Black plate (35,1)
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 come with the individual
child-restraint system.
A child who has outgrown child-restraint systems should sit in the rear and 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 buckle 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 shouldNEVERbe 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 passenger air bag, the
front passenger occupant classification sensor work as a part of the supplemental restraint
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 deactivation
indicator light illuminates.
When an infant or small child sits on the front passenger seat, the system 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 properly secured on the rear
seats which are the best place for children.
For more details, refer to“Front passenger occupant classification sensor”(page 2-57).
Essential Safety Equipment
Child Restraint
2-23
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Form No.8EA2-EA-14K
Black plate (75,1)
3Before Driving
Use of various features, including keys, doors, mirrors and windows.
Keys .......................................................... 3-2
Keys .................................................... 3-2
Keyless Entry System ......................... 3-4
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
Trunk Lid .......................................... 3-19
Inside Trunk Release Lever
í............ 3-22
Fuel and Emission ................................. 3-24
Fuel and Engine Exhaust
Precautions ........................................ 3-24
Fuel-Filler Lid and Cap ..................... 3-27
Steering Wheel ....................................... 3-29
Steering Wheel .................................. 3-29
Mirrors ................................................... 3-30
Mirrors .............................................. 3-30
Windows ................................................. 3-33
Power Windows ................................ 3-33
Moonroof
í....................................... 3-36
Security System ..................................... 3-39
Modification and Add-On
Equipment ......................................... 3-39
Immobilizer System .......................... 3-39
Theft-Deterrent System
í.................. 3-41Driving Tips ........................................... 3-43
Break-In Period ................................. 3-43
Saving Fuel and Protection of the
Environment ...................................... 3-43
Hazardous Driving ............................ 3-44
Floor Mat .......................................... 3-44
Rocking the Vehicle .......................... 3-45
Winter Driving .................................. 3-45
Driving In Flooded Area ................... 3-47
Overloading ...................................... 3-47
Driving on Uneven Road .................. 3-48
Towing .................................................... 3-49
Trailer Towing ................................... 3-49
Recreational Towing ......................... 3-49
3-1íSome models.
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Form No.8EA2-EA-14K
Black plate (86,1)
NOTElWhen 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 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.
l(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 inflate
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.
qLocking, Unlocking with Key
All doors lock automatically when the
driver's door is locked with the key.
All doors 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.
LockUnlock
NOTE
Holding the key in the unlocked position in the
driver's door lock for about a second unlocks
all doors. To unlock only the driver's door,
insert the key into the driver's door lock and
turn the key briefly to the unlock position and
then immediately return it to the center
position.
3-12
Before Driving
Doors and Locks
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Form No.8EA2-EA-14K
Black plate (123,1)
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 7-20) and
“Tiedown Hook”(page 7-21) and
carefully follow the instructions.
Before Driving
Towing
3-49
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Form No.8EA2-EA-14K
Black plate (154,1)
WARNING
Do not drive with the brake system
warning light illuminated. Contact an
Authorized Mazda Dealer to have the
brakes inspected as soon as possible:
Driving with the brake system
warning light illuminated is
dangerous. It indicates that your
brakes may not work at all or that
they could completely fail at any
time. If this light remains
illuminated, after checking that the
parking brake is fully released, have
the brakes inspected immediately.
CAUTION
In addition, the effectiveness of the
braking may diminish so you may
need to depress the brake pedal more
strongly than normal to stop the
vehicle.
qABS Warning Light
The warning light stays on for a few
seconds when the ignition is switched
ON.
If the ABS warning light stays on while
you're driving, the ABS control unit has
detected a system malfunction. If this
occurs, your brakes will function normally
as if the vehicle had no ABS.
Should this happen, consult an Authorized
Mazda Dealer as soon as possible.NOTE
lWhen the engine is jump-started to charge
the battery, uneven rpm occurs and the ABS
warning light may illuminate. If this occurs,
it is the result of the weak battery and does
not indicate an ABS malfunction.
Recharge the battery.
lThe brake assist system does not operate
while the ABS warning light is illuminated.
qElectronic Brake Force
Distribution System Warning
If the electronic brake force distribution
control unit determines that some
components are operating incorrectly, the
control unit may illuminate the brake
system warning light and the ABS
warning light simultaneously. The
problem is likely to be the electronic
brake force distribution system.
WARNING
Do not drive with both the ABS warning
light and brake warning light
illuminated. Have the vehicle towed to
an Authorized Mazda Dealer to have
the brakes inspected as soon as
possible:
Driving when the brake system
warning light and ABS warning light
are illuminated simultaneously is
dangerous.
When both lights are illuminated, the
rear wheels could lock more quickly
in an emergency stop than under
normal circumstances.
4-30
When Driving
Instrument Cluster and Display
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Form No.8EA2-EA-14K
Black plate (156,1)
CAUTION
Do not run the engine if the oil
pressure is low. Otherwise, it could
result in extensive engine damage.
If the light illuminates while driving:
1. Drive to the side of the road and park
off the right-of-way on level ground.
2. Turn off the engine and wait 5 minutes
for the oil to drain back into the oil
pan.
3. Inspect the engine oil level (page 6-28).
If it's low, add the appropriate amount
of engine oil while being careful not to
overfill.
CAUTION
Do not run the engine if the oil level
is low. Otherwise, it could result in
extensive engine damage.
4. Start the engine and check the warning
light.
If the light remains illuminated even
though the oil level is normal or after
adding oil, stop the engine immediately
and have your vehicle towed to an
Authorized Mazda Dealer.
qCheck Engine Light
This indicator light illuminates when the
ignition is switched ON and turns off
when the engine is started.If this light illuminates while driving, the
vehicle may have a problem. It is
important to note the driving conditions
when the light illuminated and consult an
Authorized Mazda Dealer.
The check engine light may illuminate in
the following cases:
lThe fuel tank level being very low or
approaching empty.
lThe engine's electrical system has a
problem.
lThe emission control system has a
problem.
l(U.S.A. and Canada)
The fuel-filler cap is missing or not
tightened securely.
If the check engine light remains on, do
not drive at high speeds and consult an
Authorized Mazda Dealer as soon as
possible.
qHigh Engine Coolant Temperature
Warning Light (Red)
When the ignition is switched ON, the
light illuminates momentarily and then
turns off.
The light flashes when the engine coolant
temperature is extremely high, and
illuminates when the engine coolant
temperature increases further.
4-32
When Driving
Instrument Cluster and Display
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Form No.8EA2-EA-14K
Black plate (177,1)
Shifting
You can shift gears up and down by
operating the selector lever or the steering
shift switches
í.
Manually Shifting up
(M1→M2→M3→M4→M5→M6)
To shift up to a higher gear, move the
selector lever back (
) once.
To shift up to a higher gear with the
steering shift switches, pull the UP switch
(
/OFF) toward you once with your
fingers.
UP switch (+/OFF)
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
lWhen driving slowly, the gears may not
shift up.
lIn 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.
lWhen depressing the accelerator fully, the
transaxle will shift to a lower gear,
depending on vehicle speed.
lThe 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 (
/OFF) is pulled rearward for
a sufficient amount of time.
When Driving
Transaxle
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Form No.8EA2-EA-14K
Black plate (178,1)
Manually Shifting down
(M6→M5→M4→M3→M2→M1)
To shift down to a lower gear, move the
selector lever forward (
) once.
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
lWhen driving at high speeds, the gear may
not shift down.
lDuring deceleration, the gear may
automatically shift down depending on
vehicle speed.
lWhen 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 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.
4-54
When Driving
Transaxle
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