This section gives you important
inf ormation about how to protect
yourself and your passengers. It
shows you how to use seat belts. It
explains how your airbags work. And
it tells you how to properly restrain
inf ants and children in your vehicle..........
Important Safety Precautions . 8
.......
Your Vehicle’s Saf ety Features . 9
.....................................
Seat Belts .10
.........................................
Airbags .11
.........
Protecting Adults and Teens . 13
.....
1. Close and Lock the Doors . 13
...........
2. Adjust the Front Seats . 13
............
3. Adjust the Seat-Backs . 14
...
4. Adjust the Head Restraints . 15
5. Fasten and Position the Seat .....................................
Belts .16
6. Maintain a Proper Sitting ................................
Position .17
.....
Advice f or Pregnant Women . 18
...
Additional Safety Precautions . 19Additional Inf ormation About Your
.................................
Seat Belts .20
..
Seat Belt System Components . 20
......................
Lap/Shoulder Belt .21
Automatic Seat Belt ...............................
Tensioners .21
...............
Seat Belt Maintenance . 22
Additional Inf ormation About Your .....................................
Airbags .23
......
Airbag System Components . 23
How Your Front Airbags .........................................
Work .25
...
How Your Side Airbags Work . 28
How Your Side Curtain Airbags .........................................
Work .30
..
How the SRS Indicator Works . 30
How the Side Airbag Of f ......................
Indicator Works .31
How the Passenger Airbag Of f ......................
Indicator Works .31
.............................
Airbag Service .32
...
Additional Safety Precautions . 33
Protecting Children General ................................
Guidelines .34
All Children Must Be ...............................
Restrained .34 All Children Should Sit in a
.................................
Back Seat .35
The Passenger’s Front Airbag ................
Poses Serious Risks . 35
If You Must Drive with Several ...................................
Children .37
If a Child Requires Close ..................................
Attention .37
...
Additional Safety Precautions . 38
Protecting Inf ants and .........................
Small Children .39
.......................
Protecting Inf ants .39
.........
Protecting Small Children . 41
.....................
Selecting a Child Seat .42
....................
Installing a Child Seat .43
...............................
With LATCH .44
...................................
With a Belt .46
..............................
With a Tether .48
...........
Protecting Larger Children . 49
..................
Using a Booster Seat . 50
When Can a Larger Child Sit in .........................................
Front .51
...
Additional Safety Precautions . 52
.............
Carbon Monoxide Hazard . 53
...................................
Saf ety Labels .54
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
7
µ
You’ll find many safety
recommendations throughout this
section, and throughout this manual.
Therecommendationsonthispage
are the ones we consider to be the
most important. Excessive speed is a maj
or factor in
crash injuries and deaths. Generally,
the higher the speed, the greater the
risk, but serious injuries can also
occur at lower speeds. Never drive
faster than is safe for current
conditions, regardless of the
maximum speed posted.
Having a tire blowout or a
mech anical failure can be extremely
hazardous. To reduce the possibility
of such problems, check your ti re
pressures and condition frequently,
and perform all regularly scheduled
maintenance (see page ).
A seat belt is y
our best protection in
all typ es of collisions. Airbags are
designed to supplement seat belts,
not replace them. So even though
your vehicle is equipped with airbags,
make sure you and your passengers
always wear your seat belts, and
wear them properly (see page ).
Children age 12 and under should
ride properly restrained in a back
seat. Infants and small children
should be restrained in a child seat.
Larger children should use a booster
and a lap/shoulder belt until they
canusethebeltproperlywithouta
booster (see pages ). While
airbags can save lives, they
can cause serious or fatal injuries to
occupants who sit too close to them,
or are not properly restrained.
Infants, young children, and short
adults are at the greatest risk. Be
su re to follow all instru ctions and
warnings in this manual.
Al cohol and driving don’t mix. Even
one drink can reduce your ability to
respond to changing conditions, and
your reaction time gets worse with
every additional drink. So don’t drink
and drive, and don’t let your friends
drink and drive, either.
16
34 193
52
Important Saf ety Precautions
Always Wear Your Seat Belt Control Your Speed
K eep Your Vehicle in Saf e
Condition
Restrain All Children Be Aware of Airbag Hazards
Don’t Drink and Drive
8
µ
Your vehicle is equipped with seat
belts in all seating positions.
Seat belts are the single most
effectivesafetydeviceforadultsand
larger children. (Inf ants and smaller
children must be properly restrained
in child seats.)
In addition, most states and all
Canadian provinces require you to
wear seat belts. Not wearing a seat belt properly
increases the chance of serious
injury or death in a crash, even
though your vehicle has airbags.Help protect you in almost every
type of crash, including f rontal,
side, and rear impacts and
rollovers. Keep you connected to the vehicle
so you can take advantage of the
vehicle’s built-in saf ety f eatures.
When properly worn, seat belts: Help keep you f rom being thrown
against the inside of the vehicle
and against other occupants.
Keep you f rom being thrown out
of the vehicle.
Help keep you in a good position
should the airbags ever deploy. A
good position reduces the risk of
injury f rom an inf lating airbag and
allows you to get the best
advantage f rom the airbag.
Of course, seat belts cannot
completely protect you in every
crash.Butinmostcases,seatbelts
can reduce your risk of serious
injury.
Always wear your seat belt, and
make sure you wear it properly.
Your seat belt system also
includes an indicator on the
instrument panel and a beeper to
remind you and your passengers to
f asten your seat belts. Seat Belts
Why Wear Seat Belt s
What You Should Do:
Your Vehicle’s Saf ety Features
10
Not wearing a seat belt properly
increases the chance of serious
injury or death in a crash, even
though your vehicle has airbags.
Be sure you and your
passengers always wear seat
belts and wear them properly.
CONTINUED
Adjust the driver’s seat as far to the
rear as possible while allowing you to
maintain full control of the vehicle.
Have a front pa ssenger adjust their
seat as far to the rear as possible.
The following pages p
rovide
instru ctions on how to p roperly
protect the driver, adult passengers,
and teenage children who are large
enough and m ature enough to drive
or ride in the front.
See pages for important
guidelines on how to properly
protect infants, small children, and
larger children who ride in your
vehicle.
See page for how to lock the
doors, and page for how the door
monitor indicator works.
Lo
cking the doors also helps prevent
an outsider from unexp ectedly
opening a door when you come to a
stop. Lo cking the doors reduces the
ch ance of someone being thro wn out
of the vehicle during a crash, and it
helps prevent passengers from
accidentally opening a door and
falling out.Your
vehicle has a door
monitor indicator on the
instrument panel to indicate when a
sp ecific door or the trunk is not
tightly closed.
After
everyone has entered the
vehicle, be sure the doors are closed
and locked.
34
60
77
52
Protecting A dults and Teens
Introduction
A djust the Front Seats
Close and L ock the Doors
1. 2.
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
13
µ
When driving, remember to sit
upright and adjust the seat as f ar
back as possible while allowing f ull
control of the vehicle. When riding
as a f ront passenger, adjust the seat
as far back as possible.
This will reduce the risk of injuries
to both you and your unborn child
that can be caused by a crash or an
inflating front airbag.
Each time you have a checkup, ask
your doctor if it’s okay f or you to
drive.
If you are pregnant, the best way to
protect yourself and your unborn
child when driving or riding in a
vehicle is to always wear a seat belt,
and keep the lap part of the belt as
low as possible across the hips.
In addition, an occupant who is out of
position in the f ront seat can be
seriously or f atally injured in a crash
by striking interior parts of the
vehicle or being struck by an
inflating front airbag.
Protecting A dults and Teens
Advice f or Pregnant Women
18
Sitting improperly or out of
position can result in serious
injury or death in a crash.
Always sit upright, well back in
the seat, with your feet on the
floor.
Your seat belt system includes lap/
shoulder belts in all five seating
positions. The front seat belts are
also equipped with automatic seat
belt tensioners. If
the indicator comes on or the
beeper sounds when the driver’s seat
belt is latched and there is no front
seat passenger and no items on the
front seat, something may be
interfering with the monito ring
system. Look for and remove:
Any items under the front
passenger’s seat.
Any objects hanging on the seat or
in the seat-back pocket.
Any objects, such as a folded-down
back seat, that is touching the rear
of the seat-back.
If no obstru ctions are found, have
your vehicle checked by a dealer.
When
no one is sitting in the front
passenger’s seat, or a child or small
adult is riding there, the indicator
should not come on and the beeper
should not sound.
If
either the driver or a front
passenger does not fasten their seat
belt, the beeper will sound and the
indicator will flash again at regular
intervals. If a front passenger does not fasten
their seat belt, the indicator will
come on about 6 seconds after the
ignition switch is turned to the ON
(II) position.
This system monitors the front seat
belts. If you turn the ignition switch
to the ON (II) position before your
seat belt is fastened, the beeper will
sound and the indicator will flash. If
your seat belt is not fastened before the
beeper stops, the indicator will
stop f lashing but remain on.
This system uses the same sensors
as the front airbags to monitor
whether the f ront seat belts are
latched or unlatched, and how much
weight is on the f ront passenger’s
seat (see pages and ). The seat belt system
includes an indicator on the
instrument panel and a beeper to
remind you and your passengers to
f asten your seat belts. 2827
Additional Inf ormation About Your Seat Belts
Seat Belt System Components
20
CONTINUED
For added protection, the front seat
belts are equipped with automatic
seat belt tensioners. When activated,
the tensioners immediately tighten
the belts to help hold the driver and
a front passenger in position.
The
lap and shoulder belt goes over
your shoulder, across your chest,
and across your hips.
To fasten the belt, insert the latch
plate into the buckl e, then tug on the
belt to make sure the buckle is
latched (see page for how to
properly position the belt).
To unlock the belt, press the red
PRESSbuttononthebuckle.Guide
the belt across your body so that it
retracts completely. After exiting the
vehicle, be sure the belt is out of the
way and will not get closed in the
door.
All seat belts have an emerge ncy
locking retractor. In normal driving,
the retractor lets you move freely in
your seat while it keeps some
tension on the belt. During a collision
or sudden stop, the retractor automati
cally locks the belt to help
restrain your body.
To deactivate the lockable retractor,
unlatch the buckle and let the seat
belt fully retract. To refasten the
seat belt, pull it out only as far as
needed. If the shoulder part of the belt is
pulled all the way out, the lockable
retractor will activate. The belt will
retract, but it will not allow the
passenger to move freely.
The seat belts in all positions except
the driver’s have an additional
lockable retractor that must be
activated to secure a child seat (see
page ).
16 46
Additional Inf ormation About Your Seat Belts
A utomatic Seat Belt T ensioners
L ap/Shoulder Belt
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
21
Automatic front seat belt
tensioners (see page ).
Sensors that can detect a
moderate to severe front impact or
side impact. An
indicator on the instrument
panel that alerts you that the
passenger’s side airbag has been
turned off (see page ).
Emergency backup power in case
your vehicle’s electrical system is
disconnected in a crash.
Sensors
that can detect whether a
child is in the passenger’s side
airbag path and signal the control
unit to turn the airb ag off (see
page ).
An indicator on the instrument
panel that alerts you to a possible
problem with your airbags,
sensors, or seat belt tensioners
(see page ).
A
sophisticated electronic system
that continually monitors and
reco rds information about the
sensors, the control unit, the
airbag activators, the seat belt
tensioners, and driver and front
passenger seat belt use when the
ignition switch is in the ON (II)
position. Weight sensors that monitor the
weight on the front passenger’s
seat. If the weight is about 65 lbs
(29 kg) or less (the weight of an
infant or sm all child), the
passenger’s front airbag will be
turned off (see page ).
A driver’s seat position sensor that
monitors the distance of the seat
from the front airbag. If the seat is
too far forward, the airbag will
inflate with less force (see page
).
Sensors
that can detect whether
the driver’s seat belt and a front
passenger’s seat belt is latched or
unlatch ed (see page ). An
indicator on the dashboard that
alerts you that the passenger’s
front airbag has been turned off
(see page ).
21
31
27 27
30 31
29
20
Additional Inf ormation About Your Airbags
24