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Seat Belts
Your vehicle is equipped with seat
belts in all seating positions.
Your seat belt system also includes
an indicator on the instrument panel
and a beeper to remind you and your
passengers to fasten your seat belts.
Why Wear Seat Belts
Seat belts are the single most
effective safety device for adults and
larger children. (Infants and smaller
children must be properly restrained
in child seats.)
Not wearing a seat belt properly
increases the chance of serious
injury or death in a crash, even
though your vehicle has airbags.
In addition, most states, all Canadian
provinces and territories require you
to wear seat belts.
Not wearing a seat belt properly
increases the chance of serious
injury or death in a crash, even
though your vehicle hasairbags.
Be sure you and your
passengers always wear seat
belts and wear them properly.
When properly worn, seat belts: ● Keep you connected to the vehicle
so you can take advantage of the
vehicle's built-in safety features.
● Help protect you in almost every
type of crash, including:
– frontal impacts
– side impacts
– rear impacts
– rollovers ●
Help keep you from being thrown
against the inside of the vehicle
and against other occupants.
● Keep you from being thrown out of
the vehicle.
● Help keep you in a good position
should the airbags ever deploy. A
good position reduces the risk of
injury from an inflating airbag and
allows you to get the best
advantage from the airbag.
Of course, seat belts cannot
completely protect you in every
crash. But in most cases, seat belts
can reduce your risk of seriousinjury.
What You Should Do:
Always wear your seat belt, and
make sure you wear it properly.
Your Vehicle's Safety Features
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The most important things you need
to know about your airbags are:●
Airbags do not replace seat belts.
They are designed to supplement
the seat belts.
●
Airbags offer no protection in rear impacts, or minor frontal or sidecollisions.
●Airbags can pose serious hazards.
To do their job, airbags must
inflate with tremendous force. So
while airbags help save lives, they
can cause minor injuries or more
serious or even fatal injuries if
occupants are not properly
restrained or sitting properly.
What you should do:Always wear
your seat belt properly, and sit
upright and as far back from the
steering wheel as possible while
allowing full control of the vehicle. A
front passenger should move their
seat as far back from the dashboard
as possible. The rest of this section gives more
detailed information about how you
can maximize your safety.
Remember however, that no safety
system can prevent all injures or
deaths that can occur in a severe
crash, even when seat belts are
properly worn and the airbagsdeploy.
Your Vehicle's Safety Features
10
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Reclining the seat-back too far
can result in serious injury or
death in a crash.
Adjust the seat-back to an
upright position, and sit well
back in the seat.
Reclining a seat-back so that the
shoulder part of the belt no longer
rests against the occupant's chest
reduces the protective capability of
the belt. It also increases the chance
of sliding under the belt in a crash
and being seriously injured. The
farther a seat-back is reclined, the
greater the risk of injury.
See page 83 for how to adjust the seat-backs. 4. Adjust the Head Restraints
Adjust the driver's head restraint so
the center of the back of your head
rests against the center of the restraint.
Have passengers adjust their head
restraints properly as well. Taller
persons should adjust their restraint
as high as possible.
Improperly positioning head
restraints reduces their
effectiveness and you can be
seriously injured in a crash.
Make sure head restraints are
in place and positioned properly
before driving.
Properly adjusted head restraints will
help protect occupants from whiplash
and other crash injuries.
See page 85 for how to adjust the
head restraints.
Protecting Adults and Teens
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Driver and Passenger Safety
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5. Fasten and Position the SeatBelts
Insert the latch plate into the buckle,
then tug on the belt to make sure the
belt is securely latched. Check that
the belt is not twisted, because a
twisted belt can cause serious
injuries in a crash.
Position the lap part of the belt as low
as possible across your hips, then
pull up on the shoulder part of the
belt so the lap part fits snugly. This
lets your strong pelvic bones take the
force of a crash and reduces the
chance of internal injuries. If necessary, pull up on the belt again
to remove any slack, then check that
the belt rests across the center of
your chest and over your shoulder.
This spreads the forces of a crash
over the strongest bones in your
upper body.
Improperly positioning the seat
belts can cause serious injury
or death in a crash.
Make sure all seat belts are
properly positioned beforedriving.
Protecting Adults and Teens
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Never place the shoulder portion of alap/shoulder belt under your arm or
behind your back.
This could cause
very serious injuries in a crash.
If a seat belt does not seem to work
properly, it may not protect the
occupant in a crash.
No one should sit in a seat with an inoperative seat belt.
Using a seat
belt that is not working properly can
result in serious injury or death.
Have your dealer check the belt as
soon as possible.
See page 18 for additional
information about your seat belts and
how to take care of them. 6. Maintain a Proper Sitting
Position
After all occupants have adjusted
their seats and head restraints, and
put on their seat belts, it is very
important that they continue to sit
upright, well back in their seats, with
their feet on the floor, until the
vehicle is safely parked and the
engine is off.
Sitting improperly can increase the
chance of injury during a crash. For
example, if an occupant slouches, lies
down, turns sideways, sits forward,
leans forward or sideways, or puts
one or both feet up, the chance of
injury during a crash is greatlyincreased. In addition, an occupant who is out of
position in the front seat can be
seriously or fatally injured in a crash
by striking interior parts of the
vehicle or being struck by an
inflating front airbag.Sitting improperly or out of
position can result in serious
injury or death in a crash.
Always sit upright, well back in
the seat, with your feet on thefloor.
Protecting Adults and Teens
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Driver and Passenger Safety
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Advice for Pregnant Women
If you are pregnant, the best way to
protect yourself and your unborn
child when driving or riding in a
vehicle is to always wear a seat belt,
and keep the lap part of the belt as
low as possible across the hips.When driving, remember to sit
upright and adjust the seat as far
back as possible while allowing full
control of the vehicle. When riding
as a front passenger, adjust the seat
as far back as possible.
This will reduce the risk of injuries to
both you and your unborn child that
can be caused by a crash or an
inflating front airbag.
Each time you have a checkup, ask
your doctor if it's okay for you to drive.
Additional Safety Precautions
●
Never let passengers ride in the
cargo area or on top of a folded-
down back seat.
If they do, they
could be very seriously injured in a crash.
●
Passengers should not stand up or change seats while the vehicle is
moving.
A passenger who is not
wearing a seat belt during a crash
or emergency stop can be thrown
against the inside of the vehicle,
against other occupants, or out of
the vehicle.
●
Two people should never use the same seat belt.If they do, they
could be very seriously injured in acrash.
Protecting Adults and Teens
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●Do not put any accessories on seatbelts.
Devices intended to improve
occupant comfort or reposition the
shoulder part of a seat belt can
reduce the protective capability of
the belt and increase the chance of
serious injury in a crash.
●
Do not place hard or sharp objects between yourself and a front
airbag.
Carrying hard or sharp
objects on your lap, or driving with
a pipe or other sharp object in your
mouth, can result in injuries if your
front airbag inflates. ●
Do not attach or place objects on
the front airbag covers.
Objects on
the covers marked ‘‘SRS AIRBAG ’’
could interfere with the proper
operation of the airbags or be
propelled inside the vehicle and
hurt someone if the airbags inflate.
●
Do not attach hard objects on or near a door.
If a side airbag or a
side curtain airbag inflates, a cup
holder or other hard object
attached on or near the door could
be propelled inside the vehicle and
hurt someone. ●
Keep your hands and arms away
from the airbag covers.
If your
hands or arms are close to an
airbag cover, they could be injured
if the front airbag inflates.
●
Do not cover or replace front seat- back covers without consulting
your dealer.
Improperly replacing
or covering front seat-back covers
can prevent your side airbags from
inflating during a side impact.
Protecting Adults and Teens
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Driver and Passenger Safety
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Seat Belt System Components
Your seat belt system includes lap/
shoulder belts in all four seating
positions. The front seat belts are
also equipped with automatic seat
belt tensioners.
This system uses the same sensors
as the front airbags to monitor
whether the front seat belts are
latched or unlatched, and how much
weight is on the front passenger's
seat (see page 27).
The seat belt system
includes an indicator on the
instrument panel and a beeper to
remind you and your passengers to
fasten your seat belts. This system monitors the front seat
belts. If you turn the ignition switch
to the ON (II) position before your
seat belt is fastened, the beeper will
sound and the indicator will flash. If
your seat belt is not fastened before
the beeper stops, the indicator will
stop flashing but remain on.
If a front passenger does not fasten
their seat belt, the indicator will
come on about 6 seconds after the
ignition switch is turned to the ON
(II) position.
If either the driver or a front
passenger does not fasten their seat
belt while driving, the beeper will
sound and the indicator will flash
again at regular intervals.
When no one is sitting in the front
passenger's seat, or a child or small
adult is riding there, the indicator
should not come on and the beeper
should not sound.If the indicator comes on or the
beeper sounds when the driver's seat
belt is latched and there is no front
seat passenger and no items on the
front seat, something may be
interfering with the monitoring
system. Look for and remove:
● Any items under the front
passenger's seat.
● Any object(s) hanging on the seat
or in the seat-back pocket.
● Any object(s) touching the rear of
the seat-back.
If no obstructions are found, have
your vehicle checked by a dealer.
Additional Information About Your Seat Belts
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