seat owner ’s manual to ensure you have the correct seat
for your child. Use the restraint that is correct for your
child.
WARNING!
In a collision, an unrestrained child, even a tiny baby,
can become a projectile inside the vehicle. The force
required to hold even an infant on your lap could
become so great that you could not hold the child, no
matter how strong you are. The child and others
could be badly injured. Any child riding in your
vehicle should be in a proper restraint for the child’s
size.
Infants And Child Restraints
Safety experts recommend that children ride rearward-
facing in the vehicle until they are two years old or until
they reach either the height or weight limit of their rearfacing child safety seat. Two types of child restraints can
be used rearward-facing: infant carriers and convertible
child seats.
The infant carrier is only used rearward-facing in the
vehicle. It is recommended for children from birth until
they reach the weight or height limit of the infant carrier.
Convertible child seats can be used either rearward-
facing or forward-facing in the vehicle. Convertible child
seats often have a higher weight limit in the rearward-
facing direction than infant carriers do, so they can be
used rearward-facing by children who have outgrown
their infant carrier but are still less than at least two years
old. Children should remain rearward-facing until they
reach the highest weight or height allowed by their
convertible child seat. Both types of child restraints are
held in the vehicle by the lap/shoulder belt or the
LATCH child restraint anchor system. Refer to “Lower
Anchors and Tether for CHildren (LATCH)”.
2
THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE 77
WARNING!
Rearward-facing child seats must never be used in
the front seat of a vehicle with the front passenger air
bag unless the air bag is turned off. An air bag
deployment could cause severe injury or death to
infants in this position.
Older Children And Child Restraints
Children who are two years old or who have outgrown
their rear-facing convertible child seat can ride forward-
facing in the vehicle. Forward-facing child seats and
convertible child seats used in the forward-facing direc-
tion are for children who are over two years old or who
have outgrown the rear-facing weight or height limit of
their rear-facing convertible child seat. Children should
remain in a forward-facing child seat with a harness for
as long as possible, up to the highest weight or height
allowed by the child seat. These child seats are also heldin the vehicle by the lap/shoulder belt or the LATCH
child restraint anchorage system. Refer to “Lower An-
chors and Tether for CHildren (LATCH)”.
All children whose weight or height is above the
forward-facing limit for the child seat should use a
belt-positioning booster seat until the vehicle’s seat belts
fit properly. If the child cannot sit with knees bent over
the vehicle’s seat cushion while the child’s back is against
the seatback, they should use a belt-positioning booster
seat. The child and belt-positioning booster seat are held
in the vehicle by the lap/shoulder belt.
78 THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE
•The restraint must be appropriate for your child’s
weight and height. Check the label on the restraint for
weight and height limits.
•Carefully follow the instructions that come with the
restraint. If you install the restraint improperly, it may
not work when you need it.
NOTE: For additional information, refer to
www.seatcheck.org or call 1–866–SEATCHECK. Cana-
dian residents should refer to Transport Canada’s web-
site for additional information: http://www.tc.gc.ca/
roadsafety/safedrivers/childsafety/index.htm
Lower Anchors and Tether for CHildren (LATCH)
Your vehicle is equipped with the child restraint anchor-
age system called LATCH, which stands for Lower
Anchors and Tether for CHildren. The LATCH system
provides for the installation of the child restraint without
using the vehicle seat belt, instead securing the child restraint using lower anchorages and upper tether straps
from the child restraint to the vehicle structure.
LATCH-compatible child restraint systems are now avail-
able. However, because the lower anchorages are to be
introduced over a period of years, child restraint systems
having attachments for those anchorages will continue to
have features for installation using the vehicle’s seat
belts. Child restraints having tether straps and hooks for
connection to the top tether anchorages have been avail-
able for some time. For some older child restraints, many
child restraint manufacturers offer add-on tether strap
kits or retrofit kits. You are urged to take advantage of all
the available attachments provided with your child re-
straint in any vehicle.
Child seats with fixed lower attachments must be in-
stalled in the outboard positions only. If you are installing
LATCH-compatible child restraints in adjacent rear seat-
ing positions, you can use the LATCH anchors or the
80 THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE
▫Commands ........................ 132
▫ Voice Training ...................... 136
Seats .............................. 136
▫ Power Seats — If Equipped ............. 137
▫ Heated Seats — If Equipped ............ 138
▫ Manual Front Seat Forward/Rearward
Adjustment ........................ 140
▫ Manual Seat Height Adjustment — If
Equipped .......................... 141
▫ Manual Lumbar — If Equipped .......... 141
▫ Driver’s Seatback Recline ............... 142
▫ Fold-Flat Front Passenger Seat ........... 143
▫ Head Restraints ..................... 144
▫ Folding Rear Seat .................... 147 ▫
Reclining Rear Seat — If Equipped ........ 148
To Open And Close The Hood ............ 150
Lights ............................. 152
▫ Multifunction Lever .................. 152
▫ Headlights And Parking Lights .......... 153
▫ Daytime Running Lights — If Equipped .... 153
▫ Lights-On Reminder .................. 154
▫ Fog Lights — If Equipped .............. 154
▫ Turn Signals ........................ 155
▫ High/Low Beam Switch ............... 155
▫ Flash-To-Pass ....................... 155
▫ Instrument Panel Dimmer .............. 156
94 UNDERSTANDING THE FEATURES OF YOUR VEHICLE
Adjusting The Seat Up Or Down
The height of the seats can be adjusted up or down. Pull
upward or push downward on the seat switch, the seat
will move in the direction of the switch. Release the
switch when the desired position has been reached.
Tilting The Seat Up Or Down
The angle of the seat cushion can be adjusted in four
directions. Pull upward or push downward on the front
or rear of the seat switch, the front or rear of the seat
cushion will move in the direction of the switch. Release
the switch when the desired position has been reached.
WARNING!
•Adjusting a seat while driving may be dangerous.
Moving a seat while driving could result in loss of
control which could cause a collision and serious
injury or death.(Continued)
WARNING! (Continued)
•Seats should be adjusted before fastening the seat
belts and while the vehicle is parked. Serious
injury or death could result from a poorly adjusted
seat belt.
CAUTION!
Do not place any article under a power seat or
impede its ability to move as it may cause damage to
the seat controls. Seat travel may become limited if
movement is stopped by an obstruction in the seat’s
path.
Heated Seats — If Equipped
On some models, the front driver and passenger seats
may be equipped with heaters in both the seat cushions
and seatbacks.
138 UNDERSTANDING THE FEATURES OF YOUR VEHICLE
Manual Seat Height Adjustment — If Equipped
The driver ’s seat height can be raised or lowered by
using a lever, located on the outboard side of the seat.
Pull upward on the lever to raise the seat height or push
downward on the lever to lower the seat height.
Manual Lumbar — If Equipped
The lumbar adjustment lever is located on the outboard
side of the driver ’s seatback. Rotate the lever downward
to increase the lumbar support or rotate the lever upward
to decrease the lumbar support.
Seat Height AdjustmentLumbar Adjustment
3
UNDERSTANDING THE FEATURES OF YOUR VEHICLE 141
Tire Sizing Chart
EXAMPLE:
Size Designation:
P= Passenger car tire size based on U.S. design standards
....blank.... = Passenger car tire based on European design standards
LT = Light truck tire based on U.S. design standards
TorS= Temporary spare tire
31 = Overall diameter in inches (in)
215 = Section width in millimeters (mm)
65 = Aspect ratio in percent (%)
— Ratio of section height to section width of tire
10.5 = Section width in inches (in)
R = Construction code
—R means radial construction
— D means diagonal or bias construction
15 = Rim diameter in inches (in)
5
STARTING AND OPERATING 333
Gross Axle Weight Rating (GAWR)
The GAWR is the maximum capacity of the front and rear
axles. Distribute the load over the front and rear axles
evenly. Make sure that you do not exceed either the front
or rear GAWR. Refer to “Vehicle Loading/Vehicle Certi-
fication Label” in “Starting and Operating” for further
information.
WARNING!
It is important that you do not exceed the maximum
front or rear GAWR. A dangerous driving condition
can result if either rating is exceeded. You could lose
control of the vehicle and have a collision.
Tongue Weight (TW)
The tongue weight is the downward force exerted on the
hitch ball by the trailer. In most cases it should not be less
than 10% or more than 15% of the trailer load. You must
consider this as part of the load on your vehicle.
Frontal Area
The frontal area is the maximum height multiplied by the
maximum width of the front of a trailer.
Trailer Sway Control
The trailer sway control is a telescoping link that can be
installed between the hitch receiver and the trailer tongue
that typically provides adjustable friction associated with
the telescoping motion to dampen any unwanted trailer
swaying motions while traveling.
Weight-Carrying Hitch
A weight-carrying hitch supports the trailer tongue
weight, just as if it were luggage located at a hitch ball or
some other connecting point of the truck. These kind of
hitches are the most popular on the market today and
they are commonly used to tow small- and medium-
sized trailers.
5
STARTING AND OPERATING 373