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2. Put the child restraint on the seat.
3. Pick up the latch plate, and run the lap and shoulder
portions of the vehicle’s safety belt through or around
the restraint. The child restraint instructions will show
you how.
4. Push the latch plate into the buckle until it clicks.
Position the release button on the buckle so that
the safety belt could be quickly unbuckled if
necessary.5. Pull the rest of the shoulder belt all the way out of
the retractor to set the lock.
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6. To tighten the belt, push down on the child restraint,
pull the shoulder portion of the belt to tighten the
lap portion of the belt and feed the shoulder
belt back into the retractor. When installing a
forward-facing child restraint, it may be helpful to
use your knee to push down on the child restraint
as you tighten the belt.
7. Push and pull the child restraint in different
directions to be sure it is secure.If the airbags are off, the off indicator in the passenger
airbag status indicator will come on and stay on when
the vehicle is started.
If a child restraint has been installed and the on
indicator is lit, see “If the On Indicator is Lit for a
Child Restraint ” underPassenger Sensing System
on page 1-67for more information.
To remove the child restraint, unbuckle the vehicle
safety belt and let it return to the stowed position.
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Airbag System
The vehicle has the following airbags:
A frontal airbag for the driver.
A frontal airbag for the right front passenger.
A seat-mounted side impact airbag for the driver.
A seat-mounted side impact airbag for the right front
passenger.
A roof-rail airbag for the driver and the passenger
seated directly behind the driver.
A roof-rail airbag for the right front passenger and
the passenger seated directly behind the right
front passenger.
All of the airbags in your vehicle will have the word
AIRBAG embossed in the trim or on an attached label
near the deployment opening.For frontal airbags, the word AIRBAG will appear on the
middle part of the steering wheel for the driver and
on the instrument panel for the right front passenger.
With seat-mounted side impact airbags, the word
AIRBAG will appear on the side of the seatback closest
to the door.
With roof-rail airbags, the word AIRBAG will appear
along the headliner or trim.
Airbags are designed to supplement the protection
provided by safety belts. Even though today’s airbags
are also designed to help reduce the risk of injury
from the force of an in ating bag, all airbags must in ate
very quickly to do their job.
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Here are the most important things to know about the
airbag system:
{CAUTION:
You can be severely injured or killed in a crash if
you are not wearing your safety belt — even if you
have airbags. Airbags are designed to work with
safety belts, but do not replace them. Also, airbags
are not designed to deploy in every crash. In some
crashes safety belts are your only restraint. See
When Should an Airbag Inflate? on page 1-63.
Wearing your safety belt during a crash helps
reduce your chance of hitting things inside the
vehicle or being ejected from it. Airbags are
“supplemental restraints” to the safety belts.
Everyone in your vehicle should wear a safety
belt properly — whether or not there is an airbag
for that person.
{CAUTION:
Airbags in ate with great force, faster than the blink
of an eye. Anyone who is up against, or very close
to, any airbag when it in ates can be seriously
injured or killed. Do not sit unnecessarily close to
the airbag, as you would be if you were sitting on
the edge of your seat or leaning forward. Safety
belts help keep you in position before and during a
crash. Always wear your safety belt, even with
airbags. The driver should sit as far back as
possible while still maintaining control of the
vehicle.
Occupants should not lean on or sleep against the
door or side windows in seating positions with
seat-mounted side impact airbags and/or roof-rail
airbags.
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{CAUTION:
Children who are up against, or very close to, any
airbag when it in ates can be seriously injured or
killed. Airbags plus lap-shoulder belts offer
protection for adults and older children, but not for
young children and infants. Neither the vehicle’s
safety belt system nor its airbag system is designed
for them. Young children and infants need the
protection that a child restraint system can provide.
Always secure children properly in your vehicle.
To read how, seeOlder Children on page 1-35or
Infants and Young Children on page 1-38.
There is an airbag
readiness light on the
instrument panel cluster,
which shows the airbag
symbol.
The system checks the airbag electrical system for
malfunctions. The light tells you if there is an electrical
problem. SeeAirbag Readiness Light on page 3-36
for more information.
Where Are the Airbags?
The driver’s frontal airbag is in the middle of the
steering wheel.
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When Should an Airbag In ate?
Frontal airbags are designed to in ate in moderate to
severe frontal or near-frontal crashes to help reduce the
potential for severe injuries mainly to the driver’s or
right front passenger’s head and chest. However, they
are only designed to in ate if the impact exceeds a
predetermined deployment threshold. Deployment
thresholds are used to predict how severe a crash is
likely to be in time for the airbags to in ate and
help restrain the occupants.
Whether your frontal airbags will or should deploy is not
based on how fast your vehicle is traveling. It depends
largely on what you hit, the direction of the impact,
and how quickly your vehicle slows down.
Frontal airbags may in ate at different crash speeds.
For example:
If the vehicle hits a stationary object, the airbags
could in ate at a different crash speed than if the
vehicle hits a moving object.
If the vehicle hits an object that deforms, the
airbags could in ate at a different crash speed than
if the vehicle hits an object that does not deform.
If the vehicle hits a narrow object (like a pole), the
airbags could in ate at a different crash speed
than if the vehicle hits a wide object (like a wall).
If the vehicle goes into an object at an angle, the
airbags could in ate at a different crash speed
than if the vehicle goes straight into the object.
Thresholds can also vary with speci c vehicle design.
Frontal airbags are not intended to in ate during vehicle
rollovers, rear impacts, or in many side impacts.
Your vehicle has a seat position sensor which enables
the sensing system to monitor the position of the right
front passenger’s seat. The passenger seat position
sensor and passenger safety belt buckle switch provide
information that is used to determine if the airbags should
deploy at a reduced level or at full deployment.
In addition, your vehicle has a dual-stage driver airbag.
Dual-stage airbags adjust the restraint according to
crash severity. Your vehicle has electronic frontal
sensors, which help the sensing system distinguish
between a moderate frontal impact and a more severe
frontal impact. For moderate frontal impacts, dual-stage
airbags in ate at a level less than full deployment.
For more severe frontal impacts, full deployment occurs.
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Your vehicle also has a dual-depth passenger airbag that
adjusts the restraint according to crash severity, seat
location, and safety belt status using electronic frontal
sensor(s) and other special sensors which enable the
sensing system to monitor the position of the front
passenger seat. The passenger airbag in ates to a
reduced depth when the passenger seat is in a forward
position. For more rearward front seating positions, the
passenger airbag may in ate to an increased depth
(a full deployment), based on safety belt status and
the crash severity measured early in the event.
(Always wear your safety belt, even with frontal airbags.)
Your vehicle has seat-mounted side impact and
roof-rail airbags. SeeAirbag System on page 1-58.
Seat-mounted side impact and roof-rail airbags
are intended to in ate in moderate to severe side
crashes. Seat-mounted side impact and roof-rail airbags
will in ate if the crash severity is above the system’s
designed threshold level. The threshold level can
vary with speci c vehicle design.Seat-mounted side impact and roof-rail airbags are not
intended to in ate in frontal impacts, near-frontal impacts,
rollovers, or rear impacts. A seat-mounted side impact
airbag is intended to deploy on the side of the vehicle that
is struck. Both roof-rail airbags will deploy when either
side of the vehicle is struck.
In any particular crash, no one can say whether an
airbag should have in ated simply because of the
damage to a vehicle or because of what the repair costs
were. For frontal airbags, in ation is determined by what
the vehicle hits, the angle of the impact, and how quickly
the vehicle slows down. For seat-mounted side impact
and roof-rail airbags, deployment is determined by the
location and severity of the side impact.
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What Makes an Airbag In ate?
In a deployment event, the sensing system sends an
electrical signal triggering a release of gas from the
in ator. Gas from the in ator lls the airbag causing the
bag to break out of the cover and deploy. The in ator, the
airbag, and related hardware are all part of the airbag
module.
Frontal airbag modules are located inside the
steering wheel and instrument panel. For vehicles
with seat-mounted side impact airbags, there are airbag
modules in the side of the front seatbacks closest to the
door. For vehicles with roof-rail airbags, there are airbag
modules in the ceiling of the vehicle, near the side
windows that have occupant seating positions.
How Does an Airbag Restrain?
In moderate to severe frontal or near frontal collisions,
even belted occupants can contact the steering wheel
or the instrument panel. In moderate to severe side
collisions, even belted occupants can contact the inside
of the vehicle.
Airbags supplement the protection provided by safety
belts. Frontal airbags distribute the force of the impact
more evenly over the occupant’s upper body, stopping
the occupant more gradually. Seat-mounted side impact
and roof-rail airbags distribute the force of the impact
more evenly over the occupant’s upper body.
But airbags would not help in many types of collisions,
primarily because the occupant’s motion is not
toward those airbags. SeeWhen Should an Airbag
Inflate? on page 1-63for more information.
Airbags should never be regarded as anything more
than a supplement to safety belts.
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