2016 MAZDA MODEL MX-5 Owners Manual (in English)

2–5
Essential Safety Equipment
Seats
*Some models.
Seat Warmer*
The seats are electrically heated. The
ignition must be switched ON.
Press the seat warmer switch to illuminate
the indicator light while the ignition
is switched ON. The mode changes as
follows each time the seat warmer switch
is pressed.
Low
Mid High OFF
WARNING
Be careful when using the seat warmer:
The heat from the seat warmer may be
too hot for some people, as indicated
below, and could cause a low-
temperature burn.

Infants, small babies, elderly
people, and physically challenged
people People with delicate skin People who are excessively fatigued People who are intoxicated People who have taken sleep-
inducing medicine such as sleeping
pills or cold medicine
Do not use the seat warmer with
anything having high moisture-
retention ability such as a blanket or
cushion on the seat:
The seat may be heated excessively
and cause a low-temperature burn.
Do not use the seat warmer even when
taking a short nap in the vehicle:
The seat may be heated excessively
and cause a low-temperature burn.
Do not place heavy objects with sharp
projections on the seat, or insert
needles or pins into it:
This could cause the seat to become
excessively heated and result in injury
from a minor burn.
CAUTION
Do not use organic solvents to clean
the seat. It may damage the seat
surface and the heater.
NOTE
 If the ignition is switched off while the
seat warmer is operating (High, Mid or
Low) and then switched ON again, the
seat warmer will automatically operate
at the temperature set before switching
off the ignition. Use the seat warmer when the engine
is running. Leaving the seat warmer
on for long periods with the engine not
running could cause the battery power
to be depleted. The temperature of the seat warmer
cannot be adjusted beyond High, Mid
and Low because the seat warmer is
controlled by a thermostat.
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2–6
Essential Safety Equipment
Seats
Head Restraints
Non-Adjustable Head Restraints
Your vehicle is equipped with non-adjustable head restraints on the drive\
r's and passenger's
seatbacks. The non-adjustable head restraints consist of a trimmed foam covering ov\
er the
upper structure of the seatbacks and are intended to help protect you an\
d the passenger from
neck injury. Adjust the seatbacks to their upright, on-road positions so that the hea\
d restraint
is positioned as close as possible to the back of your head.
WARNING
Make sure the seatbacks are properly adjusted to their upright, on-road positions
before the vehicle is driven:
Driving with the seatbacks not adjusted properly is dangerous. With no support behind
your head, your neck could be seriously injured in a collision.
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2–7
Essential Safety Equipment
Seat Belt Systems
Seat Belt Precautions
Seat belts help to decrease the possibility of severe injury during acci\
dents and sudden
stops. Mazda recommends that the driver and passengers always wear seat \
belts.
(Except Mexico)
All of the seat belt retractors are designed to keep the lap/shoulder be\
lts out of the way when
not in use.
The driver's seat belt has no provisions for child-restraint systems and\
has only an
emergency locking mode. The driver may wear it comfortably, and it will lock during a
collision.
However, the passenger's seat lap/shoulder belt retractor operates in two modes\
: emergency
locking mode, and for child-restraint systems, automatic locking mode. I\
f you must use the
passenger seat for a child, slide the passenger seat as far back as poss\
ible and make sure any
child-restraint system is secured properly.
(Mexico)
All the 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.
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.
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2–8
Essential Safety Equipment
Seat Belt Systems
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 Authorized Mazda Dealer 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 Authorized Mazda Dealer 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. A seat belt with an expended pretensioner or load limiter is still better than
wearing no seat belt at all; however, 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.
CAUTION
Belt retraction may become difficult if the belts and seat belt guides 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 6-66).
Seat belt guide
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2–9
Essential Safety Equipment
Seat Belt Systems
*Some models.
Pregnant Women and Persons with Serious Medical Conditions
Pregnant women should always wear seat belts. Ask your doctor for specific
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. Che\
ck with your doctor
for any special instructions regarding specific 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, a\
nd then try pulling it out
slowly. If this fails, pull the belt strongly one time and loosen, then pull i\
t out again slowly.
(Seat Belt with Automatic Locking Mode)
When the seat belt is fastened, it will always be in the emergency locking mode until it is
switched to automatic locking mode by pulling it all the way out to its \
full length. If the belt
feels tight and hinders comfortable movement while the vehicle is stoppe\
d or in motion, it
may be in the automatic locking mode because the belt has been pulled to\
o far out. To return
the belt to the more comfortable emergency locking mode, wait until the vehicle has stopped
in a safe, level area, retract the belt fully to convert it back to emer\
gency locking mode and
then extend it around you again.
Automatic Locking Mode*
Always use the automatic locking mode to keep the child-restraint system\
from shifting to
an unsafe position in the event of an accident. To enable seat belt automatic locking mode,
pull it all the way out and connect it as instructed on the child-restra\
int system. It will retract
down to the child-restraint system and stay locked on it. See the sectio\
n on child restraint
(page 2-15).
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2–10
Essential Safety Equipment
Seat Belt Systems
Seat Belt
WARNING
Always wear the seat belt with it
correctly routed in its guide:
Wearing a seat belt without the seat
belt routed in its guide is dangerous
because the seat belt would not be
able to provide adequate protection
in an accident, which could result in
serious injury.
Seat belt guide
Fastening the Seat Belt
Seat belt tongue
Seat belt b uckle
Position the lap belt as low as possible,
not on the abdominal area, then adjust the
shoulder belt so that it fits snugly against
your body.
Keep low on
hip boneTake up slack
Too high
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2–11
Essential Safety Equipment
Seat Belt Systems
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
Authorized Mazda Dealer.
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
4-16.
Refer to Seat Belt Warning Beep on page
7-46.
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2–12
Essential Safety Equipment
Seat Belt Systems
Seat Belt Pretensioner
and Load Limiting
Systems
For optimum protection, the driver and
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
2-34).
The seat belt retractors remove slack
quickly as the air bags are expanding.
Any time the air bags and seat belt
pretensioners have fired they must be
replaced.
A system malfunction or operation
conditions are indicated by a warning.
Refer to Warning/Indicator Lights on page
4-16.
Refer to Air Bag/Seat Belt Pretensioner
System Warning Beep on page 7-45.
(With Passenger Occupant
Classification System)
In addition, the pretensioner system for
the passenger, like the front and side
passenger air bag, is designed to only
deploy when the passenger occupant
classification sensor detects a passenger
sitting on the passenger's seat.
For details, refer to the passenger occupant
classification sensor (page 2-37).
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
sufficient occupant movement.
Even if the pretensioners have not fired,
the load limiting function must be checked
by an Authorized Mazda Dealer.
WARNING
Wear seat belts only as recommended in
this owner's manual:
Incorrect positioning of the driver and
passenger 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 2-10).
Have your seat belts changed
immediately if the pretensioner or load
limiter has been expended:
Always have an Authorized Mazda
Dealer 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. A seat belt with an
expended pretensioner or load limiter
is still better than wearing no seat
belt at all; however, if the seat belt
pretensioners and load limiters are not
replaced, the risk of injury in a collision
will increase.
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