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 feature — front outboard
•This vehicle has a safety belt system with an energy management
feature at the front seats to help further reduce the risk of injury in
the event of a head-on collision.
•The energy management feature has a retractor assembly that is
designed to extend the safety belt webbing in a controlled manner.
This helps reduce the belt force acting on the user’s chest.
WARNING:Failure to inspect and replace if necessary the belt
and retractor assembly after an accident could increase the risk
of injury in a collision.
Safety belt locking modes
All safety restraints in the vehicle are combination lap and shoulder
belts. The driver safety belt has the first locking mode and the front
outboard passenger and rear seat 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.
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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.
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 up or down.
Release the button and 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 pretensioner
Your vehicle is equipped with safety belt pretensioners at the driver and
front outboard passenger seating positions.
The safety belt pretensioner tightens the safety belts firmly against the
occupant’s body at the start of the crash.
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2011 MKZ(378)
Owners Guide, 1st Printing
USA(fus)