01 Safety
Supplemental Restraint System (SRS)01
25 Front airbags
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The front airbag systemThe front airbags supplement the three-point
seat belts. For these airbags to provide the
protection intended, seat belts must be worn
at all times.
The front airbag system includes gas genera-
tors surrounded by the airbags, and decelera-
tion sensors that activate the gas generators,
causing the airbags to be inflated with nitrogen
gas.
As the movement of the seats' occupants com-
presses the airbags, some of the gas is expel-
led at a controlled rate to provide better cush-
ioning. Both seat belt pretensioners also
deploy, minimizing seat belt slack. The entire
process, including inflation and deflation of the
airbags, takes approximately one fifth of a sec-
ond.
The location of the front airbags is indicated by
SRS AIRBAG embossed on the steering wheel
pad and above the glove compartment, and by
decals on both sun visors and on the front and
far right side of the dash.
The driver's side front airbag is folded and
located in the steering wheel hub.The passenger's side front airbag is folded
behind a panel located above the glove com-
partment.
WARNING
•The airbags in the vehicle are designed
to be a SUPPLEMENT to–not a replace-
ment for–the three-point seat belts. For
maximum protection, wear seat belts at
all times. Be aware that no system can
prevent all possible injuries that may
occur in an accident.
•Never drive with your hands on the
steering wheel pad/airbag housing.
•The front airbags are designed to help
prevent serious injury. Deployment
occurs very quickly and with consider-
able force. During normal deployment
and depending on variables such as
seating position, one may experience
abrasions, bruises, swellings, or other
injuries as a result from deployment of
one or both of the airbags.
•When installing any accessory equip-
ment, make sure that the front airbag
system is not damaged. Any interfer-
ence in the system could cause mal-
function.
01 Safety
Whiplash Protection System – WHIPS01
37
WARNING
•Boxes, suitcases, etc. wedged behind
the front seats could impede the func-
tion of the WHIPS system.
•If the rear seat backrests are folded
down, cargo must be secured to pre-
vent it from sliding forward against the
front seat backrests in the event of a
collision from the rear. This could inter-
fere with the action of the WHIPS sys-
tem.
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WARNING
Any contact between the front seat backr-
ests and the folded rear seat or a rear-facing
child seat could impede the function of the
WHIPS system. If the rear seat is folded
down, the occupied front seats must be
adjusted forward so that they do not touch
the folded rear seat.
03 Your driving environment
Seats
03
* Option/accessory, for more information, see Introduction.83 Front seats
Lumbar support: turn the control for firmer
or softer lumbar support.
Front-rear adjustment: lift the bar and
move the seat to the position of your
choice.
Raise/lower front edge of seat cushion,
pump up/down.
Backrest tilt: turn the control to adjust the
angle of the backrest.
Raise/lower the seat, pump up/down.
Control panel for power seat*.
WARNING
•Do not adjust the seat while driving. The
seat should be adjusted so that the
brake pedal can be depressed fully. In
addition, position the seat as far rear-
ward as comfort and control allow.
•Check that the seat is securely locked
into position after adjusting.
Folding the front seat backrest
The front passenger seat backrest can be
folded to a horizontal position to make room for
a long load. Fold the backrest as follows:
Move the seat as far back and down as
possible.
Adjust the backrest to an upright position.
Lift the catches on the rear of the backrest.
Without releasing the catches, push the
backrest forward.
Move the seat as far forward as possible
so that the head restraint slides under the
glove compartment.
WARNING
•When transporting long objects, cover
sharp edges on the load to help prevent
injury to occupants. Secure the load to
help prevent shifting during sudden
stops.
•When the seat's backrest is returned to
the upright position, push and pull it to
be sure that it is securely locked in this
position.
03 Your driving environment
Seats
03
86
Rear seats
Rear center head restraint
The center head restraint should be adjusted
according to the passenger's height. The
restraint should be carefully adjusted to sup-
port the occupant's head.
•Pull the head restraint up as required.
•To lower, press the button at the base of
the head restraint’s left support while
pressing the head restrain down.
WARNING
The center rear seat head restraint should
only be in its lowest position when this seat
is NOT occupied. When the center position
is occupied, the head restraint should be
correctly adjusted to the passenger’s
height. The upper edge of the head restraint
should be at least on a level with the upper-
most point of the seat occupant's ear.
Automatically folding down the rear
seat’s outboard head restraints
1.
The ignition must be in mode I or II.
2. Press the button to lower the rear head
restraints for improved visibility.
NOTE
•The head restraint must be returned to
the upright position manually.
•The outboard head restraints cannot be
folded down on models that are not
equipped with this button.
03 Your driving environment
Seats
03
87
CAUTION
The rear head restraints should not be kept
folded down for prolonged periods. This
could result in pressure marks in leather
upholstery.
WARNING
For safety reasons, no one should be
allowed to sit in the outboard rear seat posi-
tions if the head restraints are folded down.
If these positions are occupied, the head
restraints should be in the upright (fixed)
position.
Folding down the rear seat backrests
The rear seat backrests are split and can be folded
down together or separately
1. Pull the release control handle(s).
2. Fold the backrest forward. Adjust the cen-
ter seat head restraint if necessary.
NOTE
When the backrests are folded down, move
the outboard head restraints forward
slightly so that they do not catch on the seat
cushion.
CAUTION
To help avoid damage to the upholstery,
there should be no objects on the rear seat
and the seat belt should not be buckled
when the backrest is folded down.
WARNING
•Keep vehicle doors and trunk locked
and keep keys out of a child’s reach.
Unsupervised children could lock them-
selves in an open trunk and risk injury.
Children should be taught not to play in
vehicles.
•On hot days, the temperature in the
trunk or vehicle interior can rise very
quickly. Exposure of people to these
high temperatures for even a short
period of time can cause heat-related
injury or death. Small children are par-
ticularly at risk.