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µ
See pages f or important
guidelines on how to properly
protect inf ants, small children, and
larger children who ride in your
vehicle.
The most important things you need
to know about your airbags are:
They are designed to supplement
the seat belts.
Remember however, that no saf ety
system can prevent all injures or
deaths that can occur in a severe
crash, even when seat belts are
properly worn and the airbags deploy.
The rest of this section gives more
detailed inf ormation about how you
can maximize your saf ety.Always wear
your seat belt properly, and sit
upright and as f ar back f rom the
steering wheel as possible while
allowing f ull control of the vehicle. A
f ront passenger should move their
seat as far back from the dashboard
as possible.
To do their job, airbags must
inf late with tremendous f orce. So
while airbags help save lives, they
can cause minor injuries or more
serious or even fatal injuries if
occupants are not properly
restrained or sitting properly. The f ollowing pages provide
instructions on how to properly
protect the driver, adult passengers,
and teenage children who are large
enough and mature enough to drive
or ride in the f ront seat.
3856
Your Vehicle’s Saf ety Features, Protecting A dults and Teens
Protecting A dults and T eens
Introduction
Airbags do not replace seat belts. What you should do:
Airbags can pose serious hazards.
A irbags of f er no prot ect ion in rear
impact s, or minor f ront al or sidecollisions.
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Reclining a seat-back so that the
shoulder part of the belt no longer
rests against the occupant’s chest
reduces the protective capability of
the belt. It also increases the chance
of sliding under the belt in a crash
and being seriously injured. The
farther a seat-back is reclined, the
greater the risk of injury.
See page f or how to adjust the
seat-backs.
Passengers with adjustable seat-
backs should also adjust their seat-
back to a comf ortable, upright
position.
Adjust the driver’s seat-back to a
comf ortable, upright position,
leaving ample space between your
chest and the airbag cover in the
center of the steering wheel.
See page f or how to adjust the
seats.
Once your seat is adjusted correctly,
rock it back and f orth to make sure
the seat is locked in position.
87
87
Protecting A dults and Teens
Adjust the Seat-Backs
3.
14
Reclining the seat-back too far
can result in serious injury or
death in a crash.
Adjust the seat-back to an
upright position, and sit well
back in the seat.
Sitting too close to a front
airbag can result in serious
injury or death if the front
airbags inflate.
Always sit as far back from the
front airbags as possible.
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Properly adjusted head restraints
will help protect occupants f rom
whiplash and other crash injuries.
See page f or how to adjust the
head restraints.Insert the latch plate into the buckle,
then tug on the belt to make sure the
belt is securely latched. Check that
the belt is not twisted, because a
twisted belt can cause serious
injuries in a crash.
Adjust the driver’s head restraint so
the center of the back of your head
rests against the center of the
restraint. The center seating position in the
second row and all third row seats
have a detachable seat belt that can
be unlatched and retracted into the
ceiling to allow the seats to be f olded
down. See page f or how to
unlatch and relatch a belt.
Detachable seat belts should
normally be latched whenever the
seat-backs are in an upright position.
See page for how to unlatch a belt,
and page for how to relatch a belt.
Have passengers with adjustable
head restraints adjust their restraints
properly as well. Taller persons
should adjust their restraint as high
as possible. 91
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1817
CONT INUED
Adjust the Head Restraints Fasten and Position the Seat
Belts
4.
5.
Protecting A dults and Teens
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
15
Improperly positioning head
restraints reduces their
effectiveness, and you can be
seriously injured in a crash.
Make sure head restraints are
in place and positioned properly
before driving.
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Position the lap part of the belt as
low as possible across your hips,
then pull up on the shoulder part of
the belt so the lap part f its snugly.
This lets your strong pelvic bones
take the force of a crash and reduces
the chance of internal injuries.This spreads the f orces of a crash
over the strongest bones in your
upper body.
If the seat belt touches or crosses
your neck, or if it crosses your arm
instead of your shoulder, you need to
adjust the seat belt anchor height.
The front seats have adjustable seat
belt anchors. To adjust the height of
an anchor, press and hold the release
buttons, and slide the anchor up or
down as needed (it has f our
positions).
If necessary, pull up on the belt again
to remove any slack, then check that
the belt rests across the center of
your chest and over your shoulder.
Protecting A dults and Teens
16
RELEASE
BUTTONS
Improperly positioning the seat
belts can cause serious injury
or death in a crash.
Make sure all seat belts are
properly positioned before
driving.
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CONT INUED
For the third row outer positions,
slide out the outer shoulder belt
f rom the clip and pull the belt out to
extend it.
Pull out the anchor latch and the
latch plate f rom each holding slot in
the ceiling, and pull out the seat belt
to extend it.
Insert the hook at the end of the
anchor latch into the anchor buckle
by lining up the triangle marks on
the anchor latch and buckle. Makesure the belt is not twisted. Push the
anchor latch until it locks. Then
f ollow the procedure f or f astening
and positioning an ordinary seat belt
(see page ).
15
Protecting A dults and Teens
Using t he L ap/Shoulder Belt
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
17
LATCH PLATE
ANCHOR LATCH
ANCHOR BUCKLEANCHOR LATCH
TRIANGLE
MARKS
THIRD ROW OUTER POSITION
SECOND AND THIRD ROW CENTER
POSITION
CLIPLATCH PLATE
ANCHOR LATCH
Using a seat belt with the
detachable anchor unlatched
increases the chance of serious
injury or death in a crash.
Before using the seat belt,
make sure the detachable
anchor is correctly latched.
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This could cause
very serious injuries in a crash.
See page f or additional
inf ormation about your seat belts
and how to take care of them.
If a seat belt does not seem to work
properly, it may not protect the
occupant in a crash.
Using a seat
belt that is not working properly can
result in serious injury or death.
Have your dealer check the belt as
soon as possible. After all occupants have adjusted
their seats and head restraints, and
put on their seat belts, it is very
important that they continue to sit
upright, well back in their seats, with
their feet on the floor, until the
vehicle is parked and the engine is
of f .
To unlatch the detachable seat belt
anchor before folding down the seat-
back, insert your ignition key into
the slot on the side of the anchor
buckle and allow the seat belt to
retract. For the center seating
positions, place the latch plate and
anchor latch into their holding slots
in the ceiling. For the third row outer
seating positions, re-f asten the belt
with the clip. Sitting improperly can increase the
chance of injury during a crash. For
example, if an occupant slouches,
lies down, turns sideways, sits
forward, leans forward or sideways,
or puts one or both f eet up, the
chance of injury during a crash is
greatly increased.
21
Protecting A dults and Teens
Maintain a Proper Sitting
Position
6.Never place t he shoulder port ion of a
lap/shoulder belt under your arm orbehind your back.
No one should sit in a seat wit h aninoperat ive seat belt .
18
ANCHOR LATCH
ANCHOR BUCKLE
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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.Each time you have a checkup, ask
your doctor if it’s okay f or you to
drive.
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.
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.
Advice f or Pregnant Women
Protecting A dults and Teens
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
19
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.
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If they do, they
could be very seriously injured in a
crash.
A passenger who is not
wearing a seat belt during a crash
or emergency stop can be thrown
against the inside of the vehicle,
against other occupants, or out of
the vehicle.
If they do, they
could be very seriously injured in a
crash. Objects on
the covers marked ‘‘SRS AIRBAG’’
could interf ere with the proper
operation of the airbags or be
propelled inside the vehicle and
hurt someone if the airbags inf late.
Devices intended to improve
occupant comf ort or reposition the
shoulder part of a seat belt can
reduce the protective capability of
the seat belt and increase the
chance of serious injury in a crash.
Carrying hard or sharp
objects on your lap, or driving with
a pipe or other sharp object in
your mouth, can result in injuries
if your f ront airbag inf lates.
If your
hands or arms are close to an
airbag cover, they could be injured
if the airbag inf lates. If a side airbag or a
side curtain airbag inf lates, a cup
holder or other hard object
attached on or near the door could
be propelled inside the vehicle and
hurt someone.
Additional Saf ety Precautions
Never let passengers ride in t he
cargo area or on t op of a f olded-down back seat .
Passengers should not stand up orchange seats while the vehicle ismoving.
T wo people should never use t hesame seat belt . Do not at t ach or place object s on
the f ront airbag covers.
Do not put any accessories on seat
belts.
Do not place hard or sharp object sbet ween yourself and a f rontairbag.
K eep your hands and arms awayf rom t he airbag covers. Do not at t ach hard object s on or
near a door.
Protecting A dults and Teens
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