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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 belt to tighten the lap
belt portion and feed the shoulder belt back into
the retractor. If you are using a forward-facing
child restraint, you may find 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 out of the retractor once
the lock has been set.
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7. If your child restraint manufacturer
recommends using a top tether and the
position you are using has a top tether anchor,
attach and tighten the top tether to the top
tether anchor. Refer to the instructions that
came with the child restraint and toLower
Anchors and Tethers for Children (LATCH)
on page 54.
8. Push and pull the child restraint in different
directions to be sure it is secure.
To remove the child restraint, if the top tether is
attached to the top tether anchor, disconnect
it. 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.
If you had turned the airbag off with the switch,
remember to be sure to use the airbag off switch
to turn on the right front passenger’s airbag
when you remove the child restraint from the
vehicle unless the person who will be sitting there
is a member of a passenger airbag risk group.
SeeAirbag Off Switch on page 86.
{CAUTION:
If the right front passenger’s airbag is
turned off for a person who is not in a
risk group identi ed by the national
government, that person will not have
the extra protection of an airbag. In a
crash, the airbag will not be able to in ate
and help protect the person sitting there.
Do not turn off the passenger’s airbag
unless the person sitting there is in a risk
group. SeeAirbag Off Switch on page 86
for more on this, including important
safety information.
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Airbag System
Your vehicle has an airbag for the driver in the
middle of the steering wheel. If it says AIR BAG
on the instrument panel in front of the right
front passenger’s seat, your vehicle has an
airbag for the right front passenger.
If there is not a right front passenger’s seat,
your vehicle has an airbag for the driver only.
Airbags are designed to supplement the protection
provided by safety belts. Even though today’s
airbags are also designed to help reduce the risk
of injury from the force of an inflating bag, all
airbags must inflate very quickly to do their job.
Here are the most important things to know
about the airbag system:
{CAUTION:
You can be severely injured or killed in a
crash if you are not wearing your safety
belt — even if you have airbags. Wearing
your safety belt during a crash helps
CAUTION: (Continued)
CAUTION: (Continued)
reduce your chance of hitting things inside
the vehicle or being ejected from it. Airbags
are “supplemental restraints” to the safety
belts. All airbags are designed to work
with safety belts, but do not replace them.
{CAUTION:
Airbags are designed to deploy in
moderate to severe frontal and near frontal
crashes. They are not designed to in ate
in rollover, rear crashes, or in many side
crashes. And, for some unrestrained
occupants, airbags may provide less
protection in frontal crashes than more
forceful airbags have provided in the past.
Everyone in your vehicle should wear a
safety belt properly — whether or not there
is an airbag for that person.
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{CAUTION:
Airbags in ate with great force, faster than
the blink of an eye. If you are too close to
an in ating airbag, as you would be if you
were leaning forward, it could seriously
injure you. Safety belts help keep you
in position before and during a crash.
Always wear your safety belt, even with
airbags. The driver should sit as far
back as possible while still maintaining
control of the vehicle.If your vehicle has an airbag for the right front
passenger, read the following:{CAUTION:
Anyone who is up against, or very close to,
any airbag when it in ates can be seriously
injured or killed. Airbags plus lap-shoulder
belts offer the best protection for adults,
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. Always secure children properly
in your vehicle. To read how, seeOlder
Children on page 41andInfants and
Young Children on page 44.
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What Makes an Airbag In ate?
In an impact of sufficient severity, the airbag
sensing system detects that the vehicle is in a
crash. The sensing system triggers a release
of gas from the inflator, which inflates the airbag.
The inflator, airbag, and related hardware are all
part of the airbag modules inside the steering
wheel and in the instrument panel in front of the
right front passenger.
How Does an Airbag Restrain?
In moderate to severe frontal or near-frontal
collisions, even belted occupants can contact
the steering wheel or the instrument panel.
The airbag supplements the protection provided
by safety belts. Airbags distribute the force of
the impact more evenly over the occupant’s upper
body, stopping the occupant more gradually.
But airbags would not help you in many types
of collisions, including rollovers, rear impacts,
and many side impacts, primarily because
an occupant’s motion is not toward those airbags.Airbags should never be regarded as anything
more than a supplement to safety belts, and then
only in moderate to severe frontal or near-frontal
collisions.
What Will You See After an
Airbag In ates?
After an airbag inflates, it quickly deflates, so
quickly that some people may not even realize the
airbag inflated. Some components of the airbag
module — the steering wheel hub for the driver’s
airbag or the instrument panel for the right
front passenger’s bag — may be hot for a short
time. The parts of the airbag that come into contact
with you may be warm, but not too hot to touch.
There may be some smoke and dust coming from
the vents in the deflated airbags. Airbag inflation
does not prevent the driver from seeing out of
the windshield or being able to steer the vehicle,
nor does it prevent people from leaving the vehicle.
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Child age 1 to 12.A child age 1 to 12 must
ride in the front seat because:
•
My vehicle has no rear seat;
•Although children ages 1 to 12 ride in the
rear seat(s) whenever possible, children
ages 1 to 12 sometimes must ride in the
front because no space is available in
the rear seat(s) of my vehicle; or
•The child has a medical condition which,
according to the child’s physician, makes
it necessary for the child to ride in the
front seat so that the driver can constantly
monitor the child’s condition.
Medical Condition.A passenger has a
medical condition which, according to his
or her physician:
•
Causes the passenger airbag to pose a
special risk for the passenger; and
•Makes the potential harm from the passenger
airbag in a crash greater than the potential
harm from turning off the airbag and allowing
the passenger, even if belted, to hit the
dashboard or windshield in a crash.
{CAUTION:
If the right front passenger’s airbag is
turned off for a person who is not in
a risk group identi ed by the national
government, that person will not have the
extra protection of an airbag. In a crash,
the airbag will not be able to in ate and
help protect the person sitting there. Do
not turn off the passenger’s airbag unless
the person sitting there is in a risk group.
SeeAirbag Off Switch on page 86.
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The words ON and OFF, or the symbol for on and
off, will be visible on the instrument panel during
the system check. When the system check is
complete, either the word ON or the word OFF,
or the symbol for on or the symbol for off, will
be visible. SeePassenger Airbag Status Indicator
on page 172.
The passenger sensing system will turn off
the right front passenger’s frontal airbag under
certain conditions. The driver’s airbags are not
part of the passenger sensing system.
The passenger sensing system works with
sensors that are part of the right front passenger’s
seat. The sensors are designed to detect the
presence of a properly seated occupant and
determine if the passenger’s frontal airbag
should be enabled (may inflate) or not.Accident statistics show that children are safer if
they are restrained in the rear rather than the front
seat. We recommend that children be secured
in a rear seat, including: an infant or a child riding
in a rear-facing child restraint; a child riding in
a forward-facing child seat; an older child riding
in a booster seat; and children, who are large
enough, using safety belts.
A label on your sun visor that 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.
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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.
Remove any additional material from the seat
cushion before reinstalling or securing the
child 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/retailer.
If no rear seat is available, do not install a
child restraint in this vehicle,
The passenger sensing system is designed to
enable (may inflate) the right front passenger’s
frontal airbag anytime the system sensesthat a person of adult size is sitting properly in the
right front passenger’s seat. When the passenger
sensing system has allowed the airbag to be
enabled, the on indicator will light and stay lit to
remind you that the airbag is active.
For some children who have outgrown child
restraints and for very small adults, the passenger
sensing system may or may not turn off the
right front passenger’s frontal airbag, depending
upon the person’s seating posture and body
build. Everyone in your vehicle who has outgrown
child restraints should wear a safety belt
properly — whether or not there is an airbag for
that person.
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