2016 MAZDA MODEL 3 5-DOOR tow

2–22
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 the U.S. and Canada.
Check your local and state or provincial laws for specific 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 confirm 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 Classification 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 \
2-56).
Mazda3_8FA4-EA-15G_Edition1.indb 222015/05/11 14:00:05

3–1*Some models.
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)
* ......................................3-24
Fuel and Emission
.............................3-26
Fuel and Engine Exhaust
Precautions
...................................3-26
Fuel-Filler Lid and Cap
................3-29
Steering Wheel ................................... 3-31
Steering Wheel
.............................3-31
Mirrors
...............................................3-32
Mirrors
.........................................3-32
Windows
.............................................3-35
Power Windows
...........................3-35
Moonroof * ...................................3-38 Security System
.................................3-40
Modification and Add-On
Equipment
....................................3-40
Immobilizer System
.....................3-40
Theft-Deterrent System* ...............3-42
Driving Tips
.......................................3-44
Break-In Period
............................3-44
Saving Fuel and Protection of the
Environment
.................................3-44
Hazardous Driving
.......................3-45
Floor Mat
.....................................3-45
Rocking the Vehicle
.....................3-46
Winter Driving
.............................3-46
Driving In Flooded Area
..............3-48
Overloading
..................................3-49
Driving on Uneven Road
.............3-50
Towing
................................................3-51
Trailer Towing
..............................3-51
Recreational Towing
....................3-51
Mazda3_8FA4-EA-15G_Edition1.indb 12015/05/11 14:00:16

3–13
Before Driving
Doors and Locks
Locking, Unlocking with Auxiliary
Key
Turn the auxiliary key toward the front to
lock, toward the back to unlock.
To lock
All doors and the liftgate lock
automatically when the driver's door is
locked using the auxiliary key.
To unlock
The driver’s door unlocks when the
auxiliary key is turned briefly to the
unlock position and then immediately
returned to the center position.
All doors and the liftgate unlock when the
driver's door is unlocked and the auxiliary
key is held in the unlock position for one
second or longer.
LockUnlock
Locking, Unlocking with Request
Switch (With the advanced keyless
function)
All doors and the liftgate can be locked/
unlocked by pressing the request switch
on the front doors while the key is being
carried.
(5–door)
The request switch on the liftgate can only
be used to lock all doors and the liftgate.
Front doors
Request switch
Liftgate (5-door Lock only)
Request switch
To lock
To lock the doors and the liftgate, press
the request switch and the hazard warning
lights will flash once.
A beep sound will be heard once.
To unlock
Driver's door request switch
To unlock the driver's door, press the
request switch. A beep sound will be heard
twice and the hazard warning lights will
flash twice.
To unlock all doors and the liftgate, press
the request switch again within 3 seconds
and two more beep sounds will be heard.
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3–51
Before Driving
Towing
Trailer Towing
Your Mazda 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
fingers.
UP switch
WARNING
Keep your hands on the steering wheel
rim when using fingers 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
 When driving slowly , the gears may not
shift up. 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.
 When depressing the accelerator fully,
the transaxle will shift to a lower gear,
depending on vehicle speed.
 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 sufficient 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
fingers.
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 fingers 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
 When driving at high speeds, the gear
may not shift down. During deceleration, the gear may
automatically shift down depending on
vehicle speed.
 When depressing the accelerator fully,
the transaxle will shift to a lower gear,
depending on vehicle speed.
Second gear fixed 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 fixed mode. The gear is fixed
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 fixed
mode, the mode will be canceled.
Mazda3_8FA4-EA-15G_Edition1.indb 352015/05/11 14:00:47

4–44
When Driving
Switches and Controls
*Some models.
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 À ash the headlights, pull the lever fully
towards you (the headlight switch does not
need to be on).


OFF
Headlight
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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4–47
When Driving
Switches and Controls
NOTE
 If an indicator light stays on without
flashing or if it flashes abnormally, one
of the turn signal bulbs may be burned
out.
 A personalized function is available to
change the turn indicator sound volume.
(page 9-12)
Lane-Change Signals
Move the lever halfway toward the
direction of the lane change—until the
indicator flashes— and hold it there. It will
return to the off position when released.
Three-Flash Turn Signal
After releasing the turn signal lever, the
turn signal indicator flashes three times.
The operation can be cancelled by moving
the lever in the direction opposite to which
it was operated.
NOTE
The three-flash turn signal function can be
switched to operable/inoperable using the
personalization function.
Refer to Personalization Features on page
9-12.
Windshield Wipers and
Washer
The ignition must be switched ON to use
the wipers.
WARNING
Use only windshield washer fluid or
plain water in the reservoir:Using radiator antifreeze as washer
fluid is dangerous. If sprayed on the
windshield, it will dirty the windshield,
affect your visibility, and could result in
an accident.
Only use windshield washer fluid mixed
with anti-freeze protection in freezing
weather conditions: Using windshield washer fluid without
anti-freeze protection in freezing
weather conditions is dangerous as
it could freeze on the windshield and
block your vision which could cause
an accident. In addition, make sure
the windshield is sufficiently warmed
using the defroster before spraying the
washer fluid.
Mazda3_8FA4-EA-15G_Edition1.indb 472015/05/11 14:00:51