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.
{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.
(Continued)
WARNING: (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 2‑65
for 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.
2-42
Securing a Child Restraint Designed for the
LATCH System
{WARNING:
If a LATCH-type child restraint is not attached to
anchors, the child restraint will not be able to
protect the child correctly. In a crash, the child
could be seriously injured or killed. Install a
LATCH-type child restraint properly using the
anchors, or use the vehicle's safety belts to
secure the restraint, following the instructions that
came with the child restraint and the instructions
in this manual.
{WARNING:
Do not attach more than one child restraint to a
single anchor. Attaching more than one child
restraint to a single anchor could cause the
anchor or attachment to come loose or even
break during a crash. A child or others could be(Continued)
WARNING: (Continued)
injured. To reduce the risk of serious or fatal
injuries during a crash, attach only one child
restraint per anchor.
{WARNING:
Children can be seriously injured or strangled if a
shoulder belt is wrapped around their neck and
the safety belt continues to tighten. Buckle any
unused safety belts behind the child restraint so
children cannot reach them. Pull the shoulder belt
all the way out of the retractor to set the lock,
if your vehicle has one, after the child restraint
has been installed.
Notice: Do not let the LATCH attachments rub
against the vehicle’ s safety belts. This may damage
these parts. If necessary, move buckled safety belts
to avoid rubbing the LATCH attachments.
2-48
Securing a Child Restraint in the
Right Front Seat Position
This vehicle has airbags. A rear seat is a safer place to
secure a forward-facing child restraint. SeeWhere to
Put the Restraint on page 2‑42.
In addition, the vehicle has a passenger sensing system
which is designed to turn off the right front passenger
frontal airbag and seat-mounted side impact airbag
(if equipped) under certain conditions. See Passenger
Sensing System
on page 2‑65and Passenger Airbag
Status Indicatoron page 4‑24for more information on
this, including important safety information.
A label on the 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.
{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
(Continued)
WARNING: (Continued)
injured or killed if the right front passenger airbag
inflates and the passenger seat is in a forward
position.
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 2‑65
for additional information.
If the child restraint has the LATCH system, see Lower
Anchors and Tethers for Children (LATCH)
on
page 2‑43for how to install your child restraint using
LATCH. If a child restraint is secured using a safety belt
2-54
Airbags are designed to supplement the protection
provided by safety belts. Even though today's airbags
are also designed to help reduce the risk of injury from
the force of an inflating bag, all airbags must inflate very
quickly to do their job.
Here are the most important things to know about the
airbag 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. See When Should an Airbag Inflate?
on
page 2‑62
.
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 airbags.
2-58
{WARNING:
Children who are up against, or very close to, any
airbag when it inflates can be seriously injured or
killed. 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. Young children and infants
need the protection that a child restraint system
can provide. Always secure children properly in
your vehicle. To read how, seeOlder Children
on
page 2‑33
or Infants and Young Childrenon
page 2‑36
.
There is an airbag
readiness light on the
instrument panel, which
shows the airbag symbol.
The system checks the airbag electrical system for
malfunctions. The light tells you if there is an electrical
problem. See Airbag Readiness Light
on page 4‑23for
more information.
2-59
Driver Side shown, Passenger Side similar
If your vehicle has seat-mounted side impact airbags for
the driver and right front passenger, they are in the side
of the seatbacks closest to the door.
{WARNING:
If something is between an occupant and an
airbag, the airbag might not inflate properly or it
might force the object into that person causing
severe injury or even death. The path of an
inflating airbag must be kept clear. Do not put
anything between an occupant and an airbag,
and do not attach or put anything on the steering
wheel hub or on or near any other airbag
covering.
Do not use seat accessories that block the
inflation path of a seat-mounted side impact
airbag.
2-61
What Will You See After an Airbag
Inflates?
After the frontal and seat-mounted side impact airbags
inflate, they quickly deflate, so quickly that some
people may not even realize the airbags inflated.
Some components of the airbag module may be hot for
several minutes. For location of the airbag modules,
seeWhat Makes an Airbag Inflate? on page 2‑63.
The parts of the airbag that come into contact with you
may be warm, but not too hot to touch. There may be
some smoke and dust coming from the vents in the
deflated airbags. Airbag inflation does not prevent the
driver from seeing out of the windshield or being able to
steer the vehicle, nor does it prevent people from
leaving the vehicle.
{WARNING:
When an airbag inflates, there may be dust in the
air. This dust could cause breathing problems for
people with a history of asthma or other breathing
trouble. To avoid this, everyone in the vehicle
should get out as soon as it is safe to do so.
If you have breathing problems but cannot get out
of the vehicle after an airbag inflates, then get (Continued)
WARNING: (Continued)
fresh air by opening a window or a door. If you
experience breathing problems following an airbag
deployment, you should seek medical attention.
The vehicle has a feature that may automatically unlock
the doors, turn the interior lamps on, turn on the hazard
warning flashers, and shut off the fuel system after the
airbags inflate. You can lock the doors, turn the interior
lamps off, and turn the hazard warning flashers off by
using the controls for those features.
{WARNING:
A crash severe enough to inflate the airbags may
have also damaged important functions in the
vehicle, such as the fuel system, brake and
steering systems, etc. Even if the vehicle appears
to be drivable after a moderate crash, there may
be concealed damage that could make it difficult
to safely operate the vehicle.
Use caution if you should attempt to restart the
engine after a crash has occurred.
2-64
The passenger sensing system will turn off the right
front passenger frontal airbag and seat-mounted side
impact airbag (if equipped) under certain conditions.
The driver airbags are not affected by the passenger
sensing system.
The passenger sensing system works with sensors
that are part of the right front passenger seat. The
sensors are designed to detect the presence of a
properly-seated occupant and determine if the right
front passenger frontal airbag and seat-mounted side
impact airbag (if equipped) should be enabled
(may inflate) or not.
According to accident statistics, children are safer when
properly secured in a rear seat in the correct child
restrain for their weight and size.
We recommend that children 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 the 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.
{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.
Even if the passenger sensing system has turned
off the right front passenger frontal airbag and
seat-mounted side impact airbag (if equipped),
no system is fail-safe. No one can guarantee that
an airbag will not deploy under some unusual
circumstance, even though the airbag(s) are off.
Secure rear-facing child restraints in a rear seat,
even if the airbag(s) are 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.
2-66