A difficulty with the system is indicated by one or more of the following:
• The readiness light (same light as for front airbag system) will either
flash or stay lit.
• The readiness light will not illuminate immediately after ignition is
turned on.
• A series of five beep sounds will be heard. The tone pattern will
repeat periodically until the problem and light are repaired.
If any of these things happen, even intermittently, have the SRS serviced
at your authorized Mazda dealership immediately. Unless serviced, the
system may not function properly in the event of a collision.
Disposal of airbags and airbag equipped vehicles
For disposal of seat belt pretensioners, airbags, or airbag equipped
vehicles, see your authorized Mazda dealership. Airbags MUST BE
disposed of by qualified personnel.
WARNING: Disposing of an airbag can be dangerous. Unless all
safety procedures are followed, injury can result. Ask an
Authorized Mazda dealer how to safely dispose of an airbag or
how to scrap an airbag equipped vehicle.
SAFETY RESTRAINTS FOR CHILDREN
See the following sections for directions on how to properly use safety
restraints for children. Also see Airbag supplemental restraint system
(SRS) in this chapter for special instructions about using airbags.
Important child restraint precautions
NOTE: You are required to use safety restraints for children in the U.S.
and Canada. Check your local and state or provincial laws for specific
requirements regarding the safety of children in your vehicle.
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.
NOTE: Always follow the instructions and warnings that come with any
infant or child restraint you might use.
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WARNING: When possible, always place children under age 12
in the rear seat of your vehicle. Accident statistics suggest that
children are safer when properly restrained in the rear seating
positions than in the front seating position.
Children and seat belts
If the child is the proper size, restrain the child in a safety seat.
A child that outgrows a child seat should then be put on a booster seat
which utilize the three point seat belts. A child that outgrows the booster
seat should of course wear still wear the three point seat belts and follow
all the important safety restraint and airbag precautions that apply to
adult passengers in your vehicle.
If the shoulder belt portion of a combination lap and shoulder belt can
be positioned so it does not cross or rest in front of the child’s face or
neck, the child should wear the lap and shoulder belt. Moving the child
closer to the center of the vehicle may help provide a good shoulder belt
fit. WARNING: Do not leave children, unreliable adults, or pets
unattended in your vehicle.
WARNING: Placing a child, 12 years or younger, in the front
seat is dangerous. The child could be hit by a deploying airbag
and be seriously injured or even killed. A sleeping child is more
likely to lean against the door and be hit by the side airbag in a
moderate collision. Whenever possible, always secure a child, 12
years or younger, in the rear seat, with an appropriate child
restraint system for the child’s age and size. Never use a
rear-facing child restraint system in the front seat with an
airbag that could deploy.
Child booster seats
Children outgrow a typical convertible or toddler seat when they weigh
40 pounds and are around 4 years of age. Although the lap/shoulder belt
will provide some protection, these children are still too small for
lap/shoulder belts to fit properly, which could increase the risk of serious
injury.
To improve the fit of both the lap and shoulder belt on children who
have outgrown child safety seats, Mazda recommends use of a
belt-positioning booster seat.
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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.
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 the Airbag
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.
• 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.
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•Put the seat belt in the automatic locking mode. Refer to Automatic
locking mode .
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 to Attaching child safety seats with tether straps.
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.
The rear seat head restraint must be removed when using a child
seat. WARNING: Air bags can kill or injure a child in a child seat.
NEVER place a rear-facing child seat in front of an active air
bag. If you must use a forward-facing child seat in the front
seat, move the seat all the way back.
1. Position the child safety seat in a seat with a combination lap
and shoulder belt.
WARNING: Children 12 and under should be properly
restrained in the rear seat whenever possible.
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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 rear seating positions of your vehicle are equipped with built-in
tether strap anchors located behind the seats as described below.
The tether anchors in your vehicle are located on the roof panel in the
cargo area.
The tether strap anchors in your vehicle are in the following positions: 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.
1. Position the child safety seat on the passenger seat cushion.
2. Route the child safety seat tether strap over the back of the seat.
NOTE: For vehicles with adjustable head restraints, route the tether
strap under the head restraint and between the head restraint posts,
otherwise route the tether strap over the top of the seatback.
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3. Locate the correct anchor for the selected seating position.
NOTE: There are three tether
anchors located on the headliner at
the rear of the vehicle.
WARNING: If the tether strap
is clipped incorrectly, the child
safety seat may not be
retained properly in the event
of a collision. If the safety seat
is not anchored properly, the
risk of a child being injured in
a collision greatly increases.
4. Clip the tether strap to the anchor as shown.
The arrow in the above graphic
points toward the front of the
vehicle.
5. Refer to the Installing child
safety seats in combination
lap and shoulder belt seating
positions section of this chapter
for further instructions to
secure the child safety seat.
6. Tighten the child safety seat tether strap according to the
manufacturer’s instructions.
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Attaching safety seats with LATCH (Lower Anchors and Tethers for
Children) attachments for child seat anchors
Some child safety seats have two rigid or webbing mounted attachments
that connect to two anchors at certain seating positions in your vehicle.
When properly installed, this type of seat eliminates the need to use seat
belts to attach the child seat. For forward-facing child seats, the tether
strap must also be attached to the proper tether anchor. See Attaching
safety seats with tether straps in this chapter.
Your vehicle has LATCH anchors for child seat installation as shown in
the illustration. There are none in the front passenger seat.
The anchors closest to the center
rear seat are provided primarily for
child seats at the outboard seating
positions. These anchors are farther
apart than the pairs of lower
anchors for child seat installation at
the outboard seats.
While the anchors closest to the
center seat may also be usable, special precautions must be followed.
First, if those anchors are already in use by a LATCH equipped child seat
on either outboard seat, you must not attach two LATCH seats to
the same anchor point — it will overload the anchor point. Either
spread the two LATCH equipped seats to the outboard positions or use
the regular lap belt on the center one (If the seat has a tether, be sure to
also attach it to the center tether anchor).
Secondly, those LATCH equipped child seats with rigid LATCH
attachments will not latch in the center rear position because those two
middle anchors are too far apart. You can only attach the rigid LATCH
equipped child seats to the outboard seat LATCH anchors that have the
proper spacing for that type of child seat. If your child seat has flexible
LATCH attachments, be sure that the manufacturer’s instructions say
that it can reach to anchors spaced at least 500 mm (19 in) apart.
WARNING: Never attach two LATCH child safety seats to the
same anchor. In a crash, one anchor may not be strong enough
to hold two child safety seat attachments and may break,
causing serious injury or death.
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The lower anchors for child seat
installation are located at the rear
section of the rear seat between the
cushion and seat back.
Follow the child seat manufacturer’s instructions to properly install a
child seat with LATCH attachments. WARNING: Attach LATCH lower attachments of the child seat
only to the anchors shown.
If you install a child seat with rigid LATCH attachments, do not tighten
the tether strap enough to lift the child seat off the vehicle seat cushion
when the child is seated in it. Keep the tether strap just snug without
lifting the front of the child seat. Keeping the child seat just touching the
vehicle seat gives the best protection in a severe crash.
Each time you use the safety seat, check that the seat is properly
attached to the lower anchors and tether anchor. Try to tilt the child
seat from side to side. Also try to tug the seat forward. Check to see if
the anchors hold the seat in place. WARNING: If the safety seat is not anchored properly, the risk
of a child being injured in a crash greatly increases.
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