2009 MAZDA MODEL TRIBUTE Owners Manual (in English)

Installing child safety seats with combination lap and shoulder
belts
The rear seat head restraints must be removed when using a child
seat that utilizes the top tether anchor.
Check to make sure the child seat is properly secured before each use.
Children 12 and under should be properly restrained in a rear seating
position whenever possible. If all children cannot be seated and
restrained properly in a rear seating position, properly restrain the
largest child in the front seat.
When installing a child safety seat with combination lap/shoulder belts:
•Use the correct seat belt buckle for that seating position.
• 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 vehicle seat back in upright position.
• Put the seat belt in the automatic locking mode. Refer to step 5 below.
Perform the following steps when installing the child seat with
combination lap/shoulder belts:
Note: Although the child seat illustrated is a forward facing child seat,
the steps are the same for installing a rear facing child seat.
1. Position the child safety seat in a seat with a combination lap
and shoulder belt.
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2. Pull down on the shoulder beltand then grasp the shoulder
belt and lap belt together.
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 a
snap and feel the latch engage.
Make sure the tongue is latched
securely by pulling on it.
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5. To put the retractor in theautomatic locking mode, grasp
the shoulder portion of the belt
and pull downward until all of
the belt is pulled out.
6. Allow the belt to retract to remove slack. The belt will click as it retracts to indicate it is in the automatic locking mode.
7. 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, repeat Steps 5 and 6.
8. Remove remaining slack from the belt. Force the seat down
with extra weight, e.g., by
pressing down or kneeling on
the child restraint while pulling
up on the shoulder belt in order
to force slack from the belt.
This is necessary to remove the
remaining slack that will exist
once the additional weight of
the child is added to the child
restraint. It also helps to achieve the proper snugness of the child
seat to the vehicle. Sometimes, a slight lean towards the buckle will
additionally help to remove remaining slack from the belt.
9. Attach the tether strap (if the child seat is equipped). Refer to
Attaching child safety seats
with tether straps later in this
chapter.
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10. Before placing the child in the seat, forcibly move the seat forwardand 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 and back. There should be no more than one inch
(2.5 cm) of movement for proper installation.
11. Mazda recommends checking with a NHTSA Certified Child Passenger Safety Technician (CPST) to make certain the child
restraint is properly installed.
Attaching child safety seats with LATCH
(Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children) attachments for child
seat anchors
The LATCH system is composed of three vehicle anchor points: two (2)
lower anchors located where the vehicle seat back and seat cushion meet
(called the “seat bight”) and one (1) top tether anchor located behind
that seating position.
LATCH compatible child safety seats have two rigid or webbing mounted
attachments that connect to the two lower anchors at the LATCH
equipped seating positions in your vehicle. This type of attachment
method eliminates the need to use seat belts to attach the child seat,
however the seat belt can still be used to attach the child seat. For
forward-facing child seats, the top tether strap must also be attached to
the proper top tether anchor, if a top tether strap has been provided
with your child seat. Mazda Motor Corporation recommends the use of a
child safety seat having a top tether strap. See Attaching child safety
seats with tether straps andRecommendations for attaching safety
restraints for children in this chapter for more information.
Your vehicle has LATCH lower anchors for child seat installation at the
seating positions marked with the child seat symbol.
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The LATCH anchors 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.
Follow the instructions on attaching child safety seats with tether straps.
Refer toAttaching child safety seats with tether straps later in this
chapter.
Attach LATCH lower attachments of the child seat only to the anchors
shown.
WARNING: Never attach two 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.
Use of inboard lower anchors from the outboard seating positions
(center seating use)
The lower anchors at the center of the second row rear seat are spaced
400 mm (16 inches) apart. The standardized spacing for LATCH lower
anchors is 280 mm (11 inches) center to center. A child seat with rigid
LATCH attachments cannot be installed at the center seating position.
LATCH compatible child seats (with attachments on belt webbing) can
only be used at this seating position provided that the child seat
manufacturer’s instructions permit use with the anchor spacing stated.
Do not attach a child seat to any lower anchor if an adjacent child seat is
attached to that anchor.
WARNING: The standardized spacing for LATCH lower anchors
is 280 mm (11 inches) center to center. Do not use LATCH
lower anchors for the center seating position unless the child seat
manufacturer’s instructions permit and specify using anchors spaced at
least as far apart as those of this vehicle.
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If you install a child seat with rigid LATCH attachments, and have
attached the top tether strap to the proper top tether anchor, 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, if applicable. Tug the
child seat from side to side and forward and back where it is secured to
the vehicle. The seat should move less than one inch when you do this
for a proper installation.
If the safety seat is not anchored properly, the risk of a child being
injured in a crash greatly increases.
Combining seat belt and LATCH lower anchors for attaching child
safety seats
When used in combination, either the seat belt or the LATCH lower
anchors may be attached first, provided a proper installation is achieved.
Attach the tether strap afterward, if included with the child seat. Refer
toRecommendations for attaching safety restraints for children in
this chapter.
Attaching child safety seats with tether straps
Many forward-facing child safety seats include a tether strap which
extends from the back of the child safety seat and hooks to an anchoring
point called the top tether anchor. 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, or to obtain a
longer tether strap if the tether strap on your safety seat does not reach
the appropriate top tether anchor in the vehicle.
The rear seating positions of your vehicle are equipped with built-in
tether strap anchors located behind the seats on the roof panel in the
cargo area.
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The tether strap anchors in your vehicle are in the following positions
(shown from top view):
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.
Once the child safety seat has been
installed, using either the seat belt
or the lower anchors of the LATCH system, you can attach the top tether
strap.
Perform the following steps to install a child safety seat with tether
anchors:1. Route the child safety seat tether strap over the back of the seat.
For vehicles with adjustable head restraints, remove the head restraint
first, place under the front seat for storage, and then route the tether
strap over the top of the seatback. 2. Locate the correct anchor for the selected seating position.
There are three tether anchors
located on the headliner at the rear
of the vehicle.
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3. Clip the tether strap to theanchor as shown.
The arrow in the above graphic
points toward the front of the
vehicle.
If the tether strap is clipped
incorrectly, the child safety seat may
not be retained properly in the
event of a collision. 4. Tighten the child safety seat tether strap according to the
manufacturer’s instructions.
If the safety seat is not anchored properly, the risk of a child being
injured in a collision greatly increases.
Child booster seats
The belt-positioning booster (booster seat) is used to improve the fit of
the vehicle seat belt. Children outgrow a typical child seat (e.g,
convertible or toddler seat) when they weigh about 40 lb (18 kg) and are
around four (4) years of age. Consult your child safety seat owner
manual for the weight, height, and age limits specific to your child safety
seat. Keep your child in the child safety seat if it properly fits the child,
remains appropriate for their weight, height and age AND if properly
secured to the vehicle.
Although the lap/shoulder belt will provide some protection, children
who have outgrown a typical child seat are still too small for lap/shoulder
belts to fit properly, and wearing an improperly fitted vehicle seat belt
could increase the risk of serious injury in a crash. To improve the fit of
both the lap and shoulder belt on children who have outgrown child
safety seats, Mazda Motor Corporation recommends use of a
belt-positioning booster.
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