WARNING!(Continued)
your strongest bones will take the force in a colli-
sion.
• 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.
2
THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE 39
Seat Belt Extender
If a seat belt is not long enough to fit properly, even when
the webbing is fully extended and the adjustable upper
shoulder belt anchorage (if equipped) is in its lowest
position, your authorized dealer can provide you with a
Seat Belt Extender. The Seat Belt Extender should be used
only if the existing seat belt is not long enough. When the
Seat Belt Extender is not required for a different occu-
pant, it must be removed.
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.
42 THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE
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 aclick.
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.2
THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE 45
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.
• 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
(Continued)
WARNING! (Continued)
only used to install rear-facing or forward-facing
child restraints that have a harness for restraining
the child.
Supplemental Restraint System (SRS)
Air Bag System Components
Your vehicle may be equipped with the following air bag
system components:
•Occupant Restraint Controller (ORC)
• Air Bag Warning Light
•Steering Wheel and Column
• Instrument Panel
• Knee Impact Bolsters
• Advanced Front Air Bags
46 THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE
WARNING!
•Being too close to the steering wheel or instrument
panel during Advanced Front Air Bag deployment
could cause serious injury, including death. Air
bags need room to inflate. Sit back, comfortably
extending your arms to reach the steering wheel or
instrument panel.
• 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.
Advanced Front Air Bag Features
The Advanced Front Air Bag system has multistage
driver and front passenger air bags. This system provides output appropriate to the severity and type of collision as
determined by the Occupant Restraint Controller (ORC),
which may receive information from the front impact
sensors or other system components.
The first stage inflator is triggered immediately during an
impact that requires air bag deployment. A low energy
output is used in less severe collisions. A higher energy
output is used for more severe collisions.
This vehicle may be equipped with driver and/or front
passenger seat track position sensors that may adjust the
inflation rate of the Advanced Front Air Bags based upon
seat position.
This vehicle may be equipped with a driver and/or front
passenger seat belt buckle switch that detects whether
the driver or front passenger seat belt is buckled. The seat
belt buckle switch may adjust the inflation rate of the
Advanced Front Air Bags.
48 THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE
Advanced Air Bag Features
This vehicle has an Occupant Classification System
(“OCS”) in the front passenger seat. The OCS is designed
to activate or deactivate the Passenger Advanced Front
Air Bag depending on the occupant’s seated weight. It is
designed to deactivate the Passenger Advanced Front Air
Bag for an unoccupied seat and for occupants whose
seated weight classifies them in a category other than a
properly seated adult. This could be a child, teenager, or
even an adult.
The Passenger Air Bag Disable (“PAD”) Indicator Light
(an amber light located in the center of the instrument
panel) tells the driver and front passenger when the
Passenger Advanced Front Air Bag is deactivated. The
PAD Indicator Light illuminates the words “PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF” to show that the Passenger Advanced
Front Air Bag will not deploy during a collision.NOTE:
When the front passenger seat is empty or when
very light objects are placed on the seat, the Passenger
Advanced Front Air Bag will not deploy even though the
Passenger Air Bag Disable (PAD) System Indicator Light
is NOT illuminated.
WARNING!
• No objects should be placed over or near the air
bag on the instrument panel or steering wheel,
because any such objects could cause harm if the
vehicle is in a collision severe enough to cause the
air bags to inflate.
• Do not put anything on or around the air bag
covers or attempt to open them manually. You may
damage the air bags and you could be injured
because the air bags may no longer be functional.
The protective covers for the air bag cushions are
(Continued)
2
THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE 49
WARNING!(Continued)
designed to open only when the air bags are
inflating.
• Relying on the air bags alone could lead to more
severe injuries in a collision. The air bags work
with your seat belt to restrain you properly. In
some collisions, air bags won’t deploy at all. Al-
ways wear your seat belts even though you have air
bags.
Advanced Front Air Bag Operation
Advanced Front Air Bags are designed to provide addi-
tional protection by supplementing the seat belts. Ad-
vanced Front Air Bags are not expected to reduce the risk
of injury in rear, side, or rollover collisions. The Ad-
vanced Front Air Bags will not deploy in all frontal
collisions, including some that may produce substantial vehicle damage — for example, some pole collisions,
truck underrides, and angle offset collisions.
On the other hand, depending on the type and location of
impact, Advanced Front Air Bags may deploy in crashes
with little vehicle front-end damage but that produce a
severe initial deceleration.
Because air bag sensors measure vehicle deceleration
over time, vehicle speed and damage by themselves are
not good indicators of whether or not an air bag should
have deployed.
Seat belts are necessary for your protection in all colli-
sions, and also are needed to help keep you in position,
away from an inflating air bag.
When the ORC detects a collision requiring the Ad-
vanced Front Air Bags, it signals the inflator units. A large
quantity of non-toxic gas is generated to inflate the
Advanced Front Air Bags.
50 THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE
The steering wheel hub trim cover and the upper right
side of the instrument panel separate and fold out of the
way as the air bags inflate to their full size. The Advanced
Front Air Bags fully inflate in less time than it takes to
blink your eyes. The air bags then quickly deflate while
helping to restrain the driver and front passenger.
Occupant Classification System (OCS) - Front
Passenger Seat
The OCS is part of a Federally regulated safety system for
this vehicle. It is designed to activate or deactivate the
Passenger Advanced Front Air Bag depending on the
occupant’s seated weight. It is designed to deactivate the
Passenger Advanced Front Air Bag for an unoccupied
seat and for occupants whose seated weight classifies
them in a category other than a properly seated adult.
This could be a child, teenager, or even an adult.
WARNING!
•If an occupant in the front passenger seat is seated
improperly, the occupant may provide an output
signal to the OCS that is different from the occu-
pant’s properly seated weight input. This may
result in serious injury or death in a collision.
• Always wear your seat belt and sit properly, with
the seatback in an upright position, your back
against the seatback, sitting upright, facing for-
ward, in the center of the seat, with your feet
comfortably on or near the floor.
• Do not carry or hold any objects (e.g., backpacks,
boxes, etc.) while seated in the front passenger seat.
Holding an object may provide an output signal to
the OCS that is different than the occupant’s prop-
erly seated weight input, which may result in
serious injury or death in a collision.2
THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE 51