2008 FIAT DUCATO Seat belt

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For maximum safety, keep
the back of your seat up-
right, lean back into it and make sure
the seat belt fits closely across your
chest and hips. Make sure that the
seat belts of the front and rear pas-
sengers are fastened at all times! You
increase the risk of serious injury or
death in a collision if you travel with
the belts unfastened.
WARNING
Under no circumstances
should the components of
the seat belts and pretensioners be
tampered with or removed. Any op-
eration should be carried out by qual-
ified and authorised personnel. Al-
ways contact a Fiat Dealership.
WARNING
If the belt has been subject-
ed to heavy stress, for ex-
ample after and accident, it should be
changed completely together with
the anchors, anchor fastening screws
and the pretensioners. In fact, even if
the belt has no visible defects, it could
have lost its resilience.
WARNING
Never travel with a child sit-
ting on the passenger’s lap
with a single belt to protect them
both. Do not fasten other objects to
the body.
WARNING

HOW TO KEEP THE SEAT
BELTS ALWAYS IN EFFICIENT
CONDITIONS
Observe the following:
❒always use the belt with the tap taut
and never twisted; make sure that it
is free to run without impediments;
❒after a serious accident, replace the
belt being worn at that time, even if it
does not appear damaged. Always re-
place the seat belts if pretensioners
have been activated;
❒to clean the belts, wash by hand with
neutral soap, rinse and leave to dry in
the shade. Never use strong deter-
gents, bleach or dyes or other chem-
ical substance that might weaken the
fibres;
❒prevent the reels from getting wet:
their correct operation is only guar-
anteed if water does not get inside;
❒replace the seat belt when showing
significant wear or cut signs.For optimal protection in the event of a
crash, all passengers must be seated and
wearing adequate restraint systems.
This is even more important for children.
This prescription is compulsory in all EC
countries according to EC Directive
2003/20/EC.
Compared with adults, their head is pro-
portionally larger and heavier than the rest
of the body, while the muscles and bone
structure are not completely developed.
Therefore, correct restraint systems are
necessary, other than adult seat belts. The
results of research on the best child re-
straint systems are contained in the Euro-
pean Standard EEC-R44. This Standard en-
forces the use of restraint systems classi-
fied in five groups:Group 0 0-10 kg in weight
Group 0+ 0-13 kg in weight
Group 1 9-18 kg in weight
Group 2 15-25 kg in weight
Group 3 22-36 kg in weight
As it may be noted, the groups overlap
partly and in fact, in commerce it is pos-
sible to find devices that cover more than
one weight group.
All restraint devices must bear the certi-
fication data, together with the control
brand, on a solidly fixed label which must
absolutely never be removed.
Over 1.50 m in height, from the point of
view of restraint systems, children are
considered as adults and wear the seat
belts normally.
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CARRYING CHILDREN SAFELY

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GROUP 0 and 0+
Babies up to 13 kg must be carried facing
backwards on a cradle seat, which, sup-
porting the head, does not induce stress
on the neck in the event of sharp decel-
eration.
The cradle is restrained by the vehicle seat
belts fig. 7and in turn it must restrain the
child with its own belts.
With front passenger’s air
bag active do not place cra-
dle child’s seats facing backwards on
the front passenger seat since the air
bag activation could cause serious in-
juries, even mortal regardless of the
seriousness of the crash. You are ad-
vised to carry children always on the
rear seat, as this is the most protect-
ed position in the case of a crash.
WARNING
SERIOUS DANGER Should
it be absolutely necessary to
carry a child on the front
passenger’s seat with the
cradle seat facing back-
wards, passenger’s air bags
(front and side bags, where provided),
shall be deactivated through the set-
up menu. Deactivation shall be
checked through the instrument pan-
el warning light F. The front pas-
senger’s seat shall also be adjusted in
the most backward position to pre-
vent any contact between child’s seat
and dashboard.
WARNING
fig. 7F0N0123m
The figure is only an example for mounting. Attain to the instructions
for fastening which must be enclosed with the specific child restraining
system you are using.
WARNING
Seats exist which are suitable for covering weight groups 0 and 1 with a
rear connection to the vehicle belts and their own belts to restrain the
child. Due to their size, they can be dangerous if installed incorrectly fastened to
the vehicle belts with a cushion. Carefully follow the instructions for installation
provided with the seat.
WARNING
fig. 8F0N0124m
GROUP 1
Starting from 9 kg to 18 kg in weight, chil-
dren may be carried facing forwards, with
seat fitted with front cushion, through
which the vehicle seat belt restrains both
child and seat fig. 8.

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fig. 9F0N0125m
GROUP 2
Starting from 15 kg to 25 kg in weight, chil-
dren may be restrained directly by the ve-
hicle belts fig. 9. The only function of the
seat is to position the child correctly in re-
lation to the belts, so that the diagonal part
adheres to the chest and not to the neck
and that the horizontal part clings to the
child’s pelvis and not the abdomen.
The figure is only an exam-
ple for mounting. Attain to
the instructions for fastening which
must be enclosed with the specific
child restraining system you are using.
WARNING
GROUP 3
For children from 22 kg to 36 kg the size
of the child’s chest no longer requires a
support to space the child’s back from the
seat back.
Fig. 10shows proper child seat posi-
tioning on the rear seat.
fig. 10F0N0126m
The figure is only an exam-
ple for mounting. Attain to
the instructions for fastening which
must be enclosed with the specific
child restraining system you are using.
WARNING
Children taller than 1.50 m can wear seat
belts like adults.

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To sum up the safety precautions
to follow when transporting
children:
1) The recommended position for in-
stalling child’s seat is on the rear seat, as
it is the most protected in the case of a
crash.
2) If the passenger’s air bag is deactivat-
ed always check the amber warning light
on the cluster to make sure that it has ac-
tually been deactivated.
3) Attain to the instructions for fastening
the specific child restraint system which
you are using. These instructions must be
provided by the manufacturer. Keep the
child restraint system installation instruc-
tions with the vehicle documents and with
this Handbook. Never use a child restraint
system without installation instructions.
4) Always check the seat belt is well fas-
tened by pulling the webbing.5) Only one child is to be strapped to
each retaining system.
6) Always check the seat belts do not fit
around the child’s throat.
7) While travelling, do not let the child
sit incorrectly or release the belts.
8) Passengers should never carry children
on their laps. No-one, however strong
they are, can hold a child in the event of
a crash.
9) In case of an accident, replace the
child’s seat with a new one.
With front passenger’s air
bag active do not place cra-
dle child’s seats facing backwards on
the front passenger seat since the air
bag activation could cause serious in-
juries, even mortal regardless of the
seriousness of the crash. You are ad-
vised to carry children always on the
rear seat, as this is the most protect-
ed position in the case of a crash.
WARNING

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PRESETTING FOR
MOUNTING THE
“UNIVERSAL ISOFIX”
CHILD RESTRAINT
SYSTEM
This vehicle is preset for mounting the
Universal Isofix child restraint system, a
new European standardised system for
carrying children safely.
Fig. 11shows a child restraint system by
way of example.
Due to its different anchoring system, the
Universal Isofix child’s seat shall be an-
chored to the proper lower metal rings
A-fig. 12, set between rear seat back and
cushion. The upper belt (provided with
the child’s seat) shall be then secured to
ring B-fig. 13located in the rear part of
the seat.
It is possible to mount at the same time
both the traditional restraint system and
the “Universal Isofix” one.
Remember that in case of Universal Isofix
child’s seat, you can only use all those
seats approved with the marking ECE
R44/03 “Universal Isofix”.
fig. 11F0N0236m
fig. 12F0N0234m
fig. 13F0N0235m
At Lineaccessori Fiat is available the “Uni-
versal Isofix” “Duo Plus” child’s seat.
For any further installation/use detail, re-
fer to the “Instructions Manual” that must
be provided by the child restraint system
Manufacturer.
Mount the child restraint
system only with the vehicle
stationary. The Isofix child restraint
system is properly anchored to the
mounting brackets when clicks are
heard. In any case, keep to the in-
stallation instructions that must be
provided by the child restraint system
Manufacturer.
WARNING

FRONT AIR BAGS
The vehicle is fitted with front air bags for
driver and passenger.
The driver / passenger front air bags have
been designed to protect the occupants in
the event of head-on crashes of medium-
high severity, by placing the cushion be-
tween the occupant and the steering
wheel or dashboard.
Front air bags are designed to protect ve-
hicle’s occupants in front crashes and
therefore non-activation in other types of
collisions (side collisions, rear shunts, roll-
overs, etc.) is not a system malfunction.
In case of front crash, an electronic con-
trol unit, when required, triggers the in-
flation of the cushion. The cushion imme-
diately inflates, placing itself as a protec-
tion between the body of the front occu-
pants and the structure that could cause
injuries. Immediately after, the cushion de-
flates.
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The driver / passenger front air bags are
not a replacement of but complementary
to the use of belts, which should always
be worn, as specified by law in Europe and
most non European countries.
At their maximum inflation, the front air
bags volume fills most of the space be-
tween driver and steering wheel and be-
tween dashboard and passenger.
In case of crash, a person not wearing the
seat belt moves forward and may come in-
to contact with the cushion while it is still
inflating. Under this circumstance the pro-
tection offered by the air bag is reduced.Front air bags may not be activated in the
following situations:
❒in collisions against highly deformable
objects not affecting the vehicle front
surface (e.g. bumper collision against
guard rail, heaps of gravel, etc.);
❒in case of wedging under other vehi-
cles or protective barriers (for exam-
ple under a truck or guard rail), the air
bag is not triggered as it offers no ad-
ditional protection compared with the
seat belts, consequently it would be
pointless. Therefore, failure to come
into action in the above circumstance
does not mean that the system is not
working properly.

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PASSENGER’S FRONT AIR BAG
(where provided) fig. 15
It consists of an instant-inflating cushion
contained into a special recess in the
dashboard, this cushion has a volume big-
ger than that of the driver.
fig. 14F0N0324mfig. 15F0N0072m
DRIVER’S FRONT AIR BAG fig. 14
It consists of an instant-inflating cushion
contained in a special recess in the cen-
tre of the steering wheel.
Do not apply stickers or oth-
er objects to the steering
wheel or to the air bag cover on the
passenger’s side or on the side roof
lining. Never put objects (e.g. mobile
phones) on the dashboard on pas-
senger side since they could interfere
with proper air bag inflation and al-
so cause serious injury.
WARNING
In minor crashes (for which the restraining
action of the seat belts is sufficient), the air
bags are not deployed. Also in this case it
is of vital importance to wear the seat belts
since in case of side crash they guarantee
proper positioning of the occupant and
prevent the occupants to be pitched out of
the vehicle in case of violent crashes.