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Installing A Child Restraint with a Switchable
Automatic Locking Retractor (ALR)
1. Place the child seat in the center of the seatingposition. For some second row seats, you may need to
recline the seat and/or raise the head restraint to get a
better fit.
2. Pull enough of the seat belt webbing from the retractor to pass it through the belt path of the child restraint.
Do not twist the belt webbing in the belt path.
3. Slide the latch plate into the buckle until you hear a “click.”
4. Pull on the webbing to make the lap portion tight against the child seat.
5. To lock the seat belt, pull down on the shoulder part of the belt until you have pulled all the seat belt webbing
out of the retractor. Then, allow the webbing to retract back into the retractor. As the webbing retracts, you
will hear a clicking sound. This means the seat belt is
now in the Automatic Locking mode.
6. Try to pull the webbing out of the retractor. If it is locked, you should not be able to pull out any web-
bing. If the retractor is not locked, repeat step 5.
7. Finally, pull up on any excess webbing to tighten the lap portion around the child restraint while you push
the child restraint rearward and downward into the
vehicle seat.
8. If the child restraint has a top tether strap and the seating position has a top tether anchorage, connect
the tether strap to the anchorage and tighten the tether
strap. Refer to “Lower Anchors and Tethers for Chil-
dren (LATCH) Restraint System” for directions to
attach a tether anchor.
90 THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE
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Periodic Safety Checks You Should Make Outside
The Vehicle
Tires
Examine tires for excessive tread wear and uneven wear
patterns. Check for stones, nails, glass, or other objects
lodged in the tread or sidewall. Inspect the tread for cuts
and cracks. Inspect sidewalls for cuts, cracks and bulges.
Check the wheel nuts for tightness. Check the tires
(including spare) for proper cold inflation pressure.
Lights
Have someone observe the operation of brake lights and
exterior lights while you work the controls. Check turn
signal and high beam indicator lights on the instrument
panel.
Door Latches
Check for positive closing, latching, and locking.
Fluid Leaks
Check area under vehicle after overnight parking for fuel,
engine coolant, oil, or other fluid leaks. Also, if gasoline
fumes are detected or if fuel, power steering fluid (if
equipped), or brake fluid leaks are suspected, the cause
should be located and corrected immediately.
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THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE 99
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Outside Mirrors
To receive maximum benefit, adjust the outside mirror(s)
to center on the adjacent lane of traffic and a slight
overlap of the view obtained from the inside mirror.
NOTE:The passenger side convex outside mirror will
give a much wider view to the rear, and especially of the
lane next to your vehicle.
WARNING!
Vehicles and other objects seen in the passenger side
convex mirror will look smaller and farther away
than they really are. Relying too much on your
passenger side convex mirror could cause you to
collide with another vehicle or other object. Use your
inside mirror when judging the size or distance of a
vehicle seen in the passenger side convex mirror.
Outside Mirrors Folding Feature
The mirrors are equipped with a rotational hinge. The
mirrors have one detent (clockwise) towards the rear of
the vehicle and three detent’s (counterclockwise) towards
the front of the vehicle.
Folding Mirrors
3
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WARNING!
Do not ride with the seatback reclined so that the
shoulder belt is no longer resting against your chest.
In a collision you could slide under the seat belt,
which could result in serious injury or death.
Passenger Seat Easy Entry
On the passenger seat, pull forward on the lever located
on the side of the seatback in order to dump the seatback
and slide the seat forward. You can also temporarily
remove the seat belt from the guide loop on the seat and
allow the seat belt to retract out of the way. This allows
for easier access to the rear seat. To return the seat to a
normal seating position, first return the seatback to its
original recline location and then slide the entire seat
back to the pre-set lock position.
Head Restraints
Head restraints are designed to reduce the risk of injury
by restricting head movement in the event of a rear
impact. Head restraints should be adjusted so that the top
of the head restraint is located above the top of your ear.
Easy Entry Lever
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UNDERSTANDING THE FEATURES OF YOUR VEHICLE 153
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WARNING!
•Be certain that the seatback is securely locked into
position. If the seatback is not securely locked into
position, the seat will not provide the proper sta-
bility for child seats and/or passengers. An improp-
erly latched seat could cause serious injury.
• The cargo area in the rear of the vehicle (with the
rear seatbacks in the locked-up or folded down
position) should not be used as a play area by
children when the vehicle is in motion. They could
be seriously injured in a collision. Children should
be seated and using the proper restraint system.
TO OPEN AND CLOSE THE HOOD
Two latches must be released to open the hood.
1. Pull the hood release lever located under the left side of the instrument panel.
Hood Release Lever
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2. Move to the outside of the vehicle and push the safetycatch to the left. The safety catch is located under the
center front edge of the hood.CAUTION!
To prevent possible damage, do not slam the hood to
close it. Lower the hood until it is open approxi-
mately 6 in (15 cm), and then drop it. This should
secure both latches. Never drive your vehicle unless
the hood is fully closed, with both latches engaged.
WARNING!
Be sure the hood is fully latched before driving your
vehicle. If the hood is not fully latched, it could open
when the vehicle is in motion and block your vision.
Failure to follow this warning could result in serious
injury or death.
Hood Safety Catch
158 UNDERSTANDING THE FEATURES OF YOUR VEHICLE
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LIGHTS
Headlights And Parking Lights
The headlight switch is located on the left side of the
instrument panel. This switch controls the operation of
the headlights, parking lights, instrument panel lights,
instrument panel light dimming, interior lights and fog
lights.Rotate the headlight switch clockwise to the first detent
for parking light and instrument panel light operation.
Turn it to the second detent for headlight, parking light
and instrument panel light operation.
Headlight Switch
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UNDERSTANDING THE FEATURES OF YOUR VEHICLE 159
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Automatic Headlights — If Equipped
This system automatically turns the headlights on or off
according to ambient light levels. To turn the system on,
rotate the headlight switch counterclockwise to the A
(AUTO) position. When the system is on, the headlight
time delay feature is also on. This means the headlights
will stay on for up to 90 seconds after you place the
ignition in the OFF position. To turn the automatic
system off, move the headlight switch out of the AUTO
position.
NOTE:The engine must be running before the head-
lights will come on in the automatic mode.
Headlights On With Wipers (Available With
Automatic Headlights Only)
When this feature is active, the headlights will turn on
approximately 10 seconds after the wipers are turned on
if the headlight switch is placed in the AUTO position. In addition, the headlights will turn off when the wipers are
turned off if they were turned on by this feature.
The Headlights On with Wipers feature can be enabled or
disabled. Refer to “Electronic Vehicle Information Center
(EVIC)/Customer-Programmable Features” in “Under-
standing Your Instrument Panel” for further information.
Headlight Time Delay
This feature provides the safety of headlight illumination
for up to 90 seconds when leaving your vehicle in an
unlit area.
To activate the delay feature, place the ignition in the OFF
position while the headlights are still on. Then, turn off
the headlights within 45 seconds. The delay interval
begins when the headlight switch is turned off.
If you turn the headlights or parking lights on, or place
the ignition in the RUN position again, the system will
cancel the delay.
160 UNDERSTANDING THE FEATURES OF YOUR VEHICLE