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Child Restraints
Everyone in your vehicle needs to be buckled up at all
times, including babies and children.
Every state in the United States, and every Canadian
province, requires that small children ride in proper
restraint systems. This is the law, and you can be pros-
ecuted for ignoring it.
Children 12 years or younger should ride properly
buckled up in a rear seat, if available. According to crash
statistics, children are safer when properly restrained in
the rear seats rather than in the front.
WARNING!
In a collision, an unrestrained child can become a
projectile inside the vehicle. The force required to
hold even an infant on your lap could become so
great that you could not hold the child, no matter
how strong you are. The child and others could be
badly injured. Any child riding in your vehicle
should be in a proper restraint for the child’s size.
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Infants And Child Restraints
Safety experts recommend that children ride rear-facing
in the vehicle until they are two years old or until they
reach either the height or weight limit of their rear-facing
child restraint. Two types of child restraints can be used
rear-facing: infant carriers and convertible child seats.
The infant carrier is only used rear-facing in the vehicle.
It is recommended for children from birth until they
reach the weight or height limit of the infant carrier.
Convertible child seats can be used either rear-facing or
forward-facing in the vehicle. Convertible child seats
often have a higher weight limit in the rear-facing
direction than infant carriers do, so they can be used
rear-facing by children who have outgrown their infant
carrier but are still less than at least two years old.
Children should remain rear-facing until they reach the
highest weight or height allowed by their convertible
child seat.
WARNING!
•Never place a rear-facing child restraint 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 rear-
facing child restraint.
•Only use a rear-facing child restraint in a vehicle
with a rear seat.
Older Children And Child Restraints
Children who are two years old or who have outgrown
their rear-facing convertible child seat can ride forward-
facing in the vehicle. Forward-facing child seats and
convertible child seats used in the forward-facing direc-
tion are for children who are over two years old or who
have outgrown the rear-facing weight or height limit of
their rear-facing convertible child seat. Children should
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WARNING!(Continued)
•When your child restraint is not in use, secure it in
the vehicle with the seat belt or LATCH anchor-
ages, or remove it from the vehicle. Do not leave it
loose in the vehicle. In a sudden stop or accident, it
could strike the occupants or seatbacks and cause
serious personal injury.
Children Too Large For Booster Seats
Children who are large enough to wear the shoulder belt
comfortably, and whose legs are long enough to bend
over the front of the seat when their back is against the
seatback, should use the seat belt in a rear seat. Use this
simple 5-step test to decide whether the child can use the
vehicle’s seat belt alone:
1. Can the child sit all the way back against the back of
the vehicle seat?
2. Do the child’s knees bend comfortably over the front
of the vehicle seat – while they are still sitting all the
way back?
3. Does the shoulder belt cross the child’s shoulder
between their neck and arm?
4. Is the lap part of the seat belt as low as possible,
touching the child’s thighs and not their stomach?
5. Can the child stay seated like this for the whole trip?
If the answer to any of these questions was “no,” then the
child still needs to use a booster seat in this vehicle. If the
child is using the lap/shoulder belt, check seat belt fit
periodically and make sure the seat belt buckle is latched.
A child’s squirming or slouching can move the seat belt
out of position. If the shoulder belt contacts the face or
neck, move the child closer to the center of the vehicle, or
use a booster seat to position the seat belt on the child
correctly.
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Lower Anchors And Tethers For Children (LATCH)
Restraint System
Your vehicle is equipped with the child restraint anchor-
age system called LATCH, which stands for Lower
Anchors and Tethers for CHildren. The LATCH system
has three vehicle anchor points for installing LATCH-
equipped child seats. There are two lower anchorages
located at the back of the seat cushion where it meets the
seatback and one top tether anchorage located behind the
seating position. These anchorages are used to install
LATCH-equipped child seats without using the vehicle’s
seat belts. Some seating positions may have a top tether
anchorage but no lower anchorages. In these seating
positions, the seat belt must be used with the top tether
anchorage to install the child restraint. Please see the
following table for more information.
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Center Seat LATCH
This vehicle has 5 lower LATCH anchorages in the rear
seat. Anchorages A and B are used for the right outboard
position behind the front passenger (1). Anchorages D
and E are used for the left outboard position behind the
driver (3). Anchorages C and D are used for the center
seating position (2). Do not install a LATCH—compatible
child restraint using anchorages B and C. This is not a
LATCH—compatible position in your vehicle
You can install up to two child seats using the LATCH
system at the same time. If you can fit three child
restraints in your vehicle, you must use the seatbelt to
install the center child restraint and you must use the
LATCH anchors for position (3) behind the driver. You
can use either the LATCH anchors or the vehicle’s seat
belt for installing the third child seat in position (1)
behind the front passenger.
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Options for installing two child seats using the LATCH
anchorages in this vehicle:
1.Right and left outboard seating positions (1 and 3):
Install the child seats in the right and left outboard
seating positions using lower anchorages A and B, and
D and E. Do not use the center seat anchorage, C. If the
child seats do not block the center seat belt webbing and
buckle, the center seat belt can be used to restraint an
occupant or child restraint in the center seating position.
2. Right outboard and center seating positions (1 and 2):
Install the first child seat in the right outboard seating
position using lower anchorages A and B. Install the
second child seat using the center anchorages, C and
D. Do not use the outer anchorage closest to the
opposite door, E. Do not use the remaining left out-
board seating position (3) for any occupant. The center
child restraint will block the seat belt buckle for this
position.
WARNING!
•Use anchorages C and D to install a LATCH-
compatible child restraint in the center seating
position (2). Do not install a LATCH-compatible
child restraint using anchorages B and C. This is
not a LATCH-compatible position in your vehicle.
•A child restraint installed in the center position (2)
will block the seat belt buckle for the empty left
outboard seat behind the driver (3). Do not use this
seat for another occupant.
•Never use the same lower anchorage to attach more
than one child restraint.
(Continued)
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WARNING!(Continued)
•If you are installing three child restraints next to
each other, you must use the seat belt and the center
tether anchor for the center position. You must use
the LATCH anchors to install the child seat in
position (3), behind the driver. You may use either
the LATCH anchors or the vehicle’s seat belt for
installing the child seat in position (1), behind the
front passenger. Please refer to “Installing the
LATCH-Compatible Child Restraint System” for
typical installation instructions.
To Install A LATCH-Compatible Child Restraint
1. If the selected seating position has a Switchable Auto-
matic Locking Retractor (ALR) seat belt, stow the seat
belt following the instructions below. See the section
“Installing Child Restraints Using the Vehicle Seat
Belt” to check what type of seat belt each seating
position has.
2. Loosen the adjusters on the lower straps and on the
tether strap of the child seat so that you can more
easily attach the hooks or connectors to the vehicle
anchorages.
3. Place the child seat between the lower anchorages for
that seating position. For some second row seats, you
may need to recline the seat and/or raise the head
restraint to get a better fit. If the rear seat can be moved
forward and rearward in the vehicle, you may wish to
move it to its rear-most position to make room for the
child seat. You may also move the front seat forward
to allow more room for the child seat.
4. Attach the lower hooks or connectors of the child
restraint to the lower anchorages in the selected seat-
ing position.
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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 seating
position. For some second row seats, you may need to
recline the seat and/or raise the head restraint to get a
better fit. If the rear seat can be moved forward and
rearward in the vehicle, you may wish to move it to its
rear-most position to make room for the child seat.
You may also move the front seat forward to allow
more room for the child seat.
2. Pull enough of the seat belt webbing from the retractor
to pass it through the seat belt path of the child
restraint. Do not twist the belt webbing in the seat 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 seat 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.
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