Safety restraints precautions
WARNING: Always drive and ride with your seatback upright
and the lap belt snug and low across the hips and the shoulder
belt snug across the chest.
WARNING: To reduce the risk of injury, make sure children sit
where they can be properly restrained.
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.
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: It is extremely dangerous to ride in a cargo area,
inside or outside of a vehicle. In a collision, people riding in
these areas are more likely to be seriously injured or killed. Do
not allow people to ride in any area of your vehicle that is not
equipped with seats and safety belts. Be sure everyone in your
vehicle is in a seat and using a safety belt properly.
WARNING: In a rollover crash, an unbelted person is
significantly more likely to die or be seriously injured than a
person wearing a safety belt.
WARNING: Each seating position in your vehicle has a specific
safety belt assembly which is made up of one buckle and one
tongue that are designed to be used as a pair. 1) Use the
shoulder belt on the outside shoulder only. Never wear the
shoulder belt under the arm. 2) Never swing the safety belt
around your neck over the inside shoulder. 3) Never use a
single belt for more than one person.
2006 Tribute(j14)
Owners Guide (post-2002-fmt)
USA(fus)
Seating and Safety Restraints
83
WARNING: Placing a child, 12 years or younger, in the front
seat is dangerous. The child could be hit by a deploying airbag
and be seriously injured or even killed. A sleeping child is more
likely to lean against the door and be hit by the side airbag (if
equipped) in a moderate collision. Whenever possible, always
secure a child, 12 years or younger, in the rear seat, with an
appropriate child restraint system for the child’s age and size.
Never use a rear-facing child restraint system in the front seat
with an airbag that could deploy.
Combination lap and shoulder belts
1. Insert the belt tongue into the
proper buckle (the buckle
closest to the direction the
tongue is coming from) until
you hear a snap and feel it
latch. Make sure the tongue is
securely fastened in the buckle.
2. To unfasten, push the release
button and remove the tongue
from the buckle.
Load Limiter Feature
•This vehicle has a safety belt system with a load limiter feature at 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
pay out webbing in a controlled manner. This feature is designed to
help reduce the belt force acting on the occupant’s chest.
2006 Tribute(j14)
Owners Guide (post-2002-fmt)
USA(fus)
Seating and Safety Restraints
84
WARNING: All safety belts should be checked for proper
function. Additionally, if the front airbags have deployed, the
front pretensioners have also deployed and both front
restraints must be replaced. After any vehicle collision, the
safety belt system at all outboard seating positions (except
driver, which has no “automatic locking retractor” feature)
must be checked by an authorized dealer to verify that the
“automatic locking retractor” feature for child seats is still
functioning properly.
WARNING: BELT AND RETRACTOR ASSEMBLY MUST BE
REPLACED if the safety belt assembly “automatic locking
retractor” feature or any other safety belt function is not
operating properly when checked according to the procedures in
Workshop Manual.
WARNING: Failure to replace the Belt and Retractor assembly
could increase the risk of injury in collisions.
All safety belts in the vehicle are combination lap and shoulder belts. The
passenger safety belts have two types of locking modes described below:
Vehicle sensitive mode
This is the normal retractor mode, which allows free shoulder belt length
adjustment to your movements and locking in response to vehicle
movement. For example, if the driver brakes suddenly or turns a corner
sharply, or the vehicle receives an impact of approximately 5 mph (8
km/h) or more, the combination safety belts will lock to help reduce
forward movement of the driver and passengers.
Automatic locking mode for use with child safety seats
When to use the automatic locking mode
In this mode, the shoulder belt is automatically pre-locked. The belt will
still retract to remove any slack in the shoulder belt. The automatic
locking mode is not available on the driver safety belt.
This mode should be usedany timea child safety seat, except a
booster, is installed in passenger front or rear seating positions. Children
12 years old and under should be properly restrained in the rear seat
whenever possible. Refer toSafety restraints for childrenorSafety
seats for childrenlater in this chapter.
2006 Tribute(j14)
Owners Guide (post-2002-fmt)
USA(fus)
Seating and Safety Restraints
85
WARNING: After any vehicle collision, the safety belt systems
at all seating positions (except the driver position, which
doesn’t have this feature) must be checked by an authorized
dealer to verify that the automatic locking retractor feature for
child seats is still functioning properly. In addition, all safety
belts should be checked for proper function.
WARNING: BELT AND RETRACTOR ASSEMBLY MUST BE
REPLACED if the safety belt assembly “automatic locking
retractor” feature or any other safety belt function is not
operating properly when checked according to the procedures in
Workshop Manual. Failure to replace the Belt and Retractor
assembly could increase the risk of injury in collisions.
Safety belt height adjustment
Your vehicle has safety belt height
adjustments at the front outboard
seating positions. Adjust the height
of the shoulder belt so the belt rests
across the middle of your shoulder.
To adjust the shoulder belt height,
squeeze and hold the buttons on the
side and slide the height adjuster up
or down. Release the buttons and
pull down on the height adjuster to
make sure it is locked in place.
WARNING: Position the safety belt height adjusters so that the
belt rests across the middle of your shoulder. Failure to adjust
the safety belt properly could reduce the effectiveness of the
safety belt and increase the risk of injury in a collision.
Safety belt pretensioner
Your vehicle is equipped with safety belt pretensioners at the driver and
right front passenger seating positions.
The safety belt pretensioner removes some slack from the safety belt
system at the start of a crash. The safety belt pretensioner uses the
same crash sensor system as the front airbags and side-curtain airbags (if
equipped). When the safety belt pretensioner deploys, the lap and
shoulder belt are tightened.
2006 Tribute(j14)
Owners Guide (post-2002-fmt)
USA(fus)
Seating and Safety Restraints
87
When the side-curtain airbags (if equipped) and/or the front airbags are
activated, the safety belt pretensioners for the driver and right front
passenger seating positions will be activated when the respective seatbelt
is properly buckled.
WARNING: The driver and the right front passenger safety belt
system (including retractors, buckles and height adjusters)
must be replaced if the vehicle is involved in a collision that
results in deployment of front airbags, seat-mounted side
airbags, or side-curtain airbags (if equipped) and safety belt
pretensioners.
WARNING: Failure to replace both front restraints under the
above conditions could result in severe personal injuries in the
event of a collision. The safety belt pretensioners will only
function once. After they are deployed, they will not work again
and must be replaced immediately, even if there was no front
seat occupant seated at the time.
WARNING: Modifying the components or wiring of the
pretensioner system, including the use of electronic testing
devices is dangerous. You could accidentally activate it or make
it inoperable which would prevent it from activating in an
accident. Front occupants could be seriously injured. Never
modify the components or wiring, or use electronic testing
devices on the pretensioner system.
WARNING: Improper disposal of the pretensioner system or a
vehicle with non-deactivated pretensioners is dangerous. Unless
all safety procedures are followed, injury could result. Ask an
authorized Mazda dealer how to safely dispose of the
pretensioner system or how to scrap a front
pretensioner-equipped vehicle.
Refer to theSafety belt maintenancesection in this chapter.
2006 Tribute(j14)
Owners Guide (post-2002-fmt)
USA(fus)
Seating and Safety Restraints
88
WARNING: Failure to inspect and if necessary replace the
safety belt assembly under the above conditions could result in
severe personal injuries in the event of a collision.
Refer toInteriorin theCleaningchapter.
Safety belt warning light and indicator chime
The safety belt warning light illuminates in the instrument cluster and a
chime sounds to remind the occupants to fasten their safety belts.
Conditions of operation
If... Then...
The driver’s safety belt is not
buckled before the ignition
switch is turned to the ON
position...The safety belt warning light
illuminates 1-2 minutes and the
warning chime sounds 4-8 seconds.
The driver’s safety belt is
buckled while the indicator
light is illuminated and the
warning chime is sounding...The safety belt warning light and
warning chime turn off.
The driver’s safety belt is
buckled before the ignition
switch is turned to the ON
position...The safety belt warning light and
indicator chime remain off.
BeltMinder
The BeltMinderfeature is a supplemental warning to the safety belt
warning function. This feature provides additional reminders by
intermittently sounding a chime and illuminating the safety belt warning
lamp in the instrument cluster when the driver’s and front passenger’s
safety belt is unbuckled.
The BeltMinderfeature uses information from the passenger occupant
classification sensor to determine if a front seat passenger is present and
therefore potentially in need of a warning. To avoid activating the
BeltMinderfeature for objects placed in the front passenger seat,
warnings will only be given to large front seat occupants as determined
by the passenger occupant classification sensor.
2006 Tribute(j14)
Owners Guide (post-2002-fmt)
USA(fus)
Seating and Safety Restraints
90
Both the driver’s and passenger’s safety belt usages are monitored and
either may activate the BeltMinderfeature. The warnings are the same
for the driver and the front passenger. If the BeltMinderwarnings have
expired (warnings for approximately 5 minutes) for one occupant (driver
or front passenger), the other occupant can still activate the BeltMinder
feature.
If... Then...
The driver’s and front
passenger’s safety belts are
buckled before the ignition
switch is turned to the ON
position or less than 1-2
minutes have elapsed since the
ignition switch has been turned
ON...The BeltMinderfeature will not
activate.
The driver’s or front
passenger’s safety belt is not
buckled when the vehicle has
reached at least 5 km/h (3
mph) and 1-2 minutes have
elapsed since the ignition
switch has been turned to
ON...The BeltMinderfeature is activated -
the safety belt warning light
illuminates and the warning chime
sounds for 6 seconds every 30
seconds, repeating for approximately
5 minutes or until the safety belts are
buckled.
The driver’s or front
passenger’s safety belt becomes
unbuckled for approximately 1
minute while the vehicle is
traveling at least 5 km/h (3
mph) and more than 1-2
minutes have elapsed since the
ignition switch has been turned
to ON...The BeltMinderfeature is activated -
the safety belt warning light
illuminates and the warning chime
sounds for 6 seconds every 30
seconds, repeating for approximately
5 minutes or until the safety belts are
buckled.
2006 Tribute(j14)
Owners Guide (post-2002-fmt)
USA(fus)
Seating and Safety Restraints
91
The following are reasons most often given for not wearing safety belts
(All statistics based on U.S. data):
Reasons given... Consider...
Crashes are rare events36,700 crashes occur every day.
The more we drive, the more we are
exposed torareevents, even for
good drivers.1in4ofuswillbe
seriously injured in a crash during
our lifetime.
I’m not going far3of4fatal crashes occur within25
miles of home.
Belts are uncomfortableSafety belts are designed to enhance
comfort. If you are uncomfortable -
try different positions for the safety
belt upper anchorage and seatback
which should be as upright as
possible; this can improve comfort.
I was in a hurryPrime time for an accident.Safety
Belt Warning Chime reminds us to
take a few seconds to buckle up.
Seat belts don’t workSafety belts,when used properly,
reduce risk of deathto front seat
occupants by45% in cars,and by
60% in light trucks.
Traffic is lightNearly 1 of 2 deaths occur in
single-vehicle crashes,many when
no other vehicles are around.
Belts wrinkle my clothesPossibly, but a serious crash can do
much more than wrinkle your clothes,
particularly if you are unbelted.
The people I’m with don’t
wear beltsSet the example, teen deaths occur 4
times more often in vehicles with
TWO or MORE people. Children and
younger brothers/sisters imitate
behavior they see.
2006 Tribute(j14)
Owners Guide (post-2002-fmt)
USA(fus)
Seating and Safety Restraints
92