2014 MAZDA MODEL 3 HATCHBACK Owners Manual (in English)

*Some models.2–14
Essential Safety Equipment
Seat Belt Systems
Pregnant Women and Persons with Serious Medical Conditions
Pregnant women should always wear seat belts. Ask your doctor for specifi c
recommendations.
The lap belt should be worn SNUGLY AND AS LOW AS POSSIBLE OVER THE HIPS.
The shoulder belt should be worn across your shoulder properly, but never across the
stomach area.
Persons with serious medical conditions also should wear seat belts. Check with your doctor
for any special instructions regarding specifi c medical conditions.
Emergency Locking Mode
When the seat belt is fastened, it will always be in the emergency locking mode.
In the emergency locking mode, the belt remains comfortable on the occupant and the
retractor will lock in position during a collision.
If the belt is locked and cannot be pulled out, retract the belt once, and then try pulling it out
slowly. If this fails, pull the belt strongly one time and loosen, then pull it out again slowly.
(Seat Belt with Automatic Locking Mode)
When the seat belt is fastened, it will always be in the emergency locking mode until it is
switched to automatic locking mode by pulling it all the way out to its full length. If the belt
feels tight and hinders comfortable movement while the vehicle is stopped or in motion, it
may be in the automatic locking mode because the belt has been pulled too far out. To return
the belt to the more comfortable emergency locking mode, wait until the vehicle has stopped
in a safe, level area, retract the belt fully to convert it back to emergency locking mode and
then extend it around you again.
Automatic Locking Mode *
Always use the automatic locking mode to keep the child-restraint system from shifting to
an unsafe position in the event of an accident. To enable seat belt automatic locking mode,
pull it all the way out and connect it as instructed on the child-restraint system. It will retract
down to the child-restraint system and stay locked on it. See the section on child restraint
(page 2-22 ).
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2–15
Essential Safety Equipment
Seat Belt Systems
3-Point Type Seat Belt
Fastening the Seat Belt
Seat belt
buckleSeat belt tongue
Position the lap belt as low as possible,
not on the abdominal area, then adjust the
shoulder belt so that it fi ts snugly against
your body.
Keep low on
hip bone
Too highTake up slack
Unfastening the Seat Belt
Depress the button on the seat belt buckle.
If the belt does not fully retract, pull it out
and check for kinks or twists. Then make
sure it remains untwisted as it retracts.
Button
NOTE
If a belt does not fully retract, inspect
it for kinks and twists. If it is still not
retracting properly, have it inspected at an
Authorized Mazda Dealer.
Front Shoulder Belt Adjuster
To raise To lower
Make sure the adjuster is locked.
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2–16
Essential Safety Equipment
Seat Belt Systems
Seat Belt Warning Systems
If it detects that the driver's seat belt is
unfastened, the warning light or beep
alerts the driver.
Refer to Warning/Indicator Lights on page
4-21 .
Front Seat Belt Pretensioner
and Load Limiting Systems
For optimum protection, the driver and
front passenger seat belts are equipped
with pretensioner and load limiting
systems. For both these systems to work
properly you must wear the seat belt
properly.
Pretensioners:
When a collision is detected, the
pretensioners deploy simultaneously with
the air bags.
For vehicles with the front passenger
occupant classifi cation system, the
pretensioners deploy simultaneously
with the air bags when a roll-over is also
detected.
For deployment details, refer to the SRS
Air Bag Deployment Criteria (page 2-53 ).
The front seat belt retractors remove slack
quickly as the air bags are expanding.
Any time the air bags and seat belt
pretensioners have fi red they must be
replaced.
A system malfunction or operation
conditions are indicated by a warning.
Refer to Warning/Indicator Lights on page
4-21 .
Refer to Air Bag/Front Seat Belt
Pretensioner System Warning Beep on
page 7-36 .
(With Front Passenger Occupant
Classifi cation System)
In addition, the pretensioner system for
the front passenger, like the front and side
passenger air bag, is designed to only
deploy in accordance with the total seated
weight on the front passenger seat.
For details, refer to the front passenger
seat weight sensors (page 2-56 ).
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2–17
Essential Safety Equipment
Seat Belt Systems
Load limiter:
The load limiting system releases belt
webbing in a controlled manner to reduce
belt force on the occupant's chest. While
the most severe load on a seat belt occurs
in frontal collisions, the load limiter has
an automatic mechanical function and
can activate in any accident mode with
suffi cient occupant movement.
Even if the pretensioners have not fi red,
the load limiting function must be checked
by an Authorized Mazda Dealer.
WARNING
Wear seat belts only as recommended in
this owner's manual:
Incorrect positioning of the driver
and front passenger seat belts
is dangerous. Without proper
positioning, the pretensioner and
load limiting systems cannot provide
adequate protection in an accident
and this could result in serious injury.
For more details about wearing seat
belts, refer to "Fastening the seat belts"
(page 2-15 ).

Have your seat belts changed
immediately if the pretensioner or load
limiter has been expended:
Always have an Authorized Mazda
Dealer immediately inspect the front
seat belt pretensioners and air bags
after any collision. Like the air bags, the
front seat belt pretensioners and load
limiters will only function once and
must be replaced after any collision
that caused them to deploy. A seat
belt with an expended pretensioner or
load limiter is still better than wearing
no seat belt at all; however, if the
front seat belt pretensioners and load
limiters are not replaced, the risk of
injury in a collision will increase. Do not modify the components or
wiring, or use electronic testing devices
on the pretensioner system:
Modifying the components or wiring
of the pretensioner system, including
the use of electronic testing devices
is dangerous. You could accidentally
activate it or make it inoperable which
would prevent it from activating in an
accident. The occupants or repairers
could be seriously injured.

Properly dispose of the pretensioner
system:
Improper disposal of the pretensioner
system or a vehicle with non-
deactivated pretensioners is
dangerous. Unless all safety
procedures are followed, injury
could result. Have an Authorized
Mazda Dealer safely dispose of
the pretensioner system or scrap a
pretensioner system equipped vehicle.
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*Some models.2–18
Essential Safety Equipment
Seat Belt Systems
NOTE
 


y(With Front Passenger Occupant
Classifi cation System)

 The pretensioner system will not
activate in rear impacts.
 


y(Without Front Passenger Occupant
Classifi cation System)

 The pretensioner system will not
activate in most roll-overs and rear
impacts.
 


y Some smoke (non-toxic gas) will
be released when the air bags and
pretensioners deploy. This does not
indicate a fi re. This gas normally has
no effect on occupants, however, those
with sensitive skin may experience
light skin irritation. If residue from the
deployment of the air bags or the front
pretensioner system gets on the skin
or in the eyes, wash it off as soon as
possible.
Center-Rear Position
2-Point Type Seat Belt
*
Fastening the Seat Belt
1. Pull the seat belt tongue to the desired
length.
2. Insert it into the seat belt buckle until
you hear a click sound.
Seat belt tongue
Seat belt
buckle
3. Adjust the belt length.
 



 To lengthen the belt, hold the seat belt
tongue at a right angle to the webbing
and pull. To shorten, pull the loose end
of the webbing.
Lengthen
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2–19
Essential Safety Equipment
Seat Belt Systems
Shorten
4. Make sure the lap belt is snugly fi tted
against your body.
WARNING
Wearing the Lap Belt:
A lap belt worn too high is dangerous.
In a collision, this would concentrate
the impact force directly on the
abdominal area, causing serious
injury. Wear the lap belt snugly and as
low as possible.
Unfastening the Seat Belt
Depress the button on the seat belt buckle.
Button
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2–20
Essential Safety Equipment
Seat Belt Systems
Seat Belt Extender
If your seat belt is not long enough, even
when fully extended, a seat belt extender
may be available to you at no charge from
your Authorized Mazda Dealer.
This extender will be only for you and for
the particular vehicle and seat. Even if it
plugs into other seat belts, it may not hold
in the critical moment of a crash.
When ordering an extender, only order
one that provides the necessary additional
length to fasten the seat belt properly.
Please contact your Authorized Mazda
Dealer for more information.
WARNING
Do not use a seat belt extender unless it
is necessary:
Using a seat belt extender when not
necessary is dangerous. The seat belt
will be too long and not fi t properly.
In an accident, the seat belt will not
provide adequate protection and you
could be seriously injured. Only use the
extender when it is required to fasten
the seat belt properly.
Do not use an improper extender:
Using a seat belt extender that is for
another person or a diff erent vehicle
or seat is dangerous. The seat belt will
not provide adequate protection and
the user could be seriously injured in
an accident. Only use the extender
provided for you and for the particular
vehicle and seat. NEVER use the
extender in a diff erent vehicle or seat.
If you sell your Mazda, do not leave
your seat belt extender in the vehicle. It
could be used accidentally by the new
owner of the vehicle. After removing
the seat belt extender, discard it. Never
use the seat belt extender in any other
vehicle you may own in the future.

Do not use an extender that is too long:
Using an extender that is too long is
dangerous. The seat belt will not fi t
properly. In an accident, the seat belt
will not provide adequate protection
and you could be seriously injured.
Do not use the extender or choose
one shorter in length if the distance
between the extender's buckle and the
center of the user's body is less than 15
cm (6 in).

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2–21
Essential Safety Equipment
Seat Belt Systems
Do not leave a seat belt extender
connected to the buckle:
Leaving a seat belt extender connected
to the buckle without using the seat
belt is dangerous. When the seat
belt extender is connected to the
driver's seat belt buckle (or front
passenger) seat, the SRS driver's (or
front passenger's) air bag system will
determine that the driver (or front
passenger) is wearing the seat belt
even if the driver (or front passenger)
is not wearing it. This condition could
cause the driver's (or front passenger's)
air bag to not activate correctly and
result in death or serious injury in the
event of collision. Always wear the seat
belt with the seat belt extender.

Do not use the seat belt extender when
installing a child-restraint system on the
front or rear passenger seat:
Using a seat belt extender to fasten
a child-restraint system on any seat
is dangerous. Always follow the
child-restraint system manufacturer's
installation instructions and never use
a seat belt extender.
NOTE
When not in use, remove the seat belt
extender and store it in the vehicle. If the
seat belt extender is left connected, the
seat belt extender might get damaged
as it will not retract with the rest of the
seat belt and can easily fall out of the
door when not in use and be damaged. In
addition, the seat belt warning light will
not illuminate and function properly.
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