INSTALLING CHILD SEATS
Child Seats
Use a child safety seat (sometimes
called an infant carrier, convertible
seat, or toddler seat) for infants,
toddlers or children weighing
40 pounds (18 kilograms) or less
(generally age four or younger).
Using Lap and Shoulder Belts
WARNING:Airbags can kill or injure a child in a child seat.
Never place a rear-facing child seat in front of an active airbag.
If you must use a forward-facing child seat in the front seat, move the
seat upon which the child seat is installed all the way back.
WARNING:Airbags can kill or injure a child in a child seat.
Children 12 and under should be properly restrained in the rear
seat whenever possible.
WARNING:Depending on where you secure a child restraint,
and depending on the child restraint design, you may block
access to certain safety belt buckle assemblies, rendering those features
potentially unusable. To avoid risk of injury, occupants should only use
seating positions where they are able to be properly restrained.
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PRINCIPLES OF OPERATION
WARNING:Always drive and ride with your seatback upright
and the lap belt snug and low across the hips.
WARNING:Never let a passenger hold a child on his or her lap
while the vehicle is moving. The passenger cannot protect the
child from injury in a crash.
WARNING:To reduce the risk of injury, make sure children sit
where they can be properly restrained.
WARNING:All occupants of the vehicle, including the driver,
should always properly wear their safety belts, even when an
airbag supplemental restraint system is provided. Failure to properly
wear your safety belt could seriously increase the risk of injury or
death.
WARNING:It is extremely dangerous to ride in a cargo area,
inside or outside of a vehicle. In a crash, 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 safety belts. Be sure everyone in your vehicle is in a seat and
using a safety belt properly.
WARNING:In a rollover crash, an unbelted person is significantly
more likely to die than a person wearing a safety belt.
WARNING:Each seating position in your vehicle has a specific
safety belt assembly which is made up of one buckle and one
tongue that are designed to be used as a pair. 1) Use the shoulder belt
on the outside shoulder only. Never wear the shoulder belt under the
arm. 2) Never swing the safety belt around your neck over the inside
shoulder. 3) Never use a single belt for more than one person.
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WARNING:Safety belts and seats can become hot in a vehicle
that has been closed up in sunny weather; they could burn a
small child. Check seat covers and buckles before you place a child
anywhere near them.
WARNING:Front seat occupants, including pregnant women,
should wear safety belts for optimum protection in an accident.
All seating positions in this vehicle have lap and shoulder safety belts.
All occupants of the vehicle should always properly wear their safety
belts, even when an airbag supplemental restraint system is provided.
The safety belt system consists of:
•Lap and shoulder safety belts.
•Shoulder safety belt with automatic locking mode (except driver
safety belt).
•Height adjuster at the front outboard seating positions.
•Safety belt pretensioner at the front outboard seating positions.
•Safety belt warning light and chime. SeeSafety belt warning
light and indicator chime.
•Crash sensors and monitoring system with readiness
indicator. SeeCrash sensors and airbag indicatorin the
Supplemental Restraints Systemchapter.
The safety belt pretensioners are designed to activate in frontal or
near-frontal crashes and may deploy in rollovers if the vehicle is
equipped with roll stability control. The safety belt pretensioners at the
front seating positions are designed to tighten the safety belts firmly
against the occupant’s body when activated. This helps increase the
effectiveness of the safety belts.
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PRINCIPLES OF OPERATION
WARNING:Airbags do not inflate slowly or gently, and the risk
of injury from a deploying airbag is the greatest close to the trim
covering the airbag module.
WARNING:All occupants of your vehicle, including the driver,
should always properly wear their safety belts, even when an
airbag supplemental restraint system is provided. Failure to properly
wear your safety belt could seriously increase the risk of injury or
death.
WARNING:Airbags can kill or injure a child in a child seat.
Always transport children 12 years old and under in the back
seat and always properly use appropriate child restraints.
WARNING:Never place your arm over the airbag module, as a
deploying airbag can result in serious arm fractures or other
injuries.
WARNING:Airbags can kill or injure a child in a child seat.
Never place a rear-facing child seat in front of an active airbag.
If you must use a forward-facing child seat in the front seat, move the
seat upon which the child seat is installed all the way back.
WARNING:Do not attempt to service, repair, or modify the
airbag supplemental restraint systems or its fuses as you could be
seriously injured or killed. Contact your authorized dealer as soon as
possible.
WARNING:Several airbag system components get hot after
inflation. Do not touch them after inflation as this may result in
serious injury.
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WARNING:If the airbag has deployed, the airbag will not function
again and must be replaced immediately. If the airbag is not
replaced, the unrepaired area will increase the risk of injury in a crash.
The airbags are a supplemental restraint system and are designed to
work with the safety belts to help protect the driver and right front
passenger from certain upper body injuries. Airbags do not inflate slowly;
there is a risk of injury from a deploying airbag.
Note:You will hear a loud bang and see a cloud of harmless powdery
residue if an airbag deploys. This is normal.
The airbags inflate and deflate rapidly upon activation. After airbag
deployment, it is normal to notice a smoke-like, powdery residue or
smell the burnt propellant. This may consist of cornstarch, talcum
powder (to lubricate the bag) or sodium compounds (for example,
baking soda) that result from the combustion process that inflates the
airbag. Small amounts of sodium hydroxide may be present which may
irritate the skin and eyes, but none of the residue is toxic.
While the system is designed to help reduce serious injuries,
contact with a deploying airbag may also cause abrasions or swelling.
Temporary hearing loss is also a possibility as a result of the noise
associated with a deploying airbag. Because airbags must inflate rapidly
and with considerable force, there is the risk of death or serious injuries,
such as fractures, facial and eye injuries or internal injuries, particularly
to occupants who are not properly restrained or are otherwise out of
position at the time of airbag deployment. Thus, it is extremely
important that occupants be properly restrained as far away from the
airbag module as possible while maintaining vehicle control.
Routine maintenance of the airbags is not required.
SOS POST-CRASH ALERT SYSTEM™
The system flashes the direction indicator lamps and the horn sounds
(intermittently) in the event of a serious impact that deploys an airbag
equipped on your vehicle.
The horn and lamps turn off when:
•You press the hazard button.
•
You press the panic button (if equipped) on the remote entry transmitter.
•Your vehicle runs out of power.
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DRIVER AND PASSENGER AIRBAGS
WARNING:Never place your arm or any objects over an airbag
module. Placing your arm over a deploying airbag can result in
serious arm fractures or other injuries. Objects placed on or over the
airbag inflation area may cause those objects to be propelled by the
airbag into your face and torso causing serious injury.
WARNING:Airbags can kill or injure a child in a child seat.
Never place a rear-facing child seat in front of an active airbag.
If you must use a forward-facing child seat in the front seat, move the
seat upon which the child seat is installed all the way back.
The driver and front passenger
airbags will deploy during significant
frontal and near frontal crashes.
The driver and passenger front airbag system consists of:
•Driver and passenger airbag modules.
•Crash sensors and monitoring system with readiness
indicator. SeeCrash Sensors and Airbag Indicatorlater in
this chapter.
Proper Driver and Front Passenger Seating Adjustment
WARNING:The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
recommends a minimum distance of at least 10 inches
(25 centimeters) between an occupant’s chest and the driver airbag module.
To properly position yourself away from the airbag:
•Move your seat to the rear as far as you can while still reaching the
pedals comfortably.
•
Recline the seat slightly (one or two degrees) from the upright position.
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After all occupants have adjusted their seats and put on safety belts,
it is very important that they continue to sit properly. Properly seated
occupants sit upright, lean against the seat back, and center themselves
on the seat cushion, with their feet comfortably extended on the floor.
Sitting improperly can increase the chance of injury in a crash event. For
example, if an occupant slouches, lies down, turns sideways, sits forward,
leans forward or sideways, or puts one or both feet up, the chance of
injury during a crash is greatly increased.
Children and Airbags
WARNING:Airbags can kill or injure a child in a child seat.
Never place a rear-facing child seat in front of an active airbag.
If you must use a forward-facing child seat in the front seat, move the
seat upon which the child seat is installed all the way back.
Children must always be properly
restrained. Accident statistics
suggest that children are safer when
properly restrained in the rear
seating positions than in the front
seating position. Failure to follow
these instructions may increase the
risk of injury in a crash.
Passenger Airbag ON and OFF Switch (If Equipped)
WARNING:An airbag ON and OFF switch may have been
installed in this vehicle. Before driving, always look at the face of
the switch to be sure the switch is in the proper position in accordance
with these instructions and warnings. Failure to put the switch in a
proper position can increase the risk of serious injury or death in a
crash.
Note:The passenger airbag ON and OFF switch may be on vehicles with
no rear seats and a gross vehicle weight rating greater than 8500 pounds
(3856 kilograms). See theTowingchapter for more information.
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Turning the Passenger Airbag Off
WARNING:If the light fails to illuminate when the passenger air
bag switch is in the OFF position and the ignition switch is in
ON, contact your authorized dealer as soon as possible.
WARNING:In order to avoid inadvertent activation of the
switch, always remove the ignition key from the passenger air
bag ON and OFF switch.
WARNING:An infant in a rear-facing seat faces a high risk of
serious or fatal injuries from a deploying passenger airbag. Rear
facing infant seats should never be placed in the front seats, unless the
passenger airbag is turned off.
1. Insert the ignition key, turn the switch to
off, and hold it in the off position while
removing the key.
2. When the ignition is turned to off, the off
light illuminates briefly, momentarily shuts
off and then turns back on. This indicates
that the passenger airbag is deactivated.
Turning the Passenger Airbag Back On
WARNING:The safety belts for the driver and right front
passenger seating positions have been specifically designed to
function together with the airbags in certain types of crashes. When
you turn off your airbag, you not only lose the protection of the airbag,
you also may reduce the effectiveness of your safety belt system, which
was designed to work with the airbag. If you are not a person who
meets the requirements stated in the National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration or Transport Canada deactivation criteria, turning off
the airbag can increase the risk of serious injury or death in a crash.
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