3
Seats / 3-2
Seat belts / 3-13
Child restraint system / 3-26
Air bag - advanced supplemental restraint system / 3-34
Safety features of your vehicle
Safety features of your vehicle
23
Driver’s seat
(1) Forward and backward
(2) Seatback angle
(3) Seat cushion height
(4) Headrest
(5) Armrest*
Front passenger’s seat
(6) Forward and backward
(7) Seatback angle
(8) Headrest
Rear seat
(9) Headrest*
(10) Seatback folding*
*: if equipped
SEATS
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33
Safety features of your vehicle
WARNING- Driver’s seat
Never attempt to adjust the seatwhile the vehicle is moving. This
could result in loss of control,
and an accident causing death,
serious injury, or property dam-
age.
Do not allow anything to interfere with the normal position of the
seatback. Storing items against a
seatback or in any other way
interfering with proper locking of
a seatback could result in serious
or fatal injury in a sudden stop or
collision.
seatback upright and the lap por-
tion of the seat belt snug and low
across the hips. This is the best
position to protect you in case of
an accident.
In order to avoid unnecessary and perhaps severe air bag
injuries, always sit as far back as
possible from the steering wheel
while maintaining comfortable
control of the vehicle. We recom-
mend that your chest be at least
10 inches (250 mm) away from
the steering wheel.
WARNING- Loose objects
Loose objects in the driver’s foot
area could interfere with the opera-
tion of the foot pedals, possibly
causing an accident. Do not place
anything under the front seats.
WARNING- Driver respon-
sibility for passengers
Riding in a vehicle with the seat-
back reclined could lead to serious
or fatal injury in an accident. If a
seat is reclined during an accident,
the occupant’s hips may slide
under the lap portion of the seat
belt, applying great force to the
unprotected abdomen. Serious or
fatal internal injuries could result.
The driver must advise the passen-
ger to keep the seatback in an
upright position whenever the vehi-
cle is in motion.
WARNING - Uprighting
seat
When you return the seatback to its
upright position, hold the seatback
and return it slowly and be sure
there are no other occupants
around the seat. If the seatback is
returned without being held and
controlled, the back of the seat
could spring forward resulting in
accidental injury to a person struck
by the seatback.
WARNING
Do not use a sitting cushion that
reduces friction between the seat
and passenger. The passenger's
hips may slide under the lap por-
tion of the seat belt during an acci-
dent or a sudden stop. Serious or
fatal internal injuries could result
because the seat belt can't operate
normally.
Safety features of your vehicle
43
(Continued)
Luggage and other cargo shouldbe laid flat in the cargo area. If
objects are large, heavy, or must
be piled, they must be secured.
Under no circumstances should
cargo be piled higher than the
seatbacks. Failure to follow these
warnings could result in serious
injury or death in the event of a
sudden stop, collision or rollover.WARNING- Rear seat-backs
The rear seatback must be
securely latched. If not, passen-
gers and objects could be thrown
forward resulting in serious
injury or death in the event of a
sudden stop or collision.
No passenger should ride in the cargo area or sit or lie on folded
seatbacks while the vehicle is
moving. All passengers must be
properly seated in seats and
restrained properly while riding.
When resetting the seatback to the upright position, make sure it
is securely latched by pushing it
forward and rearwards.
To avoid the possibility of burns, do not remove the carpet in the
cargo area. Emission control
devices beneath this floor gener-
ate high temperatures.
(Continued)
WARNING
After adjusting the seat, always
check that it is securely locked into
place by attempting to move the
seat forward or reverse without
using the lock release lever.
Sudden or unexpected movement
of the driver's seat could cause you
to lose control of the vehicle result-
ing in an accident.
WARNING
Do not adjust the seat while wear-ing seat belts. Moving the seat
cushion forward may cause
strong pressure on the abdomen.
Use extreme caution so that hands or other objects are not
caught in the seat mechanisms
while the seat is moving.
Do not put a cigarette lighter on the floor or seat. When you oper-
ate the seat, gas may gush out of
the lighter and cause fire.
Safety features of your vehicle
63
Armrest (for driver’s seat) (if equipped)
To use the armrest, swing down the arm-
rest to the lowest position.
Headrest
The driver's and front passenger's seats
are equipped with a headrest for the
occupant's safety and comfort.
The headrest not only provides comfort
for the driver and front passenger, but
also helps to protect the head and neck
in the event of a collision.
WARNING
For maximum effectiveness in case of an accident, the headrest
should be adjusted so the middle
of the headrest is at the same
height of the center of gravity of
an occupant's head. Generally,
the center of gravity of most peo-
ple's head is similar with the
height of the top of their eyes.
Also, adjust the headrest as close
to your head as possible. For this
reason, the use of a cushion that
holds the body away from the
seatback is not recommended.
Do not operate the vehicle with the headrests removed as severe
injury to the occupants may
occur in the event of an accident.
Headrests may provide protec-
tion against neck injuries when
properly adjusted.
Do not adjust the headrest posi- tion of the driver's seat while the
vehicle is in motion.
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Safety features of your vehicle
12
3
WARNING- Cargo
Cargo should always be secured to
prevent it from being thrown about
the vehicle in a collision and caus-
ing injury to the vehicle occupants.
Do not place objects in the rear
seats, since they cannot be proper-
ly secured and may hit the front
seat occupants in a collision.
WARNING - Cargo loading
Make sure the engine is off, the
automatic transaxle is in P (Park)
or the manual transaxle is in R
(Reverse) or 1st, and the parking
brake is securely applied whenever
loading or unloading cargo. Failure
to take these steps may allow the
vehicle to move if the shift lever is
inadvertently moved to another
position.
CAUTION- Rear seat belts
When returning the rear seatbacks
to the upright position, rememberto return the rear shoulder belts totheir proper position. Routing theseat belt webbing through the rearseat belt guides will help keep theseat belts from being trapped behind or under the seats.
CAUTION - Damaging rear
seat belt buckles
When folding the rear seatback,
insert the buckle in the pocketbetween the rear seatback andcushion. Doing so can prevent thebuckle from being damaged by the rear seatback.
Safety features of your vehicle
22
3
Seat belt precautionsInfant or small child
All 50 states have child restraint laws. You
should be aware of the specific require-
ments in your state. Child and/or infant
seats must be properly placed and
installed in the rear seat. For more infor-
mation about the use of these restraints,
refer to “Child restraint system” in this
section.✽ ✽
NOTICE
Small children are best protected from
injury in an accident when properly
restrained in the rear seat by a child
restraint system that meets the require-
ments of the Federal Motor Vehicle
Safety Standards. Before buying any
child restraint system, make sure that it
has a label certifying that it meets
Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard
213. The restraint must be appropriate
for your child's height and weight.
Check the label on the child restraint for
this information. Refer to “Child
restraint system” in this section.
WARNING
All occupants of the vehicle must
wear their seat belts at all times.
Seat belts and child restraints
reduce the risk of serious or fatal
injuries for all occupants in the
event of a collision or sudden stop.
Without a seat belt, occupants
could be shifted too close to a
deploying air bag, strike the interior
structure or be thrown from the
vehicle. Properly worn seat belts
greatly reduce these hazards.
Even with advanced air bags,
unbelted occupants can be severe-
ly injured by a deploying air bag.
Always follow the precautions
about seat belts, air bags and occu-
pant seating contained in this man-
ual.
WARNING
Every person in your vehicle needs
to be properly restrained at all
times, including infants and chil-
dren. Never hold a child in your
arms or lap when riding in a vehi-
cle. The violent forces created dur-
ing a crash will tear the child from
your arms and throw the child
against the interior. Always use a
child restraint appropriate for your
child's height and weight.
Safety features of your vehicle
24
3
Injured person
A seat belt should be used when an
injured person is being transported.
When this is necessary, you should con-
sult a physician for recommendations.
One person per belt
Two people (including children) should
never attempt to use a single seat belt.
This could increase the severity of
injuries in case of an accident.
Do not lie down
To reduce the chance of injuries in the
event of an accident and to achieve max-
imum effectiveness of the restraint sys-
tem, all passengers should be sitting up
and the front and rear seats should be in
an upright position when the car is mov-
ing. A seat belt cannot provide proper
protection if the person is lying down in
the rear seat or if the seats are in a
reclined position.
Care of seat belts
Seat belt systems should never be disas-
sembled or modified. In addition, care
should be taken to assure that seat belts
and belt hardware are not damaged by
seat hinges, doors or other abuse.WARNING
Riding with a reclined seatback
increases your chance of serious
or fatal injuries in the event of a col-
lision or sudden stop. The protec-
tion of your restraint system (seat
belts and air bags) is greatly
reduced by reclining your seat.
Seat belts must be snug against
your hips and chest to work proper-
ly. The more the seatback is
reclined, the greater the chance
that an occupant's hips will slide
under the lap belt causing serious
internal injuries or the occupant's
neck could strike the shoulder belt.
Drivers and passengers should
always sit well back in their seats,
properly belted, and with the seat-
backs upright.
WARNING
When you return the rear seatback
to its upright position after the rear
seatback was folded down, be care-
ful not to damage the seat belt web-
bing or buckle. Be sure that the
webbing or buckle does not get
caught or pinched in the rear seat.
A seat belt with damaged webbing
or buckle will not be as strong and
could possibly fail during a colli-
sion or sudden stop, resulting in
serious injury.