase their safety, infants and
young children should always be
restrained by a restraint system
approved for their age and size.
Never allow a child to stand or kneel
on the seat of a moving vehicle.
Never allow a safety belt to be placedaround both a child and an adult or
around two children at the same
time.
It is best for children to be seated in
the rear seats.WARNING - Children on
laps
Never hold a child on your lap or
in your arms in a moving vehi-
cle.
Even a very strong person can-
not hold onto a child in the
event of even a minor collision.CAUTION - Hot metal
parts
Safety belts and seats canbecome hot in a vehicle that hasbeen closed during warm/hotweather; they could burn a child. Check seat covers andbuckles before you place a childanywhere near them.
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Many companies manufacture child
restraint systems (often called child
seats) for infants and small children.
An acceptable child restraint system
must always satisfy the Safety
Standards of your country. Make
sure that any child-restraint system
you use in your vehicle is labelled as
complying with those safety stan-
dards.
The child-restraint system should be
chosen to fit both the size of the child
and the size of the vehicle seat. Be
sure to follow any instructions provid-
ed by the child-restraint system man-
ufacturer when installing the child-
restraint system.Restraint of larger children
As children grow, they may need to
use new child-restraint systems,including larger child seats or boost-
er seats, which are appropriate for
their increased size.
A child who has outgrown available
child-restraint systems should use
the belts provided in the vehicle.When seated in the rear outboard
seats, the child should be restrained
by the lap/shoulder belt.
If the shoulder belt portion slightly
touches the child’s neck or face, tryplacing the child closer to the center
of the vehicle. If the shoulder belt still
touches their face or neck they may
need to be returned to a child
restraint system. In addition, after-
market devices are available from
independent manufacturers which
help pull the shoulder belt down and
away from the child’s face or neck.WARNING
- Shoulder
belts on small children
Never allow a shoulder belt to be in contact with a child’s
neck or face while the vehicleis in motion.
If safety belts are not properly worn and adjusted, there is a
risk of death or serious injury
to such a child.
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Child restraint system (if equipped)
For small children and babies, the
use of a child seat or infant seat is
strongly recommended. This child
seat or infant seat should be of
appropriate size for the child andshould be installed in accordance
with the manufacturer's instructions.
It is further recommended that the
seat be placed in the vehicle's rear
seat since this can make an impor-
tant contribution to safety.
Children riding in the car should sit
on the rear seat and must always be
properly restrained to minimize the
risk of injury in an accident, sudden
stop or sudden maneuver. According
to accident statistics, children are
safer when properly restrained in therear seats than in the front seat.Larger children should use one of
the seat belts provided. You are required by law to use safe-
ty restraints for children. If small chil-
dren ride in your vehicle you must
put them in a child restraint system
(safety seat). Children could be injured or killed in
a crash if their restraints are not
properly secured. For small children
and babies, a child seat or infant seat
must be used. Before buying a par-
ticular child restraint system, make
sure it fits your car and seat belts,
and fits your child. Follow all the
instructions provided by the manu-
facturer when installing the child
restraint system.
E1BLA204
WARNING
A child restraint system must be placed in the rear seat.
Never install a child or infant
seat on the front passenger'sseat. Should an accident occur and
cause the passenger airbag to
deploy, it could severely injure
or kill an infant or child seated
in an infant or child seat. Thus,
only use a child restraint in
the rear seat of your vehicle.
(Continued)