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WARNING!(Continued)
•A lap belt worn too high can increase the risk of
injury in a collision. The seat belt forces won’t be at
the strong hip and pelvic bones, but across your
abdomen. Always wear the lap part of your seat
belt as low as possible and keep it snug.
•A twisted seat belt may not protect you properly. In
a collision, it could even cut into you. Be sure the
seat belt is flat against your body, without twists. If
you can’t straighten a seat belt in your vehicle, take
it to your authorized dealer immediately and have
it fixed.
•A seat belt that is buckled into the wrong buckle
will not protect you properly. The lap portion could
ride too high on your body, possibly causing inter-
nal injuries. Always buckle your seat belt into the
buckle nearest you.
(Continued)
WARNING!(Continued)
•A seat belt that is too loose will not protect you
properly. In a sudden stop, you could move too far
forward, increasing the possibility of injury. Wear
your seat belt snugly.
•A seat belt that is worn under your arm is danger-
ous. Your body could strike the inside surfaces of
the vehicle in a collision, increasing head and neck
injury. A seat belt worn under the arm can cause
internal injuries. Ribs aren’t as strong as shoulder
bones. Wear the seat belt over your shoulder so that
your strongest bones will take the force in a colli-
sion.
(Continued)
2
THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE 45
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WARNING!(Continued)
•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.
•A frayed or torn seat belt could rip apart in a
collision and leave you with no protection. Inspect
the seat belt system periodically, checking for cuts,
frays, or loose parts. Damaged parts must be re-
placed immediately. Do not disassemble or modify
the seat belt system. Seat belt assemblies must be
replaced after a collision.
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 above the back of the front
seat, and next to your arm in the rear seat (for vehicles
equipped with a rear seat). Grasp the latch plate and
pull out the seat belt. Slide the latch plate up the
webbing as far as necessary to allow the seat belt to go
around your lap.
Pulling Out The Latch Plate
46 THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE
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4. When the seat belt is long enough to fit, insert the
mini-latch plate into the mini-buckle until you hear a
“click.”
5. Sit back in seat. Slide the regular latch plate up the
webbing as far as necessary to allow the seat belt to go
around your lap.
6. When the seat belt is long enough to fit, insert the latch
plate into the buckle until you hear a “click.”
7. Position the lap belt so that it is snug and lies low
across your hips, 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, pull on the
lap belt. A snug seat belt reduces the risk of sliding
under the seat belt in a collision.
8. Position the shoulder belt on your chest so that it is
comfortable and not resting on your neck. The retrac-
tor will withdraw any slack in the seat belt.
9. To release the seat belt, push the red button on the
buckle.
10. To disengage the mini-latch from the mini-buckle for
storage, insert the regular latch plate into the center
red slot on the mini-buckle. The seat belt will auto-
matically retract to its stowed position. If necessary,
slide the latch plate down the webbing to allow the
seat belt to retract fully. Insert the mini-latch plate
and regular latch plate into its stowed position.
WARNING!
•If the mini-latch and mini-buckle are not properly
connected when the seat belt is used by an occu-
pant, the seat belt will not be able to provide
proper restraint and will increase the risk of injury
in a collision.
(Continued)
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THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE 51
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WARNING!(Continued)
•When reattaching the mini-latch and mini-buckle,
ensure the seat belt webbing is not twisted. If the
webbing is twisted, follow the preceding proce-
dure to detach the mini-latch and mini-buckle,
untwist the webbing, and reattach the mini-latch
and mini-buckle.
Lap/Shoulder Belt Untwisting Procedure
Use the following procedure to untwist a twisted lap/
shoulder belt.
1. Position the latch plate as close as possible to the
anchor point.
2. At about 6 to 12 inches (15 to 30 cm) above the latch
plate, grasp and twist the seat belt webbing 180° to
create a fold that begins immediately above the latch
plate.
3. Slide the latch plate upward over the folded webbing.
The folded webbing must enter the slot at the top of
the latch plate.
4. Continue to slide the latch plate up until it clears the
folded webbing and the seat belt is no longer twisted.
Adjustable Upper Shoulder Belt Anchorage
In the driver and front passenger seats, the top of the
shoulder belt can be adjusted upward or downward to
position the seat belt away from your neck. Push or
squeeze the anchorage button to release the anchorage,
and move it up or down to the position that serves you
best.
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WARNING!
•ONLY use a Seat Belt Extender if it is physically
required in order to properly fit the original seat
belt system. DO NOT USE the Seat Belt Extender
if, when worn, the distance between the front edge
of the Seat Belt Extender buckle and the center of
the occupant’s body is LESS than 6 inches.
•Using a Seat Belt Extender when not needed can
increase the risk of serious injury or death in a
collision. Only use the Seat Belt Extender when the
lap belt is not long enough and only use in the
recommended seating positions. Remove and store
the Seat Belt Extender when not needed.
Seat Belts And Pregnant Women
We recommend that pregnant women use the seat belts
throughout their pregnancy. Keeping the mother safe is
the best way to keep the baby safe.
Pregnant women should wear the lap part of the seat belt
across the thighs and as snug across the hips as possible.
Keep the seat belt low so that it does not come across the
abdomen. That way the strong bones of the hips will take
the force if there is a collision.
Seat Belt Pretensioner
The front seat belt system is equipped with pretensioning
devices that are designed to remove slack from the seat
belt in the event of a collision. These devices may
improve the performance of the seat belt by removing
slack from the seat belt early in a collision. Pretensioners
work for all size occupants, including those in child
restraints.
NOTE:These devices are not a substitute for proper seat
belt placement by the occupant. The seat belt still must be
worn snugly and positioned properly.
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If the passenger seating position is equipped with an
ALR and is being used for normal usage, only pull the
seat belt webbing out far enough to comfortably wrap
around the occupant’s mid-section so as to not activate
the ALR. If the ALR is activated, you will hear a clicking
sound as the seat belt retracts. Allow the webbing to
retract completely in this case and then carefully pull out
only the amount of webbing necessary to comfortably
wrap around the occupant’s mid-section. Slide the latch
plate into the buckle until you hear a#click.#
In Automatic Locking Mode, the shoulder belt is auto-
matically pre-locked. The seat belt will still retract to
remove any slack in the shoulder belt. Use the Automatic
Locking Mode anytime a child restraint is installed in a
seating position that has a seat belt with this feature.
Children 12 years old and under should always be
properly restrained in a vehicle with a rear 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.
How To Engage The Automatic Locking Mode
1. Buckle the combination lap and shoulder belt.
2. Grasp the shoulder portion and pull downward until
the entire seat belt is extracted.
3. Allow the seat belt to retract. As the seat belt retracts,
you will hear a clicking sound. This indicates the seat
belt is now in the Automatic Locking Mode.
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How To Disengage The Automatic Locking Mode
Unbuckle the combination lap/shoulder belt and allow it
to retract completely to disengage the Automatic Locking
Mode and activate the vehicle sensitive (emergency)
locking mode.
WARNING!
•The seat belt assembly must be replaced if the
switchable Automatic Locking Retractor (ALR) fea-
ture or any other seat belt function is not working
properly when checked according to the proce-
dures in the Service Manual.
•Failure to replace the seat belt assembly could
increase the risk of injury in collisions.
(Continued)
WARNING!(Continued)
•Do not use the Automatic Locking Mode to restrain
occupants who are wearing the seat belt or children
who are using booster seats. The locked mode is
only used to install rear-facing or forward-facing
child restraints that have a harness for restraining
the child.
Supplemental Active Head Restraints (AHR)
These head restraints are passive, deployable compo-
nents, and vehicles with this equipment cannot be readily
identified by any markings, only through visual inspec-
tion of the head restraint. The head restraint will be split
in two halves, with the front half being soft foam and
trim, the back half being decorative plastic.
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THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE 57
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WARNING!
All occupants, including the driver, should not oper-
ate a vehicle or sit in a vehicle’s seat until the head
restraints are placed in their proper positions in order
to minimize the risk of neck injury in the event of a
collision.
NOTE:Refer to “Adjusting Active Head Restraints” in
“Understanding The Features Of Your Vehicle” for fur-
ther information on properly adjusting and positioning
the head restraint.
Resetting Active Head Restraints (AHR)
If the Active Head Restraints are triggered in a collision,
you must reset the head restraint on the driver ’s and
front passenger ’s seat before driving. You can recognize
when the Active Head Restraint has been triggered by the
fact that they have moved forward (as shown in step
three of the resetting procedure).
1. Grasp the deployed AHR from the rear seat.
2. Position the hands on the top of the deployed AHR at
a comfortable position.
Hand Positioning Points On AHR
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