
Infants and Young Children
Everyone in a vehicle needs protection! This includes
infants and all other children. Neither the distance
traveled nor the age and size of the traveler changes
the need, for everyone, to use safety restraints. In fact,
the law in every state in the United States and in
every Canadian province says children up to some age
must be restrained while in a vehicle.{CAUTION:
Children can be seriously injured or strangled if a
shoulder belt is wrapped around their neck and
the safety belt continues to tighten. Never leave
children unattended in a vehicle and never allow
children to play with the safety belts.
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. Every time
infants and young children ride in vehicles, they should
have the protection provided by appropriate child
restraints.
Children who are not restrained properly can strike
other people, or can be thrown out of the vehicle.
1-39

Where to Put the Restraint
Accident statistics show that children are safer if they are
restrained in the rear rather than the front seat.
We recommend that children and child restraints be
secured in a rear seat, including: an infant or a child
riding in a rear-facing child restraint; a child riding in a
forward-facing child seat; an older child riding in a
booster seat; and children, who are large enough, using
safety belts.
A label on your sun visor says, “Never put a rear-facing
child seat in the front.” This is because the risk to the
rear-facing child is so great, if the airbag deploys.
{CAUTION:
A child in a rear-facing child restraint can be
seriously injured or killed if the right front passenger
airbag in ates. This is because the back of the
rear-facing child restraint would be very close to the
in ating airbag. A child in a forward-facing child
restraint can be seriously injured or killed if the right
front passenger airbag in ates and the passenger
seat is in a forward position.
CAUTION: (Continued)
CAUTION: (Continued)
Even if the passenger sensing system has turned
off the right front passenger frontal airbag, no
system is fail-safe. No one can guarantee that an
airbag will not deploy under some unusual
circumstance, even though it is turned off.
Secure rear-facing child restraints in a rear
seat, even if the airbag is off. If you secure a
forward-facing child restraint in the right front seat,
always move the front passenger seat as far back
as it will go. It is better to secure the child restraint
in a rear seat.
SeePassenger Sensing System on page 1-69for
additional information.
When securing a child restraint in a rear seating position,
study the instructions that came with your child restraint
to make sure it is compatible with this vehicle.
Wherever you install a child restraint, be sure to secure
the child restraint properly.
1-46

5. 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. If you are using a forward-facing
child restraint, you may nd it helpful to use your
knee to push down on the child restraint as you
tighten the belt.
6. If your child restraint has a top tether, follow the
child restraint manufacturer’s instructions regarding
the use of the top tether. SeeLower Anchors
and Tethers for Children (LATCH) on page 1-48for
more information.
7. Push and pull the child restraint in different directions
to be sure it is secure.To remove the child restraint, unbuckle the vehicle’s
safety belt and let it go back all the way. If the top tether
is attached to a top tether anchor, disconnect it.
If your seat has a safety belt guide, return the safety
belt into the guide on the seatback by sliding the
webbing through the opening on the guide.
Securing a Child Restraint in the
Right Front Seat Position
The vehicle has airbags. A rear seat is a safer place to
secure a forward-facing child restraint. See Where to
Put the Restraint.
In addition, the vehicle has a passenger sensing system
which is designed to turn off the right front passenger
frontal airbag under certain conditions. See Passenger
Sensing System and Passenger Airbag Status Indicator
for more information on this, including important safety
information.
A label on your sun visor says, “Never put a rear-facing
child seat in the front.” This is because the risk to the
rear-facing child is so great, if the airbag deploys.
1-58