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or the safety belts!
With safety belts, you slow down as the vehicle does.
You get more time to stop. You stop over more distance,
and your strongest bones take the forces. That is why
safety belts make such good sense.
Questions and Answers About
Safety Belts
Q:Will I be trapped in the vehicle after an accident
if I am wearing a safety belt?
A:Youcouldbe — whether you are wearing a safety
belt or not. But you can unbuckle a safety belt, even
if you are upside down. And your chance of being
conscious during and after an accident, so youcan
unbuckle and get out, ismuchgreater if you are
belted.
Q:If my vehicle has airbags, why should I have to
wear safety belts?
A:Airbags are in many vehicles today and will be in
most of them in the future. But they are supplemental
systems only; so they workwithsafety belts — not
instead of them. Every airbag system ever offered for
sale has required the use of safety belts. Even if you
are in a vehicle that has airbags, you still have to
buckle up to get the most protection. That is true not
only in frontal collisions, but especially in side and
other collisions.
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{CAUTION:
Children who are up against, or very close to,
any airbag when it in ates can be seriously
injured or killed. Airbags plus lap-shoulder belts
offer protection for adults and older children,
but not for young children and infants. Neither
the vehicle’s safety belt system nor its airbag
system is designed for them. Young children
and infants need the protection that a child
restraint system can provide.
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Where to Put the Restraint
Accident statistics show that children are safer if they
are restrained in the rear rather than the front seat. We
recommend that child restraints be secured in a rear seat,
including an infant riding in a rear-facing infant seat, a
child riding in a forward-facing child seat and an older
child riding in a booster seat.
Your vehicle has a rear seat that will accommodate a
rear-facing child restraint. A label on your sun visor says,
“Never put a rear-facing child seat in the front.” This is
because the risk to the rear-facing child is so great, if the
airbag deploys.
{CAUTION:
A child in a rear-facing child restraint can be
seriously injured or killed if the right front
passenger’s airbag in ates. This is because
the back of the rear-facing child restraint
would be very close to the in ating airbag.
CAUTION: (Continued)
CAUTION: (Continued)
Even though the passenger sensing system is
designed to turn off the passenger’s frontal
airbag if the system detects a rear-facing child
restraint, no system is fail-safe, and no one can
guarantee that an airbag will not deploy under
some unusual circumstance, even though it is
turned off. We recommend that rear-facing child
restraints be secured in the rear seat, even if the
airbag is off.
If you need to secure a forward-facing child
restraint in the right front seat, always move
the front passenger seat as far back as it will go.
It is better to secure the child restraint in a
rear seat.
Wherever you install a child restraint, be sure to secure
the child restraint properly.
Keep in mind that an unsecured child restraint can move
around in a collision or sudden stop and injure people in
the vehicle. Be sure to properly secure any child restraint
in your vehicle — even when no child is in it.
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Securing a Child Restraint in the
Center Rear Seat Position
Many child restraints are too wide to be correctly secured
in the center rear seat, although some of them will t
there. If the center seat position is too narrow for your
child restraint, secure it in a rear outside seat position.
If you secure a child restraint in the center seat position,
follow the instructions inSecuring a Child Restraint in
a Rear Outside Seat Position on page 1-44.
Securing a Child Restraint in the
Right Front Seat Position
Your vehicle has a right front passenger’s airbag. A rear
seat is a safer place to secure a forward-facing child
restraint. SeeWhere to Put the Restraint on page 1-38.
In addition, your vehicle has a passenger sensing
system. The passenger sensing system is designed to
turn off the right front passenger’s frontal airbag when
an infant in a rear-facing infant seat or a small child in a
forward-facing child restraint or booster seat is detected.
SeePassenger Sensing System on page 1-61and
Passenger Airbag Status Indicator on page 3-30for more
information on this including important safety information.
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A label on your sun visor says, “Never put a rear-facing
child seat in the front.” This is because the risk to the
rear-facing child is so great, if the airbag deploys.
{CAUTION:
A child in a rear-facing child restraint can be
seriously injured or killed if the right front
passenger’s airbag in ates. This is because
the back of the rear-facing child restraint would
be very close to the in ating airbag.
Even though the passenger sensing system is
designed to turn off the passenger’s frontal
airbag if the system detects a rear-facing child
restraint, no system is fail-safe, and no one can
guarantee that an airbag will not deploy under
some unusual circumstance, even though it is
turned off. We recommend that rear-facing child
restraints be secured in the rear seat, even if the
airbag is off.If you need to secure a forward-facing child restraint in
the right front seat position, move the seat as far back as
it will go before securing the forward-facing child restraint.
SeePower Seats on page 1-2.
If your child restraint is equipped with the LATCH system,
seeLower Anchors and Tethers for Children (LATCH) on
page 1-39.
There is no top tether anchor at the right front seating
position. Do not secure a child seat in this position if
a national or local law requires that the top tether be
anchored or if the instructions that come with the child
restraint say that the top tether must be anchored.
SeeLower Anchors and Tethers for Children (LATCH)
on page 1-39if the child restraint has a top tether.
You will be using the lap-shoulder belt to secure the child
restraint in this position. Be sure to follow the instructions
that came with the child restraint. Secure the child in the
child restraint when and as the instructions say.
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1. Your vehicle has a right front passenger’s frontal
airbag. SeePassenger Sensing System on
page 1-61. We recommend that rear-facing child
restraints be secured in a rear seat, even if the airbag
is off. If your child restraint is forward-facing, move
the seat as far back as it will go before securing the
child restraint in this seat. SeePower Seats on
page 1-2.
When the passenger sensing system has turned
off the right front passenger’s frontal airbag, the off
indicator on the passenger airbag status indicator
should light and stay lit when you turn the ignition
to RUN or START. SeePassenger Airbag Status
Indicator on page 3-30.
2. Put the child restraint on the seat.
3. Pick up the latch plate, and run the lap and shoulder
portions of the vehicle’s safety belt through or around
the restraint. The child restraint instructions will show
you how.4. Buckle the belt. Make sure the release button is
positioned so you would be able to unbuckle the
safety belt quickly if you ever had to.
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5. Pull the rest of the shoulder belt all the way out of
the retractor to set the lock.6. To tighten the belt, push down on the child restraint,
pull the shoulder portion of the belt to tighten the lap
portion of the belt and feed the shoulder belt back
into the retractor. If you are using a forward-facing
child restraint, you may nd it helpful to use your
knee to push down on the child restraint as you
tighten the belt. You should not be able to pull
more of the belt from the retractor once the lock
has been set.
7. Push and pull the child restraint in different
directions to be sure it is secure.
8. If the airbag is off, the off indicator in the inside
rearview mirror will be lit and stay lit when the
key is turned to RUN or START.
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If a child restraint has been installed and the on
indicator is lit, turn the vehicle off. Remove the child
restraint from the vehicle and reinstall the child restraint.
If after reinstalling the child restraint and restarting the
vehicle, the on indicator is still lit, check to make sure that
the vehicle’s seatback is not pressing the child restraint
into the seat cushion. If this happens, slightly recline
the vehicle’s seatback and adjust the seat cushion if
possible. Also make sure the child restraint is not trapped
under the vehicle head restraint. If this happens, adjust
the head restraint.
If the on indicator is still lit, secure the child in the child
restraint in a rear seat position in the vehicle and check
with your dealer.
To remove the child restraint, just unbuckle the vehicle’s
safety belt and let it go back all the way. The safety
belt will move freely again and be ready to work for
an adult or larger child passenger.Airbag System
Your vehicle has a frontal airbag for the driver and
another frontal airbag for the right front passenger.
Your vehicle also has roof-mounted side impact airbags
designed for either side impact or rollover deployment.
Roof-mounted side impact airbags are available for the
driver and the passenger seated directly behind the driver
and for the right front passenger and the passenger
seated directly behind that passenger.
Frontal airbags are designed to help reduce the risk of
injury from the force of an in ating frontal airbag. But
these airbags must in ate very quickly to do their job
and comply with federal regulations.
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