
Infants and Young Children
Everyone in a vehicle needs protection! This includesinfants and all other children. Neither the distancetraveled nor the age and size of the traveler changesthe need, for everyone, to use safety restraints. In fact,the law in every state in the United States and in everyCanadian province says children up to some age mustbe restrained while in a vehicle.
{WARNING:
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 foradults and older children, but not for young children andinfants. Neither the vehicle's safety belt system nor itsairbag system is designed for them. Every time infantsand young children ride in vehicles, they should havethe protection provided by appropriate child restraints.
Children who are not restrained properly can strikeother people, or can be thrown out of the vehicle.
{WARNING:
Never do this.
Never hold an infant or a child while riding in a
vehicle. Due to crash forces, an infant or a child
will become so heavy it is not possible to hold it
during a crash. For example, in a crash at only
40 km/h (25 mph), a 5.5 kg (12 lb) infant will
suddenly become a 110 kg (240 lb) force on a
person's arms. An infant should be secured in an
appropriate restraint.
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{WARNING:
Never do this.
Children who are up against, or very close to, any
airbag when it inflates can be seriously injured or
killed. Never put a rear-facing child restraint in the
right front seat. Secure a rear-facing child restraint
(Continued)
WARNING: (Continued)
in a rear seat. It is also better to secure a
forward-facing child restraint in a rear seat. If you
must secure a forward-facing child restraint in the
right front seat, always move the front passenger
seat as far back as it will go.
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A label on your sun visor says,“Never put a rear-facingchild seat in the front.”This is because the risk to therear-facing child is so great, if the airbag deploys.
{WARNING:
A child in a rear-facing child restraint can be
seriously injured or killed if the right front
passenger airbag inflates. This is because the
back of the rear-facing child restraint would be
very close to the inflating airbag. A child in a
forward-facing child restraint can
be seriously injured or killed if the right front
passenger airbag inflates and the passenger seat
is in a forward position.
The vehicle may have a passenger sensing
system which is designed to turn off the right front
passenger frontal airbag under certain conditions.
(Continued)
WARNING: (Continued)
Even if the passenger sensing system,
if equipped, 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 Systemon page 2!84
for additional information.
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{WARNING:
A child in a child restraint in the center front seat
can be badly injured or killed by the frontal
airbags if they inflate. Never secure a child
restraint in the center front seat. It is always better
to secure a child restraint in a rear seat.
Do not use child restraints in the center front seatposition.
When securing a child restraint in a rear seatingposition, study the instructions that came with your childrestraint to make sure it is compatible with this vehicle.
Wherever a child restraint is installed, be sure to securethe child restraint properly.
Keep in mind that an unsecured child restraint canmove around in a collision or sudden stop and injurepeople in the vehicle. Be sure to properly secure anychild restraint in your vehicle—even when no childis in it.
Lower Anchors and Tethers for
Children (LATCH)
The LATCH system holds a child restraint duringdriving or in a crash. This system is designed to makeinstallation of a child restraint easier. The LATCHsystem uses anchors in the vehicle and attachmentson the child restraint that are made for use with theLATCH system.
Make sure that a LATCH-compatible child restraintis properly installed using the anchors, or use thevehicle's safety belts to secure the restraint, followingthe instructions that came with that restraint, and alsothe instructions in this manual. When installing a childrestraint with a top tether, you must also use either thelower anchors or the safety belts to properly secure thechild restraint. A child restraint must never be attachedusing only the top tether and anchor.
In order to use the LATCH system in your vehicle, youneed a child restraint that has LATCH attachments.The child restraint manufacturer will provide you withinstructions on how to use the child restraint and itsattachments. The following explains how to attach achild restraint with these attachments in your vehicle.
Not all vehicle seating positions or child restraints havelower anchors and attachments or top tether anchorsand attachments.
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5. To tighten the belt, push down on the childrestraint, pull the shoulder portion of the belt totighten the lap portion of the belt and feed theshoulder belt back into the retractor. Wheninstalling a forward-facing child restraint, it may behelpful to use your knee to push down on the childrestraint as you tighten the belt.
6. If the child restraint has a top tether, follow thechild restraint manufacturer's instructions regardingthe use of the top tether. SeeLower Anchors andTethers for Children (LATCH)on page 2!59formore information.
7. Push and pull the child restraint in differentdirections to be sure it is secure.
To remove the child restraint, unbuckle the vehiclesafety belt and let it return to the stowed position.If the top tether is attached to a top tether anchor,disconnect it.
Securing a Child Restraint in the
Center Front Seat Position
{WARNING:
A child in a child restraint in the center front seat
can be badly injured or killed by the frontal
airbags if they inflate. Never secure a child
restraint in the center front seat. It is always
better to secure a child restraint in a rear seat.
Do not use child restraints in the center front seatposition.
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Securing a Child Restraint in the
Right Front Seat Position
This vehicle has airbags. A rear seat is a safer place tosecure a forward-facing child restraint. SeeWhere toPut the Restraint on page 2!57.
In addition, the vehicle may have a passenger sensingsystem which is designed to turn off the right frontpassenger frontal airbag under certain conditions. SeePassenger Sensing Systemon page 2!84andPassenger Airbag Status Indicatoron page 4!31formore information, including important safety information.
A label on the sun visor says,“Never put a rear-facingchild seat in the front.”This is because the risk to therear-facing child is so great, if the airbag deploys.
{WARNING:
A child in a rear-facing child restraint can be
seriously injured or killed if the right front
passenger airbag inflates. This is because the
back of the rear-facing child restraint would be
very close to the inflating airbag.
(Continued)
WARNING: (Continued)
A child in a forward-facing child restraint can
be seriously injured or killed if the right front
passenger airbag inflates and the passenger
seat is in a forward position.
The vehicle may have a passenger sensing
system which is designed to turn off the right front
passenger frontal airbag under certain conditions.
Even if the passenger sensing system,
if equipped, 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 Systemon page 2!84
for additional information.
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If the vehicle is equipped with the passenger sensingsystem, and when the passenger sensing system hasturned off the right front passenger frontal airbag, the offindicator in the passenger airbag status indicator shouldlight and stay lit when you start the vehicle. SeePassenger Airbag Status Indicator on page 4!31.
If a child restraint has been installed and the onindicator is lit, see“If the On Indicator is Lit for aChild Restraint”underPassenger Sensing Systemonpage 2!84for more information.
To remove the child restraint, unbuckle the vehiclesafety belt and let it return to the stowed position.
Airbag System
The vehicle has the following airbags:
.A frontal airbag for the driver.
.A frontal airbag for the right front passenger.
.A roof-rail airbag for the driver and passengerdirectly behind the driver.
.A roof-rail airbag for the right front passenger andthe person seated directly behind that passenger.
The vehicle may have the following airbags:
.A seat!mounted side impact airbag for the driver.
.A seat!mounted side impact airbag for the rightfront passenger.
.If the vehicle has a third row seat, it will have athird row roof-rail airbag.
All of the airbags in the vehicle will have the wordAIRBAG embossed in the trim or on an attached labelnear the deployment opening.
For frontal airbags, the word AIRBAG will appear on themiddle part of the steering wheel for the driver and onthe instrument panel for the right front passenger.
With seat!mounted side impact airbags, the wordAIRBAG will appear on the side of the seatback closestto the door.
With roof-rail airbags, the word AIRBAG will appearalong the headliner or trim.
Airbags are designed to supplement the protectionprovided by safety belts. Even though today's airbagsare also designed to help reduce the risk of injury fromthe force of an inflating bag, all airbags must inflate veryquickly to do their job.
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Here are the most important things to know about theairbag system:
{WARNING:
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. SeeWhen Should an Airbag Inflate?on
page 2!80.
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.
{WARNING:
Airbags inflate with great force, faster than the
blink of an eye. Anyone who is up against, or very
close to, any airbag when it inflates 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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