Black plate (5,1)
Mazda3_8AD6-EC-09A_Edition1 Page5
Tuesday, December 2 2008 2:26 PM
Form No.8AD6-EC-09A
Table of Contents
Your Vehicle at a Glance
Interior, exterior views and part identification of your Mazda.1
Essential Safety Equipment
Use of safety equipment, including seats, seat belt system, child-restraint
systems and SRS air bags.2
Knowing Your Mazda
Explanation of basic operations and controls; opening/closing and adjustment
of various parts.3
Before Driving Your Mazda
Important information about driving your Mazda.4
Driving Your Mazda
Explanation of instruments and controls.5
Interior Comfort
Use of various features for drive comfort, including air-conditioning and audio
system.6
In Case of an Emergency
Helpful information on what to do in an emergency.7
Maintenance and Care
How to keep your Mazda in top condition.8
Customer Information
Important consumer information including warranties and add-on equipment.9
Specifications
Technical information about your Mazda.10
Index11
Black plate (15,1)
2Essential Safety Equipment
Use of safety equipment, including seats, seat belt system, child-restraint
systems and SRS air bags.
Seats ............................................................................................... 2-2
Front Seats (Manually Operated Seats) ..................................... 2-2
Front Seats (Electrically Operated Seats) .................................. 2-4
Rear Seat ................................................................................... 2-9
Head Restraints ....................................................................... 2-12
Seat Warmer
í......................................................................... 2-14
Seat Belt Systems ........................................................................ 2-16
Seat Belt Precautions .............................................................. 2-16
Seat Belt .................................................................................. 2-20
Front Seat Belt Pretensioner and Load Limiting Systems ....... 2-22
Seat Belt Extender ................................................................... 2-24
Seat Belt Warning Light/Beep ................................................ 2-26
Child Restraint ............................................................................ 2-28
Child Restraint Precautions ..................................................... 2-28
Installing Child-Restraint Systems .......................................... 2-32
LATCH Child-Restraint Systems ............................................ 2-39
SRS Air Bags ............................................................................... 2-44
Supplemental Restraint System (SRS) Precautions ................ 2-44
Supplemental Restraint System Components ......................... 2-48
How the SRS Air Bags Work .................................................. 2-49
SRS Air Bag Deployment Criteria .......................................... 2-53
Limitations to SRS Air Bag .................................................... 2-54
Driver and Front Passenger Occupant Classification
System ..................................................................................... 2-56
Monitoring and Maintenance .................................................. 2-61
2-1íSome models.
Mazda3_8AD6-EC-09A_Edition1 Page15
Tuesday, December 2 2008 2:26 PM
Form No.8AD6-EC-09A
Black plate (24,1)
Never allow a passenger to sit or stand
on the folded seatback while the
vehicle is moving:
Driving with a passenger on the
folded seatback is dangerous.
Allowing a child to sit up on the
folded seatback while the vehicle is
moving is particularly dangerous. In
a sudden stop or even a minor
collision, a child not in a proper seat
or child-restraint system and seat
belt could be thrown forward, back
or even out of the vehicle resulting in
serious injuries or death. The child in
the baggage area could be thrown
into other occupants and cause
serious injury.
Never give the car keys to children and
do not allow them to play in the vehicle
(4 Door):
Playing with the folding rear seats is
dangerous. The folding rear
seatbacks cannot be folded down
from inside the trunk. Once the
seatbacks are back up, a child in the
trunk would not be able to get out
the way they had entered. If you have
small children, keep the seatbacks
locked.Always leave your car locked and keep
the car keys safely away from children:
Leaving your car unlocked or the
keys in reach of children is
dangerous. Children who find their
way into the trunk through an
unlocked rear seatback or an open
trunk can become accidentally locked
in the trunk. This could result in
death or brain damage from heat
prostration, particularly in the
summer. Always lock the doors and
the trunk, and as an added measure,
keep the rear seatbacks locked,
whether you have children in your
home or not.
Do not leave the key in your vehicle
with children and keep them in a place
where your children will not find or
play with them:
Leaving children in a vehicle with the
key is dangerous. This could result in
someone being badly injured or even
killed. Children may find these new
kinds of keys to be an interesting toy
to play with and could cause the
power windows or other controls to
operate, or even make the vehicle
move.
NOTE
When returning a rear seat to its original
position, also replace the seat belt to its
normal position. Verify that the seat belt pulls
out and retracts.
2-10
Essential Safety Equipment
Seats
Mazda3_8AD6-EC-09A_Edition1 Page24
Tuesday, December 2 2008 2:26 PM
Form No.8AD6-EC-09A
Black plate (30,1)
Seat Belt Precautions
Seat belts help to decrease the possibility of severe injury during accidents and sudden
stops. Mazda recommends that the driver and all passengers always wear seat belts.
All of the seat belt retractors are designed to keep the lap/shoulder belts out of the way
when not in use.
The driver's seat belt has no provisions for child-restraint systems and has only an
emergency locking mode. The driver may wear it comfortably, and it will lock during a
collision.
However, the front passenger's seat and all rear lap/shoulder belt retractors operate in two
modes: emergency locking mode, and for child-restraint systems, automatic locking mode.
While we recommend you put all children in the rear seats, if you must use the front
passenger seat for a child, slide the front passenger seat as far back as possible and make
sure any child-restraint system is secured properly.
2-16
Essential Safety Equipment
Seat Belt Systems
Mazda3_8AD6-EC-09A_Edition1 Page30
Tuesday, December 2 2008 2:26 PM
Form No.8AD6-EC-09A
Black plate (33,1)
qAutomatic Locking Mode
Always use the automatic locking mode to keep the child-restraint system from shifting to
an unsafe position in the event of an accident. To enable seat belt automatic locking mode,
pull it all the way out and connect it as instructed on the child-restraint system. It will
retract down to the child-restraint system and stay locked on it. See the section on child
restraint (page 2-28).
Essential Safety Equipment
Seat Belt Systems
2-19
Mazda3_8AD6-EC-09A_Edition1 Page33
Tuesday, December 2 2008 2:26 PM
Form No.8AD6-EC-09A
Black plate (42,1)
Child Restraint Precautions
Mazda strongly urges the use of child-restraint systems for children small enough to use
them.
You are required by law to use a child-restraint system for children in the U.S. and Canada.
Check your local and state or provincial laws for specific requirements regarding the safety
of children riding in your vehicle.
Whatever child-restraint system you consider, please pick the appropriate one for the age
and size of the child, obey the law and follow the instructions that come with the individual
child-restraint system.
A child who has outgrown child-restraint systems should sit in the rear and use seat belts,
both lap and shoulder. If the shoulder belt crosses the neck or face, move the child closer to
the center of the vehicle in the outboard seats, and towards the buckle on the right if the
child is seated on the center seat.
Statistics confirm that the rear seat is the best place for all children up to 12 years of age,
and more so with a supplemental restraint system (air bags).
A rear-facing child-restraint system shouldNEVERbe used on the front seat with the air
bag system activated. The front passenger's seat is also the least preferred seat for other
child-restraint systems.
To reduce the chance of injuries caused by deployment of the front passenger air bag, the
front passenger seat weight sensors work as a part of the supplemental restraint system.
This system deactivates the front passenger front and side air bags and also the front
passenger seat belt pretensioner system when the total seated weight on the front passenger
seat is less than approximately 30 kg (66 lb).
When an infant or small child sits on the front passenger seat, the system shuts off the front
passenger front and side air bags and seat belt pretensioner system, so make sure the front
passenger air bag deactivation indicator light illuminates.
Even if the front passenger air bag is shut off, Mazda strongly recommends that children be
properly restrained and child-restraint systems of all kinds are properly secured on the rear
seats which are the best place for children.
For more details, refer to“Front passenger seat weight sensors”(page 2-56).
2-28
Essential Safety Equipment
Child Restraint
Mazda3_8AD6-EC-09A_Edition1 Page42
Tuesday, December 2 2008 2:26 PM
Form No.8AD6-EC-09A
Black plate (43,1)
WARNING
Use the correct size child-restraint system:
For effective protection in vehicle accidents and sudden stops, a child must be
properly restrained using a seat belt or child-restraint system depending on age and
size. If not, the child could be seriously injured or even killed in an accident.
Follow the manufacturer's instructions and always keep the child-restraint system
buckled down:
An unsecured child-restraint system is dangerous. In a sudden stop or a collision it
could move causing serious injury or death to the child or other occupants. Make
sure any child-restraint system is properly secured in place according to the child-
restraint system manufacturer's instructions. When not in use, remove it from the
vehicle or fasten it with a seat belt, or latch it down to BOTH LATCH lower anchors
for LATCH child-restraint systems and the corresponding tether anchor.
Always secure a child in a proper child-restraint system:
Holding a child in your arms while the vehicle is moving is extremely dangerous. No
matter how strong the person may be, he or she cannot hold onto a child in a
sudden stop or collision and it could result in serious injury or death to the child or
other occupants. Even in a moderate accident, the child may be exposed to air bag
forces that could result in serious injury or death to the child, or the child may be
slammed into an adult, causing injury to both child and adult.
Never use a rear-facing child-restraint system in the front seat with an air bag that
could deploy:
Rear-facing child-restraint systems on the front seat are particularly dangerous even
though you may feel assured that a front passenger air bag will not deploy based on
the fact that the front passenger air bag deactivation indicator light illuminates.
The child-restraint system can be hit by a deploying air bag and moved violently
backward resulting in serious injury or death to the child.
Essential Safety Equipment
Child Restraint
2-29
Mazda3_8AD6-EC-09A_Edition1 Page43
Tuesday, December 2 2008 2:26 PM
Form No.8AD6-EC-09A
Black plate (44,1)
Do not install a front-facing child-restraint system on the front passenger seat unless
it is unavoidable:
In a collision, the force of a deploying air bag could cause serious injury or death to
the child. If installing a front-facing child-restraint system on the front passenger
seat is unavoidable, move the front passenger seat as far back as possible.
Seating a child in a child-restraint system on the front passenger seat is dangerous:
Your vehicle is equipped with front passenger seat weight sensors. Even with the
front passenger seat weight sensors, if you must use the front passenger seat to seat
a child, using a child in a child-restraint system on the front passenger seat under
the following conditions increases the danger of the front passenger air bag
deploying and could result in serious injury or death to the child.
ØThe total seated weight of the child with the child-restraint system on the front
passenger seat is approximately 30 kg (66 lb) or more with a child in the child-
restraint system.
ØLuggage or other items are placed on the seat with the child in the child-restraint
system.
ØA rear passenger or luggage pushing or pulling down on the front passenger
seatback.
ØA rear passenger puts their feet on the front seat rails.
ØLuggage or other items are placed on the seatback or hung on the head restraint.
ØHeavy items are placed in the seatback map pocket.
ØThe seat is washed.
ØLiquids are spilled on the seat.
ØThe front passenger seat is moved backward, pushing into luggage or other items
placed behind it.
ØThe front passenger seatback contacts the rear seat.
ØLuggage or other items are placed between the front passenger seat and driver
seat.
ØAny accessories, which might increase the total seated weight on the front
passenger seat, are attached to the front passenger seat.
The designated positions with seat belts on the rear seats are the safest places for
children. Always use seat belts and child restraints.
2-30
Essential Safety Equipment
Child Restraint
Mazda3_8AD6-EC-09A_Edition1 Page44
Tuesday, December 2 2008 2:26 PM
Form No.8AD6-EC-09A