Safety Belt
Refer to the following sections for important information
on how to use safety belts properly.
•Safety Belts: They Are for Everyone on page 2-14.
•How to Wear Safety Belts Properly on page 2-20.
•Lap-Shoulder Belt on page 2-28.
•Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children (LATCH)
on page 2-46.
Sensing System for Passenger
Airbag
The passenger sensing system will turn off the right
front passenger frontal airbag and seat-mounted side
impact airbag under certain conditions. The driver airbags
and roof-rail airbags are not affected by this.
The passenger airbag status indicator will be visible on
the instrument panel when the vehicle is started.
SeePassenger Sensing System on page 2-67for
important information.
United StatesCanada
1-9
Shoulder Belt Height Adjuster
(Sedan Only)
The vehicle has a shoulder belt height adjuster for the
driver and right front passenger seating positions.
Adjust the height so that the shoulder portion of the belt
is centered on the shoulder. The belt should be away
from the face and neck, but not falling off the shoulder.
Improper shoulder belt height adjustment could
reduce the effectiveness of the safety belt in a crash.
Push down the release
button (A) and move the
height adjuster to the
desired position. The
adjuster can be moved up
by pushing the release
button up.
After the adjuster is set to the desired position, try to
move it down without pushing the release button
to make sure it has locked into position.
Safety Belt Pretensioners
The vehicle has safety belt pretensioners for front
outboard occupants. Although the safety belt
pretensioners cannot be seen, they are part of the
safety belt assembly. They can help tighten the safety
belts during the early stages of a moderate to severe
frontal and near frontal crash if the threshold conditions
for pretensioner activation are met. And, if the vehicle
has side impact airbags, safety belt pretensioners
can help tighten the safety belts in a side crash.
Pretensioners work only once. If the pretensioners
activate in a crash, they will need to be replaced, and
probably other new parts for the vehicle’s safety
belt system. SeeReplacing Restraint System Parts
After a Crash on page 2-75.
2-31
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.
{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 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.
{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.
2-39
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.
{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.
WARNING: (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 2-67for
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.
Keep in mind that an unsecured child restraint can move
around in a collision or sudden stop and injure people in
the vehicle. Be sure to properly secure any child restraint
in your vehicle — even when no child is in it.
2-44
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.
{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, 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 2-67for
additional information.
2-56
If the child restraint has the LATCH system, see Lower
Anchors and Tethers for Children (LATCH) for how
and where to install the child restraint using LATCH.
If a child restraint is secured using a safety belt and it
uses a top tether, see Lower Anchors and Tethers
for Children (LATCH) for top tether anchor locations.
Do not secure a child seat in a position without a
top tether anchor if a national or local law requires that
the top tether be anchored, or if the instructions that
come with the child restraint say that the top strap must
be anchored.
In Canada, the law requires that forward-facing child
restraints have a top tether, and that the tether be
attached.
You will be using the lap-shoulder belt to secure the
child restraint in this position. Follow the instructions that
came with the child restraint.
1. Move the seat as far back as it will go before
securing the forward-facing child restraint.
When the passenger sensing system has turned off
the right front passenger frontal airbag, the off
indicator on the passenger airbag status indicator
should light and stay lit when you start the vehicle.
See Passenger Airbag Status Indicator.
2. Put the child restraint on the seat.3. If the seat has a safety belt guide, remove the
safety belt from the guide on the head restraint
by sliding the webbing through the opening on the
guide. Do not secure the child restraint with the
safety belt routed through the guide.
4. Pick up the latch plate, and run the lap and shoulder
portions of the vehicle’s safety belt through or
around the restraint. The child restraint instructions
will show you how.
5. Push the latch plate into the buckle until it clicks.
Position the release button on the buckle so that
the safety belt could be quickly unbuckled if
necessary.
2-57
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 find it helpful
to use your knee to push down on the child
restraint as you tighten the belt.
6. Push and pull the child restraint in different
directions to be sure it is secure.If the airbag is off, the off indicator in the passenger
airbag status indicator will come on and stay on when
the vehicle is started.
If a child restraint has been installed and on indicator is
lit, see “If the On Indicator is Lit for a Child Restraint”
underPassenger Sensing System on page 2-67
for more information.
To remove the child restraint, unbuckle the vehicle
safety belt and let it return to the stowed position.
If your seat has a safety belt guide, insert the safety belt
into the guide on the head restraint by sliding the
webbing through the opening on the guide.
2-58
{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.
{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 2-36or
Infants and Young Children on page 2-39.
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. SeeAirbag Readiness Light on page 4-28
for more information.
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