2014 MAZDA MODEL 3 HATCHBACK tow

2–22
Essential Safety Equipment
Child-Restraint
Child-Restraint Precautions
Mazda strongly urges the use of child-restraint systems for children small enough to use
them.
You are required by law to use a child-restraint system for children in the U.S. and Canada.
Check your local and state or provincial laws for specifi c requirements regarding the safety
of children riding in your vehicle.
Whatever child-restraint system you consider, please pick the appropriate one for the age
and size of the child, obey the law and follow the instructions that come with the individual
child-restraint system.
A child who has outgrown child-restraint systems should sit in the rear and use seat belts,
both lap and shoulder. If the shoulder belt crosses the neck or face, move the child closer
to the center of the vehicle in the outboard seats, and towards the buckle on the right if the
child is seated on the center seat.
Statistics confi rm that the rear seat is the best place for all children up to 12 years of age,
and more so with a supplemental restraint system (air bags).
A rear-facing child-restraint system should NEVER be used on the front seat with the air
bag system activated. The front passenger's seat is also the least preferred seat for other
child-restraint systems.
(With Front Passenger Occupant Classifi cation System)
To reduce the chance of injuries caused by deployment of the front passenger air bag, the
front passenger seat weight sensors work as a part of the supplemental restraint system. This
system deactivates the front passenger front and side air bags and also the front passenger
seat belt pretensioner system when the front passenger air bag deactivation indicator light
illuminates.
When an infant or small child sits on the front passenger seat, the system shuts off the front
passenger front and side air bags and seat belt pretensioner system, so make sure the front
passenger air bag deactivation indicator light illuminates.
Even if the front passenger air bag is shut off, Mazda strongly recommends that children be
properly restrained and child-restraint systems of all kinds are properly secured on the rear
seats which are the best place for children.
For more details, refer to "Front passenger seat weight sensors" (page 2-56 ).
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*Some models.3–1
3Before Driving
Use of various features, including keys, doors, mirrors and windows.


Keys ...................................................... 3-2
Keys ............................................... 3-2
Keyless Entry System .................... 3-3
Advanced Keyless Entry System ........ 3-9
Advanced Keyless Entry
System
* ........................................... 3-9
Operational Range ....................... 3-10
Doors and Locks ................................ 3-11
Door Locks ................................... 3-11
Liftgate/Trunk Lid ........................ 3-21
Inside Trunk Release Lever
(4-Door)
* ...................................... 3-25
Fuel and Emission ............................. 3-27
Fuel and Engine Exhaust
Precautions ................................... 3-27
Fuel-Filler Lid and Cap ................ 3-30
Steering Wheel................................... 3-32
Steering Wheel ............................. 3-32
Mirrors ............................................... 3-33
Mirrors ......................................... 3-33
Windows ............................................. 3-36
Power Windows ........................... 3-36
Moonroof
* ................................... 3-39 Security System ................................. 3-41
Modifi cation and Add-On
Equipment .................................... 3-41
Immobilizer System ..................... 3-41
Theft-Deterrent System
* .............. 3-43
Driving Tips ....................................... 3-45
Break-In Period ............................ 3-45
Money-Saving Suggestions ......... 3-45
Hazardous Driving ....................... 3-46
Floor Mat ..................................... 3-46
Rocking the Vehicle ..................... 3-47
Winter Driving ............................. 3-47
Driving In Flooded Area .............. 3-49
Overloading .................................. 3-50
Driving on Uneven Road ............. 3-51
Towing ................................................ 3-52
Trailer Towing .............................. 3-52
Recreational Towing .................... 3-52
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3–12
Before Driving
Doors and Locks
NOTE
 


y When the ignition is switched to ACC
or ON, the vehicle lock-out prevention
feature prevents you from locking
yourself out of the vehicle.
  All doors and the liftgate/trunk lid will
automatically unlock if they are locked
using the power door locks with any
door open.
  The vehicle lock-out prevention feature
does not operate while the ignition is
switched off.
  When any door is opened from the
outside while the key is inside the
vehicle, the closed doors are locked. All
the doors are automatically unlocked by
closing the open door.
  (With the advanced keyless function)
 The beep sound is heard for about 10
seconds to notify the driver that the key
has been left in the vehicle.
 (Without the advanced keyless
function)
  The horn sound is heard twice to notify
the driver that the key has been left in
the vehicle.
 


y(Door unlock (control) system with
collision detection)
  This system automatically unlocks
the doors in the event the vehicle
is involved in an accident to allow
passengers to get out of the vehicle
immediately and prevent being trapped
inside. While the ignition is switched
ON and in the event the vehicle
receives an impact strong enough to
infl ate the air bags, all the doors are
automatically unlocked after about 6
seconds have elapsed from the time of
the accident.
  The doors may not unlock depending on
how an impact is applied, the force of
the impact, and other conditions of the
accident.
  If door-related systems or the battery
is malfunctioning, the doors will not
unlock.
Locking, Unlocking with Key
All doors and the liftgate/trunk lid lock
automatically when the driver's door is
locked with the key.
All doors and the liftgate/trunk lid unlock
when the driver's door is unlocked and the
key is held in the unlock position for one
second or longer.
Turn the key toward the front to lock,
toward the back to unlock.
LockUnlock
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3–52
Before Driving
Towing
Trailer Towing
The Mazda3 is not designed for towing.
Never tow a trailer with your Mazda3.
Recreational Towing
An example of "recreational towing" is
towing your vehicle behind a motorhome.
The transaxle is not designed for towing
this vehicle on all 4 wheels.
When doing recreational towing refer
to "Towing Description" (page 7-21 )
and "Tiedown Hooks" (page 7-22 ) and
carefully follow the instructions.
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4–35
When Driving
Transaxle
To shift up to a higher gear with the
steering shift switches, pull the UP switch
toward you once with your fi ngers.
UP switch
WARNING
Keep your hands on the steering wheel
rim when using fi ngers on the steering
shift switches:
Putting your hands inside the rim of
the steering wheel when using the
steering shift switches is dangerous.
If the driver's air bag were to deploy
in a collision, your hands could be
impacted causing injury.
NOTE
 


y When driving slowly, the gears may not
shift up.
 


y In manual shift mode, do not run the
engine with the tachometer needle
in the RED ZONE. When the engine
rpm is high, a gear may shift up
automatically to protect the engine.
 


y When depressing the accelerator fully,
the transaxle will shift to a lower gear,
depending on vehicle speed. Manually Shifting down
(M6
: M5
: M4
: M3
: M2
: M1)
To shift down to a lower gear, move the
selector lever forward (
) once.
To shift down to a lower gear with the
steering shift switches, pull the DOWN
switch toward you once with your fi ngers.
DOWN switch
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*Some models.4–45
When Driving
Switches and Controls
Headlight High-Low Beam
Press the lever forward to turn on the high
beams.
Pull the lever back to its original position
for the low beams.
High beam
Low beam
The headlight high-beam indicator light
in the instrument cluster illuminates while
the high beams are turned on.
Flashing the Headlights
T o fl ash the headlights, pull the lever fully
towards you (the headlight switch does not
need to be on).
OFF
Flashing
The headlight high-beam indicator light
in the instrument cluster illuminates
simultaneously. The lever will return to the
normal position when released.
Headlight Leveling *
The number of passengers and weight of
cargo in the luggage compartment change
the angle of the headlights.
Auto type
The angle of the headlights will be
automatically adjusted when turning on
the headlights.
The warning/indicator light turns on when
the system has a malfunction.
Refer to Warning/Indicator Lights on page
4-21 .
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*Some models.4–48
When Driving
Switches and Controls
High Beam Control System (HBC) *
The High Beam Control System (HBC) determines the conditions in front of the vehicle
using the Forward Sensing Camera (FSC) while driving in darkness to automatically switch
the headlights between high and low beams.
Refer to Warning/Indicator Lights on page 4-21 .
While driving the vehicle at a speed of about 30 km/h (18 mph), the headlights are switched
to high beams when there are no vehicles in front of your vehicle or approaching in the
opposite direction.
The system switches the headlights to low beams when one of the following occurs:
 


y The system detects a vehicle or the headlights/lights of a vehicle approaching in the
opposite direction.
 


y The vehicle is driven on roads lined with streetlamps or on roads in well-lit cities and
towns.
 


y The vehicle is driven at less than about 20 km/h (12 mph).
Forward Sensing
Camera (FSC) The recognition distance of the
Forward Sensing Camera (FSC)
varies according to the
surrounding conditions.
The warning light fl ashes when the system has a malfunction.
Refer to Warning Lights on page 4-22 .
CAUTION
Do not adjust the vehicle height, modify the headlight units, or remove the camera,
otherwise the system will not operate normally.
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4–52
When Driving
Switches and Controls
NOTE
 


y If an indicator light stays on without
fl ashing or if it fl ashes abnormally, one
of the turn signal bulbs may be burned
out.
 


y A personalized function is available
to change the turn indicator sound
volume. (page 9-12 )
Lane-Change Signals
Move the lever halfway toward the
direction of the lane change—until the
indicator fl ashes— and hold it there. It will
return to the off position when released.
Three-Flash Turn Signal
To signal a lane change, operate the turn
signal lever up or down slightly and
release. After releasing the lever, the turn
signal indicator fl ashes three times.
NOTE
The three-fl ash turn signal function can be
switched to operable/inoperable using the
personalization function.
Refer to Personalization Features on page
9-12 .
Windshield Wipers and
Washer
The ignition must be switched ON to use
the wipers.
WARNING
Use only windshield washer fl uid or
plain water in the reservoir:
Using radiator antifreeze as washer
fl uid is dangerous. If sprayed on the
windshield, it will dirty the windshield,
aff ect your visibility, and could result in
an accident.

Only use windshield washer fl uid mixed
with anti-freeze protection in freezing
weather conditions:
Using windshield washer fl uid without
anti-freeze protection in freezing
weather conditions is dangerous as
it could freeze on the windshield and
block your vision which could cause
an accident. In addition, make sure
the windshield is suffi ciently warmed
using the defroster before spraying the
washer fl uid.
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