2014 FIAT 500 ABARTH belt

!LIFTGATE............................25
!OCCUPANT RESTRAINTS................26
▫Lap/Shoulder Belts....................29
▫Lap/Shoulder Belt Untwisting Procedure.....34
▫Seat Belts In Passenger Seating Positions......34
▫Automatic Locking Retractor Mode (ALR) — If
Equipped............................35
▫Energy Management Feature..............36
▫Seat Belt Pretensioning And Load Limitation . . .37
▫Enhanced Seat Belt Use Reminder System
(BeltAlert®)..........................37
▫Seat Belt Extender.....................38
▫Seat Belts And Pregnant Women...........39
▫Supplemental Restraint System (SRS) — Air
Bags...............................39
▫Advanced Front Air Bag Features...........42
▫Air Bag Deployment Sensors And Controls....46
▫Event Data Recorder (EDR)...............56
▫Child Restraints.......................57
▫Transporting Pets......................78
!ENGINE BREAK-IN RECOMMENDATIONS....78
!SAFETY TIPS..........................79
▫Transporting Passengers..................79
▫Exhaust Gas..........................80
▫Safety Checks You Should Make Inside The
Vehicle.............................81
▫Periodic Safety Checks You Should Make Outside
The Vehicle..........................83
10 THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE

WARNING!
•Driving with the liftgate open can allow poisonous
exhaust gases into your vehicle. You and your
passengers could be injured by these fumes. Keep
the liftgate closed when you are operating the
vehicle.
•If you are required to drive with the liftgate open,
make sure that all windows are closed, and the
climate control blower switch is set at high speed.
Do not use the recirculation mode.
Gas props support the liftgate in the open position.
However, because the gas pressure drops with tempera-
ture, it may be necessary to assist the props when
opening the liftgate in cold weather.
OCCUPANT RESTRAINTS
Some of the most important safety features in your
vehicle are the restraint systems:
•Three-point lap and shoulder belts for all seating
positions
•Advanced Front Air Bags for driver and front passen-
ger
•Supplemental Driver Side Knee Air Bag
•Supplemental Side Air Bag Inflatable Curtains (SABIC)
for the driver and passengers seated next to a window
•Supplemental Seat-Mounted Side Air Bags (SAB)
•Knee bolsters/blockers for front seat occupants
•Front seat belts incorporate pretensioners that may
enhance occupant protection by managing occupant
energy during an impact event
26 THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE

•All seat belt systems (except the driver’s) include
Automatic Locking Retractors (ALRs), which lock the
seat belt webbing into position by extending the belt
all the way out and then adjusting the belt to the
desired length to restrain a child seat or secure a large
item in a seat — if equipped
Please pay close attention to the information in this
section. It tells you how to use your restraint system
properly, to keep you and your passengers as safe as
possible.
If you will be carrying children too small for adult-sized
seat belts, the seat belts or the Lower Anchors and Tether
for Children (LATCH) feature also can be used to hold
infant and child restraint systems. For more information
on LATCH, refer to “LATCH — Child Seat Anchorage
System (Lower Anchors and Tether for Children).”
Here are some simple steps you can take to minimize the
risk of harm from a deploying air bag:
1. Children 12 years old and under should always ride
buckled up in a rear seat.
WARNING!
•Never place a rear facing infant seat in front of an
air bag. A deploying Passenger Advanced Front Air
Bag can cause death or serious injury to a child 12
years or younger, including a child in a rearward
facing infant seat.
•Only use a rearward-facing child restraint in a
vehicle with a rear seat.
Children that are not big enough to wear the vehicle seat
belt properly (see section on Child Restraints) should be
secured in the rear seat in child restraints or belt-
positioning booster seats. Older children who do not use
child restraints or belt-positioning booster seats should
2
THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE 27

ride properly buckled up in the rear seat. Never allow
children to slide the shoulder belt behind them or under
their arm.
You should read the instructions provided with your
child restraint to make sure that you are using it properly.
2. All occupants should always wear their lap and
shoulder belts properly.
3. The driver and front passenger seats should be moved
back as far as practical to allow the Advanced Front
Air Bags room to inflate.
4. Do not lean against the door or window. Your vehicle
has Supplemental Side Air Bag Inflatable Curtains
(SABIC) or Supplemental Seat-Mounted Side Air Bags
(SAB), and when deployment occurs, the SABIC and
SAB air bags will inflate forcefully into the space
between you and the door.
5. If the air bag system in this vehicle needs to be
modified to accommodate a disabled person, contact
the Customer Center. Phone numbers are provided in
#If You Need Consumer Assistance.#
WARNING!
•Relying on the air bags alone could lead to more
severe injuries in a collision. The air bags work
with your seat belt to restrain you properly. In
some collisions, the air bags won’t deploy at all.
Always wear your seat belts even though you have
air bags.
(Continued)
28 THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE

WARNING!(Continued)
•Being too close to the steering wheel or instrument
panel during Advanced Front Air Bag deployment
could cause serious injury, including death. Air
bags need room to inflate. Sit back, comfortably
extending your arms to reach the steering wheel or
instrument panel.
•Side air bags also need room to inflate. Do not lean
against the door or window. Sit upright in the
center of the seat.
•In a collision, you and your passengers can suffer
much greater injuries if you are not properly buck-
led up. You can strike the interior of your vehicle or
other passengers, or you can be thrown out of the
vehicle. Always be sure you and others in your
vehicle are buckled up properly.
Buckle up even though you are an excellent driver, even
on short trips. Someone on the road may be a poor driver
and cause a collision that includes you. This can happen
far away from home or on your own street.
Research has shown that seat belts save lives, and they
can reduce the seriousness of injuries in a collision. Some
of the worst injuries happen when people are thrown
from the vehicle. Seat belts reduce the possibility of
ejection and the risk of injury caused by striking the
inside of the vehicle. Everyone in a motor vehicle should
be belted at all times.
Lap/Shoulder Belts
All the seating positions in your vehicle are equipped
with combination lap/shoulder belts.
The belt webbing retractor is designed to lock during
very sudden stops or collisions. This feature allows the
shoulder part of the belt to move freely with you under
normal conditions. However in a collision, the belt will
2
THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE 29

lock and reduce the risk of you striking the inside of the
vehicle or being thrown out.
WARNING!
•It is dangerous to ride in a cargo area, inside or
outside of a vehicle. In a collision, people riding in
these areas are more likely to be seriously injured
or killed.
•Do not allow people to ride in any area of your
vehicle that is not equipped with seats and seat
belts.
•Be sure everyone in your vehicle is in a seat and
using a seat belt properly.
•Wearing a seat belt incorrectly is dangerous. Seat
belts are designed to go around the large bones of
your body. These are the strongest parts of your
body and can take the forces of a collision the best.
(Continued)
WARNING!(Continued)
•Wearing your belt in the wrong place could make
your injuries in a collision much worse. You might
suffer internal injuries, or you could even slide out
of part of the belt. Follow these instructions to wear
your seat belt safely and to keep your passengers
safe, too.
•Two people should never be belted into a single
seat belt. People belted together can crash into one
another in a collision, hurting one another badly.
Never use a lap/shoulder belt or lap belt for more
than one person, no matter what their size.
Lap/Shoulder Belt Operating Instructions
1. Enter the vehicle and close the door. Sit back and
adjust the seat.
2. The seat belt latch plate is along side the pillar near the
back of your seat. Grasp the latch plate and pull out
30 THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE

the belt. Slide the latch plate up the webbing as far as
necessary to allow the belt to go around your lap.
3. When the belt is long enough to fit, insert the latch
plate into the buckle until you hear a “click.”
Pulling Out The Latch PlateInserting Latch Plate Into Buckle
2
THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE 31

WARNING!
•A belt buckled into the wrong buckle will not
protect you properly. The lap portion could ride too
high on your body, possibly causing internal inju-
ries. Always buckle your belt into the buckle
nearest you.
•A belt that is too loose will not protect you prop-
erly. In a sudden stop you could move too far
forward, increasing the possibility of injury. Wear
your seat belt snugly.
•A belt that is worn under your arm is dangerous.
Your body could strike the inside surfaces of the
vehicle in a collision, increasing head and neck
injury. A belt worn under the arm can cause inter-
nal injuries. Ribs aren’t as strong as shoulder
bones. Wear the belt over your shoulder so that
(Continued)
WARNING!(Continued)
your strongest bones will take the force in a colli-
sion.
•A shoulder belt placed behind you will not protect
you from injury during a collision. You are more
likely to hit your head in a collision if you do not
wear your shoulder belt. The lap and shoulder belt
are meant to be used together.
4. Position the lap belt across your thighs, below your
abdomen. To remove slack in the lap belt portion, pull
up on the shoulder belt. To loosen the lap belt if it is
too tight, tilt the latch plate and pull on the lap belt. A
snug belt reduces the risk of sliding under the belt in
a collision.
32 THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE