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WARNING:When possible, all children 12 years old and under
should be properly restrained in a rear seating position.
WARNING:Safety belts and seats can become hot in a vehicle
that has been closed up in sunny weather; they could burn a
small child. Check seat covers and buckles before you place a child
anywhere near them.
WARNING:Front and rear seat occupants, including pregnant
women, should wear safety belts for optimum protection in an
accident.
Combination lap and shoulder belts
1. Insert the belt tongue into the
proper buckle (the buckle closest to
the direction the tongue is coming
from) until you hear a snap and feel
it latch. Make sure the tongue is
securely fastened in the buckle.
2. To unfasten, push the release
button and remove the tongue from
the buckle.
Safety belt with cinch tongue (Front center seat only)
The cinch tongue will slide up and down the belt webbing when the belt
is stowed or while putting safety belts on. When the lap/shoulder safety
belt is buckled, the cinch tongue will allow the lap portion to be
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shortened, but pinches the webbing to keep the lap portion from getting
longer. The cinch tongue is designed to slip during a crash, so always
wear the shoulder belt properly and don’t allow any slack in either the
lap or shoulder portions.
Before you can reach and latch a combination lap and shoulder belt
having a cinch tongue into the buckle, you may have to lengthen the lap
belt portion of it.
1. To lengthen the lap belt, pull
some webbing out of the shoulder
belt retractor.
2. While holding the webbing below
the tongue, grasp the tip (metal
portion) of the tongue so that it is
parallel to the webbing and slide the
tongue upward.
3. Provide enough lap belt length so that the tongue can reach the
buckle.
How to fasten the cinch tongue
1. Pull the combination lap and shoulder belt from the retractor so that
the shoulder belt portion of the safety belt crosses your shoulder and
chest.
2. Be sure the belt is not twisted. If the belt is twisted, remove the twist.
3. Insert the belt tongue into the proper buckle for your seating position
until you hear a snap and feel it latch.
4. Make sure the tongue is securely fastened to the buckle by pulling on
the tongue.
WARNING:The lap belt should fit snugly and as low as possible
around the hips, not across the waist.
WARNING:Front and rear seat occupants, including pregnant
women, should wear safety belts for optimum protection in an
accident.
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WARNING:Each seating position in your vehicle has a specific
safety belt assembly which is made up of one buckle and one
tongue that are designed to be used as a pair. 1) Use the shoulder belt
on the outside shoulder only. Never wear the shoulder belt under the
arm. 2) Never swing the safety belt around your neck over the inside
shoulder. 3) Never use a single belt for more than one person.
While you are fastened in the safety belt, the combination lap/shoulder
belt with a cinch tongue adjusts to your movement. However, if you
brake hard, turn hard, or if your vehicle receives an impact of 5 mph
(8 km/h) or more, the safety belt will become locked and help reduce
your forward movement.
Restraint of pregnant women
WARNING:Always ride and drive with your seatback upright
and the safety belt properly fastened. The lap portion of the
safety belt should fit snug and be positioned low across the hips. The
shoulder portion of the safety belt should be positioned across the
chest. Pregnant women should also follow this practice. See figure
below.
Pregnant women should always
wear their safety belt. The lap belt
portion of a combination lap and
shoulder belt should be positioned
low across the hips below the belly
and worn as tight as comfort will
allow. The shoulder belt should be
positioned to cross the middle of
the shoulder and the center of the
chest.
Energy management retractors
Your vehicle has a safety belt system equipped with energy management
retractors at the driver and front outboard passenger seating positions.
An energy management retractor is a device which pays out webbing in a
controlled manner. This feature is designed to help further reduce the
risk of force-related injuries to the occupant.
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Safety belt systems equipped with an energy management retractor must
be replaced if they were in use during a frontal collision which resulted
in deployment of the frontal airbags. Refer to theSafety belt
maintenancesection in this chapter.
Safety belt locking modes
All safety restraints in the vehicle are combination lap and shoulder
belts. The driver safety belt and the optional front center seat’s safety
belt have the first locking mode only. All outboard passenger and rear
safety belts have both types of locking modes described as follows:
Vehicle sensitive mode
This is the normal retractor mode, which allows free shoulder belt length
adjustment to your movements and locking in response to vehicle
movement. For example, if the driver brakes suddenly or turns a corner
sharply, or the vehicle receives an impact of approximately 5 mph
(8 km/h) or more, the combination safety belts will lock to help reduce
forward movement of the driver and passengers.
In addition, the retractor is designed to lock if the webbing is pulled out
too quickly. If this occurs, let the belt retract slightly and pull webbing
out again in a slow and controlled manner.
Automatic locking mode
In this mode, the shoulder belt is automatically pre-locked. The belt will
still retract to remove any slack in the shoulder belt. The automatic
locking mode is not available on the driver safety belt or the optional
front seat’s center safety belt.
When to use the automatic locking mode
This mode should be usedany timea child safety seat is installed in a
front outboard passenger seating position in a Regular Cab / SuperCab /
SuperCrew or any rear seating position of a SuperCab or SuperCrew. The
optional front seat’s center safety belt has a cinch mechanism. Refer to
Safety belt with cinch tongue earlier in this chapter. Children 12 years
old and under should be properly restrained in a rear seat whenever
possible. Refer toSafety restraints for childrenorSafety seats for
childrenlater in this chapter.
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How to use the automatic locking mode
1. Buckle the combination lap and
shoulder belt (front safety
belt/buckle shown, rear similar).
2. Grasp the shoulder portion and
pull downward until the entire belt
is pulled out.
•Allow the belt to retract. As the belt retracts, you will hear a clicking
sound. This indicates the safety belt is now in the automatic locking
mode.
How to disengage the automatic locking mode
Disconnect the combination lap/shoulder belt and allow it to retract
completely to disengage the automatic locking mode and activate the
vehicle sensitive (emergency) locking mode.
WARNING:After any vehicle collision, the safety belt system at
all passenger seating positions must be checked by an authorized
dealer to verify that the “automatic locking retractor” feature for child
seats is still functioning properly. In addition, all safety belts should be
checked for proper function.
WARNING:BELT AND RETRACTOR ASSEMBLY MUST BE
REPLACED if the safety belt assembly “automatic locking
retractor” feature or any other safety belt function is not operating
properly when checked by an authorized dealer. Failure to replace the
belt and retractor assembly could increase the risk of injury in
collisions.
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Safety belt pretensioner
Your vehicle is equipped with safety belt pretensioners at the driver and
right front passenger seating positions.
The safety belt pretensioner removes some slack from the safety belt
system at the start of a crash. The safety belt pretensioner uses the
same crash sensor system as the front airbags and Safety Canopy
System. When the safety belt pretensioner deploys, the lap and shoulder
belt are tightened.
When the Safety CanopySystem and/or the front airbags are activated,
the safety belt pretensioners for the driver and right front passenger
seating positions will be activated when the respective seatbelt is
properly buckled.
WARNING:The driver and the right front passenger safety belt
system (including retractors, buckles and height adjusters) must
be replaced if the vehicle is involved in a collision that results in
deployment of front airbags or Safety CanopySystem and safety belt
pretensioners.
WARNING:Failure to replace the safety belt assembly under
the above conditions could result in severe personal injuries in
the event of a collision.
Refer to theSafety belt maintenancesection in this chapter.
Safety belt usage sensors
The driver and front outboard passenger safety belt buckles are
equipped with sensors that detect if the safety belts are fastened. The
sensors provide information to the Personal Safety Systemwhich can
then adapt the airbag deployment or safety belt pretensioner activation
based upon safety belt usage.
WARNING:The Personal Safety Systemprovides the most
benefit to belted occupants. The system monitors and tailors the
airbag deployment based upon safety belt usage. Failure to properly
wear your safety belt will increase your risk of injury.
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Front safety belt height adjustment
Your vehicle has safety belt height
adjustments at the front outboard
seating positions. Adjust the height
of the shoulder belt so the belt rests
across the middle of your shoulder.
To adjust the shoulder belt height,
pull on the center button and slide
the height adjuster down. Release
the button and pull down on the
height adjuster to make sure it is
locked in place. To adjust the belt
upward, slide the adjuster up and then pull down on the height adjuster
to make sure it is locked in place
WARNING:Position the safety belt height adjusters so that the
belt rests across the middle of your shoulder. Failure to adjust
the safety belt properly could reduce the effectiveness of the safety
belt and increase the risk of injury in a collision.
Safety belt warning light and indicator chime
The safety belt warning light illuminates in the instrument cluster and a
chime sounds to remind the occupants to fasten their safety belts.
Conditions of operation
If... Then...
The driver’s safety belt is not
buckled before the ignition switch
is turned to the on position...The safety belt warning light
illuminates 1-2 minutes and the
warning chime sounds
4-8 seconds.
The driver’s safety belt is buckled
while the indicator light is
illuminated and the warning chime
is sounding...The safety belt warning light and
warning chime turn off.
The driver’s safety belt is buckled
before the ignition switch is turned
to the on position...The safety belt warning light and
indicator chime remain off.
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Belt-Minder
The Belt-Minderfeature is a supplemental warning to the safety belt
warning function. This feature provides additional reminders by
intermittently sounding a chime and illuminating the safety belt warning
lamp in the instrument cluster when the driver’s and front passenger’s
safety belt is unbuckled.
The Belt-Minderfeature uses information from the front passenger
sensing system to determine if a front seat passenger is present and
therefore potentially in need of a warning. To avoid activating the
Belt-Minderfeature for objects placed in the front passenger seat,
warnings will only be given to large front seat occupants as determined
by the front passenger sensing system.
Both the driver’s and passenger’s safety belt usages are monitored and
either may activate the Belt-Minderfeature. The warnings are the same
for the driver and the front passenger. If the Belt-Minderwarnings have
expired (warnings for approximately five minutes) for one occupant
(driver or front passenger), the other occupant can still activate the
Belt-Minderfeature.
Note:If you are using MyKey™, the Belt-Minderwarning will not
expire. Refer toMyKey™in theLocks and securitychapter.
When the Belt-Minderfeature is activated, the safety belt warning light
illuminates and the warning chime sounds for six seconds every
30 seconds, repeating for approximately five minutes or until the safety
belts are buckled.
The Belt-Minderfeature uses two different warning chimes. During the
first minute of activation, the warning chime will sound once every
second. The remaining warning chimes will sound twice every second
while the system is activated.
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