2008 MAZDA MODEL TRIBUTE HEV seats

Returning the rear seats to upright position1. Pull seatback up and into upright position making sure
seatback locks into place and
the red seat unlatched indicator
on release paddle is not visible.
2. Rotate seat cushion down into the seating position making sure
that the seat cushion is locked
into place and that the seat belt
buckles are exposed.
WARNING: Make sure seat
belt buckle heads are through
elastic holders on seat backs.
Seat belt buckles may break if
they are trapped underneath
the seatback as the seatback is
rotated down.
WARNING: Before returning the seatback to its original
position, make sure that cargo or any objects are not trapped
behind the seatback. After returning the seatback to its original
position, reinstall the head restraints, and pull on the seatback
to ensure that it has fully latched. An unlatched seat may
become dangerous in the event of a sudden stop or collision.
2008 Tribute Hybrid (thv)
Owners Guide (post-2002-fmt)
USA (fus)
Seating and Safety Restraints
104

Front crash severity sensor
The front crash severity sensor enhances the ability to detect the
severity of an impact. Positioned up front, it provides valuable
information early in the crash event on the severity of the impact. This
allows your Safety System to distinguish between different levels of crash
severity and modify the deployment strategy of the dual-stage airbag and
seat belt pretensioners.
Driver’s seat position sensor
The driver’s seat position sensor allows your Safety System to tailor the
deployment level of the driver airbag based on seat position. The system
is designed to help protect smaller drivers sitting close to the driver
airbag by providing a lower airbag output level.
Front passenger sensing system
For airbags to do their job they must inflate with great force, and this
force can pose a potentially deadly risk to occupants that are very close
to the airbag when it begins to inflate. For some occupants, like infants
in rear-facing child seats, this occurs because they are initially sitting
very close to the airbag. For other occupants, this occurs when the
occupant is not properly restrained by seat belts or child safety seats and
they move forward during pre-crash braking. The most effective way to
reduce the risk of unnecessary injuries is to make sure all occupants are
properly restrained. Accident statistics suggest that children are much
safer when properly restrained in the rear seating positions than in the
front.WARNING: Airbags can kill or injure a child in a child seat.
NEVER place a rear-facing child seat in front of an active
airbag. If you must use a forward-facing child seat in the front
seat, move the seat all the way back.
WARNING: Always transport children 12 years old and under
in the back seat and always properly use appropriate child
restraints.
The front passenger sensing system can automatically turn off the
passenger front airbag. The system is designed to help protect small
(child size) occupants from airbag deployments when they are
improperly seated or restrained in the front passenger seat contrary to
proper child-seating or restraint usage recommendations. Even with this
2008 Tribute Hybrid (thv)
Owners Guide (post-2002-fmt)
USA (fus)
Seating and Safety Restraints
107

seat belt pretensioners, front seat belt buckle sensors, driver seat
position sensor, and front passenger sensing system. In addition, the
RCM also monitors the restraints warning light in the instrument cluster.
A difficulty with the system is indicated by one or more of the following.
•The warning light will either flash or stay lit.
• The warning light will not illuminate immediately after ignition is
turned on.
• A series of five beeps will be heard. The tone pattern will repeat
periodically until the problem and warning light are repaired.
If any of these things happen, even intermittently, have the Safety
System serviced at an authorized dealer immediately. Unless serviced,
the system may not function properly in the event of a collision.
Safety restraints precautions
WARNING: Always drive and ride with your seatback upright
and the lap belt snug and low across the hips and the shoulder
belt snug across the chest.
WARNING: To reduce the risk of injury, make sure children sit
where they can be properly restrained.
WARNING: Never let a passenger hold a child on his or her lap
while the vehicle is moving. The passenger cannot protect the
child from injury in a collision.
WARNING: All occupants of the vehicle, including the driver,
should always properly wear their seat belts, even when an air
bag supplemental restraint system (SRS) is provided.
WARNING: It is extremely dangerous to ride in a cargo area,
inside or outside of a vehicle. In a collision, people riding in
these areas are more likely to be seriously injured or killed. Do
not allow people to ride in any area of your vehicle that is not
equipped with seats and seat belts. Be sure everyone in your
vehicle is in a seat and using a seat belt properly.
2008 Tribute Hybrid (thv)
Owners Guide (post-2002-fmt)
USA (fus)
Seating and Safety Restraints
109

2. To unfasten, push the releasebutton and remove the tongue
from the buckle.
Energy Management Feature
• This vehicle has a seat belt system with an energy management
feature at the front outboard seating positions to help further reduce
the risk of injury in the event of a head-on collision.
• The front outboard seat belt system has a retractor assembly that is
designed to extend the seat belt webbing in a controlled manner. This
helps reduce the belt force acting on the user’s chest.
All seat belts in the vehicle are combination lap and shoulder belts. The
passenger seat belts have two types of locking modes described below:
Vehicle sensitive mode
This is the normal retractor mode, which allows free shoulder belt length
adjustment to your movements and locking in response to vehicle
movement. For example, if the driver brakes suddenly or turns a corner
sharply, or the vehicle receives an impact of approximately 5 mph
(8 km/h) or more, the combination seat belts will lock to help reduce
forward movement of the driver and passengers.
Automatic locking mode
In this mode, the shoulder belt is automatically pre-locked. The belt will
still retract to remove any slack in the shoulder belt. The automatic
locking mode is not available on the driver seat belt.
This mode should be used any timea child safety seat (other than a
belt-positioning booster) is installed. Children 12 years old and under
should be properly restrained in the rear seat whenever possible. Refer
to Safety restraints for children orSafety seats for children later in
this chapter.
2008 Tribute Hybrid (thv)
Owners Guide (post-2002-fmt)
USA (fus)
Seating and Safety Restraints
111

WARNING: BELT AND RETRACTOR ASSEMBLY MUST BE
REPLACED if the seat belt assembly “automatic locking
retractor” feature or any other seat belt function is not
operating properly when checked by an authorized dealer.
Failure to replace the Belt and Retractor assembly could
increase the risk of injury in collisions. The pretensioners in
the front seats deploy with a related airbag and will only
operate once and must be replaced to provide appropriate
restraint in any future accident.
Seat belt height adjustment
Your vehicle has seat belt height
adjustments at the front outboard
seating positions. Adjust the height
of the shoulder belt so the belt rests
across the middle of your shoulder.
To adjust the shoulder belt height,
squeeze and hold the buttons on the
side and slide the height adjuster up
or down. Release the buttons and
pull down on the height adjuster to
make sure it is locked in place. WARNING: Position the seat belt height adjusters so that the
belt rests across the middle of your shoulder. Failure to adjust
the seat belt properly could reduce the effectiveness of the seat
belt and increase the risk of injury in a collision.
Seat belt pretensioner
Your vehicle is equipped with seat belt pretensioners at the driver and
front passenger seating positions.
The seat belt pretensioners activate during frontal collisions, and in side
collisions and rollovers. A seat belt pretensioner is a device which
tightens the webbing of the lap and shoulder belts in such a way that
they fit more snugly against the body.
2008 Tribute Hybrid (thv)
Owners Guide (post-2002-fmt)
USA (fus)
Seating and Safety Restraints
113

OccupantPass Airbag Off
Indicator LampPassenger Airbag
Empty seat Unlit Disabled
Small child in child
safety seat or booster Lit Disabled
Small child with seat
belt buckled or
unbuckled Lit Disabled
Adult Unlit Enabled WARNING: Even with Advanced Restraints Systems, children
12 and under should be properly restrained in the back seat.
After all occupants have adjusted their seats and put on seat belts, it’s
very important that they continue to sit properly. A properly seated
occupant sits upright, leaning against the seat back, and centered on the
seat cushion, with their feet comfortably extended on the floor. Sitting
improperly can increase the chance of injury in a crash event. For
example, if an occupant slouches, lies down, turns sideways, sits forward,
leans forward or sideways, or puts one or both feet up, the chance of
injury during a crash is greatly increased. WARNING: Sitting improperly out of position or with the seat
back reclined too far can take off weight from the seat cushion
and affect the decision of the front passenger sensing system,
resulting in serious injury or death in a crash.
Always sit upright against your seatback, with your feet on the
floor.
The front passenger sensing system may detect small or medium objects
placed on the seat cushion. For most objects that are in the front
passenger seat, the passenger airbag will be disabled. Even though the
passenger airbag is disabled, the pass airbag offlamp may or may not
be illuminated according to the table below.
2008 Tribute Hybrid (thv)
Owners Guide (post-2002-fmt)
USA (fus)
Seating and Safety Restraints
126

A difficulty with the system is indicated by one or more of the following:
•The readiness light will either
flash or stay lit.
• The readiness light will not
illuminate immediately after
ignition is turned on.
• A series of five beeps will be heard. The tone pattern will repeat
periodically until the problem and/or light are repaired.
If any of these things happen, even intermittently, have the SRS serviced
at an authorized dealer immediately. Unless serviced, the system may not
function properly in the event of a collision.
Seat-mounted side airbag system (if equipped)
WARNING: Do not place objects or mount equipment on or
near the airbag cover on the side of the seatbacks of the front
seats or in front seat areas that may come into contact with a
deploying airbag. Failure to follow these instructions may
increase the risk of personal injury in the event of a collision.
WARNING: Do not use accessory seat covers. The use of
accessory seat covers may prevent the deployment of the side
airbags and increase the risk of injury in an accident.
WARNING: Do not lean your head on the door. The side airbag
could injure you as it deploys from the side of the seatback.
WARNING: Do not attempt to service, repair, or modify the
airbag SRS, its fuses or the seat cover on a seat containing an
airbag. See an authorized dealer.
WARNING: All occupants of the vehicle should always wear
their seat belts even when an airbag SRS is provided.
2008 Tribute Hybrid (thv)
Owners Guide (post-2002-fmt)
USA (fus)
Seating and Safety Restraints
129

How does the side airbag system work?
The design and development of the
side airbag system included
recommended testing procedures
that were developed by a group of
automotive safety experts known as
the Side Airbag Technical Working
Group. These recommended testing
procedures help reduce the risk of
injuries related to the deployment of
side airbags.
The side airbag system consists of
the following:
•An inflatable nylon bag (airbag)
with a gas generator concealed
behind the outboard bolster of
the driver and front passenger
seatbacks.
• A special seat cover designed to allow airbag deployment.
• The same warning light, electronic control and diagnostic unit as used
for the front airbags.
• Two crash sensors located on the lower portion of the b-pillar (one on
each side of the vehicle).
Side airbags, in combination with seat belts, can help reduce the risk of
severe injuries in the event of a significant side impact collision.
The side airbags are fitted on the outboard side of the seatbacks of the
front seats. In certain lateral collisions, the airbag on the side affected by
the collision will be inflated. If the front passenger sensing system
detects an empty seat, the front passenger seat-mounted side airbag will
be deactivated. The airbag was designed to inflate between the door
panel and occupant to further enhance the protection provided
occupants in side impact collisions.
The airbag SRS is designed to activate when the vehicle sustains lateral
deceleration sufficient to cause the sensors to close an electrical circuit
that initiates airbag inflation.
The fact that the airbags did not inflate in a collision does not mean that
something is wrong with the system. Rather, it means the forces were
not of the type sufficient to cause activation. Side airbags are designed
2008 Tribute Hybrid (thv)
Owners Guide (post-2002-fmt)
USA (fus)
Seating and Safety Restraints
130