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Seats and Restraints 63
Let the belt retract.
4. Open the trunk and pull theseatback release lever to foldthe rear seat.
5. Fold the seatback forward.
Repeat the steps for the otherseatback, if desired.
Raising the Seatback
{Warning
If either seatback is not locked, it
could move forward in a sudden
stop or crash. That could cause
injury to the person sitting there.
Always push and pull on the
seatbacks to be sure they are
locked.
{Warning
Asafetybeltthatisimproperly
routed, not properly attached,
or twisted will not provide the
protection needed in a crash. The
person wearing the belt could be
seriously injured. After raising the
rear seatback, always check to be
sure that the safety belts are
properly routed and attached, and
are not twisted.
To r a i s e a s e a t b a c k :
1. Lift the seatback up and push itrearward to lock it in place.Make sure the safety belt is nottwisted or caught in theseatback.
The center rear safety belt maylock when you raise theseatback. If this happens, letthe belt go back all the wayand start again.
2. Push and pull the top of theseatback to be sure it is lockedinto position.

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64 Seats and Restraints
3. Reconnect the rear safety beltmini-latch to the mini-buckle.Do not let it twist.
4. Pull on the safety belt to besure the mini-latch is secure.
5. Repeat Steps 1 and 2 for theother seatback, if necessary.
When the seat is not in use, itshould be kept in the upright, lockedposition.
Rear Seat Armrest
The rear seat has an armrest in thecenter of the seatback. Lower thearmrest to access the twocupholders.
To f o l d , l i f t t h e a r m r e s t u p a n d p u s hit rearward until it is flush with theseatback.
Safety Belts
This section of the manualdescribes how to use safety beltsproperly. It also describes somethings not to do with safety belts.
{Warning
Do not let anyone ride where a
safety belt cannot be worn
properly. In a crash, if you or your
passenger(s) are not wearing
safety belts, injuries can be much
worse than if you are wearing
safety belts. You can be seriously
injured or killed by hitting things
inside the vehicle harder or by
being ejected from the vehicle. In
addition, anyone who is not
buckled up can strike other
passengers in the vehicle.
It is extremely dangerous to ride
in a cargo area, inside or outside
of a vehicle. In a collision,
passengers riding in these areas
are more likely to be seriously
injured or killed. Do not allow
(Continued)

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66 Seats and Restraints
It is very important for all occupantsto buckle up. Statistics show thatunbelted people are hurt more oftenin crashes than those who arewearing safety belts.
There are important things to knowabout wearing a safety belt properly.
.Sit up straight and always keepyour feet on the floor in frontof you.
.Always use the correct bucklefor your seating position.
.Wear the lap part of the belt lowand snug on the hips, justtouching the thighs. In a crash,this applies force to the strong
pelvic bones and you would beless likely to slide under the lapbelt. If you slid under it, the beltwould apply force on yourabdomen. This could causeserious or even fatal injuries.
.Wear the shoulder belt over theshoulder and across the chest.These parts of the body are bestable to take belt restrainingforces. The shoulder belt locks ifthere is a sudden stop or crash.
{Warning
Yo u c a n b e s e r i o u s l y i n j u r e d ,
or even killed, by not wearing
your safety belt properly.
.Never allow the lap orshoulder belt to becomeloose or twisted.
.Never wear the shoulderbelt under both arms orbehind your back.
.Never route the lap orshoulder belt over anarmrest.
Lap-Shoulder Belt
All seating positions in the vehiclehave a lap-shoulder belt.
If you are using a rear seatingposition with a detachable safetybelt and the safety belt is notattached, seeRear Seats062forinstructions on reconnecting thesafety belt to the mini-buckle.
The following instructions explainhow to wear a lap-shoulder beltproperly.
1. Adjust the seat, if the seat isadjustable, so you can sit upstraight. To see how, see“Seats”in the Index.

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Seats and Restraints 67
2. Pick up the latch plate and pullthe belt across you. Do not letit get twisted.
The lap-shoulder belt may lockif you pull the belt across youvery quickly. If this happens, letthe belt go back slightly tounlock it. Then pull the beltacross you more slowly.
If the shoulder portion of apassenger belt is pulled out allthe way, the child restraintlocking feature may beengaged. If this happens, letthe belt go back all the wayand start again.
Engaging the child restraintlocking feature in the frontoutboard seating position mayaffect the passenger sensingsystem. SeePassengerSensing System077.
3. Push the latch plate into thebuckle until it clicks.
If the latch plate will not go fullyinto the buckle, check if thecorrect buckle is being used.
Pull up on the latch plate tomake sure it is secure. If thebelt is not long enough, seeSafety Belt Extender069.
Position the release button onthe buckle so that the safetybelt could be quickly unbuckledif necessary.
4. To make the lap part tight, pullup on the shoulder belt.

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68 Seats and Restraints
To u n l a t c h t h e b e l t , p u s h t h e b u t t o non the buckle. The belt shouldreturn to its stowed position.
Always stow the safety belt slowly.If the safety belt webbing returnsquickly to the stowed position, theretractor may lock and cannot bepulled out. If this happens, pull thesafety belt straight out firmly tounlock the webbing, and thenrelease it. If the webbing is stilllocked in the retractor, see yourdealer.
Before a door is closed, be sure thesafety belt is out of the way. If adoor is slammed against a safetybelt, damage can occur to both thesafety belt and the vehicle.
Safety Belt Pretensioners
This vehicle has safety beltpretensioners for front outboardoccupants. Although the safety beltpretensioners cannot be seen, theyare part of the safety belt assembly.They can help tighten the safetybelts during the early stages of amoderate to severe frontal, nearfrontal, or rear crash if the thresholdconditions for pretensioneractivation are met. Safety beltpretensioners can also help tightenthe safety belts in a side crash or arollover event.
Pretensioners work only once. If thepretensioners activate in a crash,the pretensioners and probablyother parts of the vehicle's safetybelt system will need to be replaced.SeeReplacing Safety Belt SystemParts after a Crash070.
Do not sit on the outboard safetybelt while entering or exiting thevehicle or at any time while sitting inthe seat. Sitting on the safety beltcan damage the webbing andhardware.
Rear Safety Belt Comfort
Guides
Rear safety belt comfort guides mayprovide added safety belt comfortfor older children who haveoutgrown booster seats and forsome adults. When installed on ashoulder belt, the comfort guidepositions the belt away from theneck and head.
Comfort guides are availablethrough your dealer for the rearoutboard seating positions.Instructions are included with theguide.

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74 Seats and Restraints
Warning (Continued)
clear. Do not put anything
between an occupant and an
airbag, and do not attach or put
anything on the steering wheel
hub or on or near any other
airbag covering.
Do not use seat accessories that
block the inflation path of a
seat-mounted side impact airbag.
Never secure anything to the roof
of a vehicle with roof-rail airbags
by routing a rope or tie⇣down
through any door or window
opening. If you do, the path of an
inflating roof-rail airbag will be
blocked.
When Should an Airbag
Inflate?
This vehicle is equipped withairbags. SeeAirbag System071.Airbags are designed to inflate if theimpact exceeds the specific airbagsystem's deployment threshold.Deployment thresholds are used to
predict how severe a crash is likelyto be in time for the airbags toinflate and help restrain theoccupants. The vehicle haselectronic sensors that help theairbag system determine theseverity of the impact. Deploymentthresholds can vary with specificvehicle design.
Frontal airbags are designed toinflate in moderate to severe frontalor near frontal crashes to helpreduce the potential for severeinjuries, mainly to the driver's orfront outboard passenger's headand chest.
Whether the frontal airbags will orshould inflate is not based primarilyon how fast the vehicle is traveling.It depends on what is hit, thedirection of the impact, and howquickly the vehicle slows down.
Frontal airbags may inflate atdifferent crash speeds depending onwhether the vehicle hits an objectstraight on or at an angle, andwhether the object is fixed ormoving, rigid or deformable, narrowor wide.
Frontal airbags are not intended toinflate during vehicle rollovers, rearimpacts, or in many side impacts.
In addition, the vehicle hasadvanced technology frontalairbags. Advanced technologyfrontal airbags adjust the restraintaccording to crash severity.
Knee airbags are designed to inflatein moderate to severe frontal ornear frontal impacts. Knee airbagsare not designed to inflate duringvehicle rollovers, in rear impacts,or in many side impacts.
Seat-mounted side impact airbagsare designed to inflate in moderateto severe side crashes dependingon the location of the impact.Seat-mounted side impact airbagsare not designed to inflate in frontalimpacts, near frontal impacts,rollovers, or rear impacts.Aseat-mountedsideimpactairbagis designed to inflate on the side ofthe vehicle that is struck.
Roof-rail airbags are designed toinflate in moderate to severe sidecrashes depending on the locationof the impact. In addition, these

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76 Seats and Restraints
prevent the driver from seeing out ofthe windshield or being able to steerthe vehicle, nor does it preventpeople from leaving the vehicle.
{Warning
When an airbag inflates, there
may be dust in the air. This dust
could cause breathing problems
for people with a history of
asthma or other breathing trouble.
To a v o i d t h i s , e v e r y o n e i n t h e
vehicle should get out as soon as
it is safe to do so. If you have
breathing problems but cannot
get out of the vehicle after an
airbag inflates, then get fresh air
by opening a window or a door.
If you experience breathing
problems following an airbag
deployment, you should seek
medical attention.
The vehicle has a feature that mayautomatically unlock the doors, turnon the interior lamps and hazardwarning flashers, and shut off thefuel system after the airbags inflate.
The feature may also activate,without airbag inflation, after anevent that exceeds a predeterminedthreshold. You can lock the doors,and turn off the interior lamps, andturn off the hazard warning flashersby using the controls for thosefeatures.
{Warning
Acrashsevereenoughtoinflate
the airbags may have also
damaged important functions in
the vehicle, such as the fuel
system, brake and steering
systems, etc. Even if the vehicle
appears to be drivable after a
moderate crash, there may be
concealed damage that could
make it difficult to safely operate
the vehicle.
Use caution if you should attempt
to restart the engine after a crash
has occurred.
Hybrid vehicles have a high voltagebattery and a standard 12-voltbattery. If an airbag inflates or the
vehicle has been in a crash, thevehicle's sensing system may shutdown the high voltage system.When this occurs, the high voltagebattery is disconnected and thevehicle is not charging the 12-voltbattery or the electrical system. Thevehicle may start but it shuts downonce the 12-volt battery is depleted.The airbag readiness light and/orthe 12-volt battery warning light aredisplayed. Before the vehicle can beoperated again, it must be servicedat your dealer.
In many crashes severe enough toinflate the airbag, windshields arebroken by vehicle deformation.Additional windshield breakage mayalso occur from the front outboardpassenger airbag.
.Airbags are designed to inflateonly once. After an airbaginflates, you will need some newparts for the airbag system.If you do not get them, theairbag system will not be thereto help protect you in anothercrash. A new system will includeairbag modules and possibly

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Seats and Restraints 79
wear a safety belt properly—whether or not there is an airbag forthat person.
{Warning
If the airbag readiness light ever
comes on and stays on, it means
that something may be wrong
with the airbag system. To help
avoid injury to yourself or others,
have the vehicle serviced right
away. SeeAirbag Readiness
Light0120for more information,
including important safety
information.
If the On Indicator Is Lit for a
Child Restraint
The passenger sensing system isdesigned to turn off the frontoutboard passenger frontal airbagand knee airbag if the systemdetermines that an infant is presentin a child restraint. If a child restrainthas been installed and the onindicator is lit:
1. Turn the vehicle off.
2. Remove the child restraint fromthe vehicle.
3. Remove any additional itemsfrom the seat such as blankets,cushions, seat covers, seatheaters, or seat massagers.
4. Reinstall the child restraintfollowing the directionsprovided by the child restraintmanufacturer and refer toSecuring Child Restraints (Withthe Safety Belt in the FrontSeat)098orSecuring ChildRestraints (With the Safety Beltin the Rear Seat)096.
Make sure the safety beltretractor is locked by pullingthe shoulder belt all the wayout of the retractor wheninstalling the child restraint,even if the child restraint isequipped with a safety beltlock-off. When the retractorlock is set, the belt can betightened but not pulled out ofthe retractor.
5. If, after reinstalling the childrestraint and restarting thevehicle, the on indicator is still
lit, turn the vehicle off. Thenslightly recline the vehicleseatback and adjust the seatcushion, if adjustable, to makesure that the vehicle seatbackis not pushing the childrestraint into the seat cushion.
Also make sure the childrestraint is not trapped underthe vehicle head restraint.If this happens, adjust the headrestraint. SeeHeadRestraints055.
6. Restart the vehicle.
The passenger sensing system mayor may not turn off the airbags for achild in a child restraint dependingupon the child’ssize.Itisbettertosecure the child restraint in a rearseat. Never put a rear-facing childrestraint in the front seat, even if theon indicator is not lit.