2008 MAZDA MODEL B-SERIES Owners Manual (in English)

Types of booster seats
There are two types of belt-positioning booster seats:
•Those that are backless.
If your backless booster seat has a
removable shield, remove the
shield and use the lap/shoulder
belt. If a seating position has a
low seat back and no head
restraint, a backless booster seat
may place your child’s head (top
of ear level) above the top of the
seat. In this case, use a
high-backed booster seat.
•Those with a high back.
If, with a backless booster seat,
you cannot find a seating position
that adequately supports your
child’s head, a high back booster
seat would be a better choice.
Both can be used in any vehicle in a seating position equipped with
lap/shoulder belts if your child is over 40 lb..
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Children and booster seats vary widely in size and shape. Choose a
booster that keeps the lap belt low and snug across the hips, never up
across the stomach, and lets you adjust the shoulder belt to cross the
chest and rest snugly near the center of the shoulder. The drawings
below compare the ideal fit (center) to a shoulder belt uncomfortably
close to the neck and a shoulder belt that could slip off the shoulder.
If the booster seat slides on the vehicle seat, placing a rubberized mesh
sold as shelf or carpet liner under the booster seat may improve this
condition.
The importance of shoulder belts
Using a booster without a shoulder belt increases the risk of a child’s
head hitting a hard surface in a collision. For this reason, you should
never use a booster seat with a lap belt only. It is best to use a booster
seat with combination lap/shoulder belts.
WARNING: Follow all instructions provided by the
manufacturer of the booster seat.
WARNING: Never put the shoulder belt under a child’s arm or
behind the back because it eliminates the protection for the
upper part of the body and may increase the risk of injury or
death in a collision.
WARNING: Never use pillows, books, or towels to boost a
child. They can slide around and increase the likelihood of
injury or death in a collision.
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SAFETY SEATS FOR CHILDREN
Child and infant or child safety seats
Use a safety seat that is recommended for the size and weight of the
child. Carefully follow all of the manufacturer’s instructions with the
safety seat you put in your vehicle. If you do not install and use the
safety seat properly, the child may be injured in a sudden stop or
collision.
When installing a child safety seat:
•Review and follow the information
presented in theAirbag
Supplemental Restraint System
section in this chapter.
•Use the correct seat belt buckle
for that seating position (the
buckle closest to the direction the
tongue is coming from).
•Insert the belt tongue into the
proper buckle until you hear a
snap and feel it latch. Make sure the tongue is securely fastened in the
buckle.
WARNING: Do not install a child seat in a center facing jump
seat.
•Keep the buckle release button pointing up and away from the safety
seat, with the tongue between the child seat and the release button,
to prevent accidental unbuckling.
•Place seat back in upright position.
•Put the seat belt in the automatic locking mode. Refer toAutomatic
locking mode(passenger side front seat).
•Top tether anchors can be used for children up to 60 pounds (27 kg)
in a child restraint, and to provide upper torso restraint for children
up to 80 pounds (36 kg) using an upper torso harness and a
belt-positioning booster.
Mazda recommends the use of a child safety seat having a top tether
strap. Install the child safety seat in a seating position which is capable
of providing a tether anchorage. For more information on top tether
straps, refer toAttaching child safety seats with tether straps.
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Owners Guide (post-2002-fmt)
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WARNING: Carefully follow all of the manufacturer’s
instructions included with the safety seat you put in your
vehicle. If you do not install and use the safety seat properly,
the child may be injured in a sudden stop or collision.
Installing child safety seats with combination lap and shoulder
belts (front outboard passenger seat only)
1. Position the child safety seat in
a seat with a combination lap
and shoulder belt.
WARNING: If there is a tether on the child safety seat, attach
it to the tether anchor point. Refer toAttaching child safety
seats with tether strapsin this chapter.
WARNING: Rear facing child seats should NEVER be placed in
front of an active airbag.
2. Pull down on the shoulder belt
and then grasp the shoulder
belt and lap belt together.
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3. While holding the shoulder and
lap belt portions together, route
the tongue through the child
seat according to the child seat
manufacturer’s instructions. Be
sure the belt webbing is not
twisted.
4. Insert the belt tongue into the
proper buckle (the buckle
closest to the direction the
tongue is coming from) for that
seating position until you hear
and feel the latch engage. Make
sure the tongue is latched
securely by pulling on it.
5. To put the retractor in the
automatic locking mode, grasp
the shoulder portion of the belt
and pull downward until all of
the belt is extracted and a click
is heard.
6. Allow the belt to retract. The belt will click as it retracts to indicate
it is in the automatic locking mode.
2008 B-Series(mbs)
Owners Guide (post-2002-fmt)
USA(fus)
Seating and Safety Restraints
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7. Pull the lap belt portion across
the child seat toward the buckle
and pull up on the shoulder belt
while pushing down with knee
on the child seat.
8. Allow the seat belt to retract to
remove any slack in the belt.
9. Before placing the child in the
seat, forcibly tilt the seat
forward and back to make sure
the seat is securely held in
place. To check this, grab the
seat at the belt path and
attempt to move it side to side
and forward. There should be
no more than one inch of
movement for proper installation.
10. Try to pull the belt out of the retractor to make sure the retractor is
in the automatic locking mode (you should not be able to pull more
belt out). If the retractor is not locked, unbuckle the belt and repeat
Steps two through nine.
11. SeeAttaching child safety seats with tether strapsin this chapter.
Check to make sure the child seat is properly secured before each use.
Attaching child safety seats with tether straps
Most new forward-facing child safety seats include a tether strap which
goes over the back of the seat and hooks to an anchoring point. Tether
straps are available as an accessory for many older safety seats. Contact
the manufacturer of your child seat for information about ordering a
tether strap.
The tether anchors in your vehicle are located on the back of the front
seat cushion.
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The tether strap anchors in your vehicle are in the following positions
(shown from top view):
•Bucket seats
•60/40 seats
WARNING: Attach the tether strap only to the appropriate
tether anchor as shown. The tether strap may not work
properly if attached somewhere other than the correct tether
anchor.
WARNING: Never attach two child safety seat tethers to a
single tether anchor. In a crash, on anchor may not be strong
enough to hold two child safety seat attachments and may
break, causing serious injury or death.
1. Position the child safety seat on the front seat cushion.
2. Route the child safety seat tether strap over the back of the seat.
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3. Locate the correct anchor for the selected seating position.
The tether anchor is located on the
rear lower portion of the passenger
seat.
4. Clip the tether strap to the
anchor.
WARNING: If the tether strap
is clipped incorrectly, the child
safety seat may not be
retained properly in the event
of a collision.
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