2015 MAZDA MODEL 3 5-DOOR tow

2–23
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 t\
he 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 com\
e with the individual
child-restraint system.
A child who has outgrown child-restraint systems should sit in the rear a\
nd 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 buck\
le 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 passen\
ger air bag, the
front passenger seat weight sensors work as a part of the supplemental r\
estraint 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 deactivat\
ion indicator light
illuminates.
When an infant or small child sits on the front passenger seat, the syst\
em 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 properl\
y secured on the rear
seats which are the best place for children.
For more details, refer to "Front passenger seat weight sensors" (page \
2-57 ).
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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 ........................ 3-20
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
Saving Fuel and Protection of the
Environment ................................. 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 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 lock
automatically when the driver's door is
locked using the key.
All doors and the liftgate 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.
Lock Unlock
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3–52
Before Driving
Towing
Trailer Towing
YourMazda is not designed for towing.
Never tow a trailer with your Mazda.
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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4–34
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.
 y The steering shift switch can be used
temporarily even if the selector lever is
in the D position while driving. In
addition, it returns to automatic shift
mode when the UP switch (
) is
pulled rearward for a suffi cient amount
of time.
Manually Shifting down
(M6
: M5
: M4
: M3
: M2
: M1)
To shift down to a lower gear, move the
selector lever forward
once.
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4–35
When Driving
Transaxle
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
WARNING
Do not use engine braking on slippery
road surfaces or at high speeds:
Shifting down while driving on wet,
snowy, or frozen roads, or while driving
at high speeds causes sudden engine
braking, which is dangerous. The
sudden change in tire speed could
cause the tires to skid. This could
lead to loss of vehicle control and an
accident.

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 at high speeds, the gear
may not shift down.
 y During deceleration, the gear may
automatically shift down depending on
vehicle speed.
 y When depressing the accelerator fully,
the transaxle will shift to a lower gear,
depending on vehicle speed.
Second gear fi xed mode
When the selector lever is moved back
while the vehicle speed is about 10 km/h
(6.2 mph) or less, the transaxle is set in the
second gear fi xed mode. The gear is fi xed
in second while in this mode for easier
acceleration from a stop and driving on
slippery roads such as snow-covered
roads.
If the selector lever is moved back
or
forward
while in the second gear fi xed
mode, the mode will be canceled.
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*Some models.4–44
When Driving
Switches and Controls
Headlight High-Low Beam
The headlights switch between high and
low beams by moving the lever forward or
backward.
High beam
Low beam
When the headlight high-beams are on,
the headlight high-beam indicator light is
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
4-20 .
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*Some models.4–47
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 au\
tomatically switch
the headlights between high and low beams.
Refer to Warning/Indicator Lights on page 4-20 .
While driving the vehicle at a speed of about 30 km/h (18 mph), the he\
adlights are switched
to high beams when there are no vehicles ahead or approaching in the opp\
osite direction.
The system switches the headlights to low beams when one of the followin\
g occurs:
 y The system detects a vehicle or the headlights/lights of a vehicle appro\
aching in the
opposite direction.
 y  The vehicle is driven on roads lined with streetlamps or on roads in wel\
l-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 4-21 .
CAUTION