2015 MAZDA MODEL 3 HATCHBACK belt

2–10
Essential Safety Equipment
Seats
To return the seatback to its upright
position:
WARNING
When returning a seatback to its
upright position, make sure the 3-point
seat belt is not caught in the seatback
and the 3-point seat belt is not twisted.
If the seat belt is used while it is twisted
and caught in the seatback, the seat
belt cannot function at its full capacity,
which could cause serious injury or
death.
When returning a seatback to its
upright position, make sure that it is
fi rmly locked and the red indication is
not visible (Hatchback).
If the red indication is visible behind
the push knob, it means the seatback
is not locked. If the vehicle is driven
without the seatback locked, it could
fold down suddenly and cause an
accident.
Locked position
Unlocked position
Red indication
1. Make sure that the seat belt passes
through the seat belt guide correctly
and it is not twisted, then raise the
seatback while preventing the seat belt
from being caught in the seatback.
(Saloon)
Seat belt guides
(Hatchback)
Red indication
Seat belt guide
2. Press the seatback rearward and lock it
in place. After returning the seatback
to its upright position, make sure it is
securely locked.
.B[EB@&'&&"@&EJUJPOJOEC







2–13
Essential Safety Equipment
Seat Belt Systems
Seat Belt Precautions
Seat belts help to decrease the possibility of severe injury during accidents and sudden
stops. Mazda recommends that the driver and all passengers always wear seat belts.
Front seat and rear outboard seat
The front seats and rear outboard seats have lap/shoulder belts. These belts have retractors
with inertia locks that keep them out of the way when not in use. The locks allow the belts
to remain comfortable on users, but they will lock in position during a collision.
Rear centre seat
With 3-point type seat belt
The 3-point type seat belt has lap/shoulder belts. This belt has a retractor with an inertia lock
that keeps it out of the way when not in use. The lock allows the belt to remain comfortable
on the user, but it will lock in position during a collision.
With 2-point type seat belt
The 2-point type seat belt has a lap belt with manual adjustment.
WARNING
Always wear your seat belt and make sure all occupants are properly restrained:
Not wearing a seat belt is extremely dangerous. During a collision, occupants not
wearing seat belts could hit someone or things inside the vehicle or even be thrown out
of the vehicle. They could be seriously injured or even killed. In the same collision,
occupants wearing seat belts would be much safer.
Do not wear twisted seat belts:
Twisted seat belts are dangerous. In a collision, the full width of the belt is not available
to absorb the impact. This puts more force on the bones beneath the belt, which could
cause serious injury or death. So, if your seat belt is twisted, you must straighten the
seat belt to remove any twists and to allow the full width of the belt to be used.
Never use one seat belt on more than one person at a time:
Using one seat belt for more than one person at a time is dangerous. A seat belt used
in this way cannot spread the impact forces properly and the two passengers could
be crushed together and seriously injured or even killed. Never use one belt for more
than one person at a time and always operate the vehicle with each occupant properly
restrained.
.B[EB@&'&&"@&EJUJPOJOEC







2–14
Essential Safety Equipment
Seat Belt Systems
WARNING
Do not operate a vehicle with a damaged seat belt:
Using a damaged seat belt is dangerous. An accident could damage the belt webbing
of the seat belt in use. A damaged seat belt cannot provide adequate protection in a
collision. Have an expert repairer, we recommend an Authorised Mazda Repairer
inspect all seat belt systems in use during an accident before they are used again.
Have your seat belts changed immediately if the pretensioner or load limiter has been
expended:
Always have an expert repairer, we recommend an Authorised Mazda Repairer
immediately inspect the seat belt pretensioners and air bags after any collision. Like the
air bags, the seat belt pretensioners and load limiters will only function once and must
be replaced after any collision that caused them to deploy. If the seat belt pretensioners
and load limiters are not replaced, the risk of injury in a collision will increase.
Positioning the Shoulder Portion of the Seat Belt:
Improper positioning of the shoulder portion of the seat belt is dangerous. Always make
sure the shoulder portion of the seat belt is positioned across your shoulder and near
your neck, but never under your arm, on your neck, or on your upper arm.
Positioning the Lap Portion of the Seat Belt:
The lap portion of the seat belt worn too high is dangerous. In a collision, this would
concentrate the impact force directly on the abdominal area, causing serious injury.
Wear the lap portion of the belt snugly and as low as possible.
.B[EB@&'&&"@&EJUJPOJOEC







2–15
Essential Safety Equipment
Seat Belt Systems
WARNING
Instructions for Use of Seat Belt Assemblies:
Seatbelts are designed to bear upon the bony structure of the body, and should be worn
low across the front of the pelvis or the pelvis, chest and shoulders, as applicable;
wearing the lap section of the belt across the abdominal area must be avoided.
Seatbelts should be adjusted as fi rmly as possible, consistent with comfort, to provide
the protection for which they have been designed. A slack belt will greatly reduce the
protection afforded to the wearer.
Care should be taken to avoid contamination of the webbing with polishes, oils and
chemicals, and particularly battery acid. Cleaning may safely be carried out using mild
soap and water. The belt should be replaced if webbing becomes frayed, contaminated
or damaged.
It is essential to replace the entire assembly after it has been worn in a severe impact
even if damage to the assembly is not obvious.
Belts should not be worn with straps twisted.
Each belt assembly must only be used by one occupant; it is dangerous to put a belt
around a child being carried on the occupant's lap.
No modifi cations or additions should be made by the user which will either prevent
the seat belt adjusting devices from operating to remove slack, or prevent the seat belt
assembly from being adjusted to remove slack.
CAUTION
Belt retraction may become diffi cult if the belts and rings are soiled, so try to keep them
clean. For more details about cleaning the seat belts, refer to "Cleaning the Lap/Shoulder
Belt Webbing" (page 6-79 ).
Ring
.B[EB@&'&&"@&EJUJPOJOEC







2–16
Essential Safety Equipment
Seat Belt Systems
Pregnant Women and Persons with Serious Medical Conditions
Pregnant women should always wear seat belts. Ask your doctor for specifi c
recommendations.
The lap belt should be worn SNUGLY AND AS LOW AS POSSIBLE OVER THE HIPS.
The shoulder belt should be worn across your shoulder properly, but never across the
stomach area.
Persons with serious medical conditions also should wear seat belts. Check with your doctor
for any special instructions regarding specifi c medical conditions.
Emergency Locking Mode
When the seat belt is fastened, it will always be in the emergency locking mode.
In the emergency locking mode, the belt remains comfortable on the occupant and the
retractor will lock in position during a collision.
If the belt is locked and cannot be pulled out, retract the belt once, and then try pulling it out
slowly. If this fails, pull the belt strongly one time and loosen, then pull it out again slowly.
.B[EB@&'&&"@&EJUJPOJOEC







2–17
Essential Safety Equipment
Seat Belt Systems
Seat Belt
Fastening the Seat Belt
Seat belt
buckleSeat belt tongue
Position the lap belt as low as possible,
not on the abdominal area, then adjust the
shoulder belt so that it fi ts snugly against
your body.
Keep low on
hip bone
Too highTake up slack
Unfastening the Seat Belt
Depress the button on the seat belt buckle.
If the belt does not fully retract, pull it out
and check for kinks or twists. Then make
sure it remains untwisted as it retracts.
Button
NOTE
If a belt does not fully retract, inspect
it for kinks and twists. If it is still not
retracting properly, have it inspected at
an expert repairer, we recommend an
Authorised Mazda Repairer.
Front Shoulder Belt Adjuster
To raise To lower
Make sure the adjuster is locked.
.B[EB@&'&&"@&EJUJPOJOEC







2–18
Essential Safety Equipment
Seat Belt Systems
Seat Belt Warning Systems
If it detects that the occupant seat belt
is unfastened, the warning light or beep
alerts the occupant.
Refer to Warning/Indicator Lights on page
4-40 .
Refer to Seat Belt Warning Beep on page
7-50 .
Front Seat Belt
Pretensioner and Load
Limiting Systems
For optimum protection, the driver and
front passenger seat belts are equipped
with pretensioner and load limiting
systems. For both these systems to work
properly you must wear the seat belt
properly.
Pretensioners:
When a collision is detected, the
pretensioners deploy simultaneously with
the air bags.
For deployment details, refer to the SRS
Air Bag Deployment Criteria (page 2-52 ).
The seat belt retractors remove slack
quickly as the air bags are expanding.
Any time the air bags and seat belt
pretensioners have fi red they must be
replaced.
A system malfunction or operation
conditions are indicated by a warning.
Refer to Warning/Indicator Lights on page
4-40 .
Refer to Air Bag/Seat Belt Pretensioner
System Warning Beep on page 7-49 .
(With front passenger air bag
deactivation switch)
In addition, the pretensioner system for
the front passenger, like the front and side
passenger air bag, is designed to only
deploy when the front passenger air bag
deactivation switch is turned to the ON
position.
For details, refer to front passenger air bag
deactivation switch (page 2-44 ).
.B[EB@&'&&"@&EJUJPOJOEC







2–19
Essential Safety Equipment
Seat Belt Systems
Load limiter:
The load limiting system releases belt
webbing in a controlled manner to reduce
belt force on the occupant's chest. While
the most severe load on a seat belt occurs
in frontal collisions, the load limiter has
an automatic mechanical function and
can activate in any accident mode with
suffi cient occupant movement.
Even if the pretensioners have not fi red,
the load limiting function must be checked
by an expert repairer, we recommend an
Authorised Mazda Repairer.
WARNING
Wear seat belts only as recommended
in this owner's manual:
Incorrect positioning of the seat belts is
dangerous. Without proper positioning,
the pretensioner and load limiting
systems cannot provide adequate
protection in an accident and this
could result in serious injury. For more
details about wearing seat belts, refer to
"Fastening the seat belts" (page 2-17 ).
Have your seat belts changed
immediately if the pretensioner or load
limiter has been expended:
Always have an expert repairer, we
recommend an Authorised Mazda
Repairer immediately inspect the
seat belt pretensioners and air bags
after any collision. Like the air bags,
the seat belt pretensioners and load
limiters will only function once and
must be replaced after any collision
that caused them to deploy. If the seat
belt pretensioners and load limiters
are not replaced, the risk of injury in a
collision will increase.
WARNING
Do not modify the components or
wiring, or use electronic testing devices
on the pretensioner system:
Modifying the components or wiring
of the pretensioner system, including
the use of electronic testing devices
is dangerous. You could accidentally
activate it or make it inoperable which
would prevent it from activating in an
accident. The occupants or repairers
could be seriously injured.
Properly dispose of the pretensioner
system:
Improper disposal of the pretensioner
system or a vehicle with non-
deactivated pretensioners is dangerous.
Unless all safety procedures are
followed, injury could result. Have
an expert repairer, we recommend an
Authorised Mazda Repairer safely
dispose of the pretensioner system or
scrap a pretensioner system equipped
vehicle.
.B[EB@&'&&"@&EJUJPOJOEC